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A mother has asked the internet for advice – always a great idea – after her husband fell out with her for letting her mother give their baby whiskey.
It’s a home remedy that loads of people will swear by, but others will say it's harmful for very little actual gain.
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Practically everyone over a certain age will attest to the curative powers of a bit of whiskey, brandy, or other alcohol on the gums of a teething baby.
Hell, even the gripe water that used to be given to babies until surprisingly recently contained an amount of alcohol.
However, not everyone is cool with it.
There’s no need to be giving alcohol to babies these days, even if they are screaming the house down and refusing to sleep.
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Anyway, that’s what this man’s mother-in-law did, before he did his nut over it.
After he blamed his wife for the missteps of her mother, the woman took to ‘Reddit’s Am I The A**hole?’ page to ask for advice.
The 28-year-old wrote: “I am a first time mom.
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“My husband and I have a six-month-old baby who is teething horribly.
“I was at my mother’s home a few days ago and was speaking to her about the teething issues.
“My mom does some old fashion things and she’s really into herbs and natural healing and such, so she wanted to try rubbing whiskey on my daughters gums.
“She said she did it to me and all 3 of my siblings. I let her, and it did seem to calm my daughter down a bit.
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“When I got home I told my husband about this, and he was furious.
“He said that’s harmful to our daughter and it does not relieve any pain.
“He got really upset and said I shouldn’t of [sic] let my mom do something like that, and told me I couldn’t bring our daughter to my mother’s anymore.
“He’s since called the next two days off of work, and is super paranoid watching me every second with our daughter.
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“I feel this is unfair.”
She did receive quite a bit of support from those online, including many who said that the fact she’s a new mum and listening to her own mother absolves her of blame.
One said: “Your husbands response is actually the most concerning part of this post.”
Another – surprisingly balanced – take read: “I agree with you about her being a first time mom and that it's normal to go to your mom for help.
“I also agree that this is a mistake and she's learned not to do it again.
“I do think Dad needs some grace here too. As far as we know, he's also a first time parent.
“She let a non-medical professional give something to their six-month-old without his knowledge.
“And Grandma gave their baby something that can damage gums. Will it happen again? Probably not.
“But I think it's understandable that he's emotional and doesn't trust OP right now.
“If he's still micromanaging a week, a month, etc. from now, that would definitely be a red flag. I think a few days isn't.”
However, a third comment read: “YTA [you are the a**hole] yeah.
“I mean, you know alcohol is unsafe.
“It also happens not to work as a topical analgesic; if the baby quietens down, it's because of the general sedative effect of alcohol.
“I think it's hilarious how your mother conflates the use of a well-understood but completely inappropriate drug with 'herbs and natural healing'”.
Well, parenting isn't actually always that simple, but some people just know absolutely everything, don't they?
Topics: Health, Food and Drink, Parenting
Tom Wood