Every parent likes to believe that their child is unique and that what works for someone else’s child won’t work for theirs. This has nothing to do with individuality and everything to do with pride. Parents don’t like to admit that they are doing anything wrong or that there is anything that can be improved on using another parent’s advice or experience.
But most children are exactly the same. They all need sleep, milk, love and a clean nappy. They all crawl then walk, chatter then talk, eat mush and then solids, and they all get a full head of teeth as some stage before they are classified as toddlers. The only thing that differs (and ever so slightly) is when exactly they do all this ā€¦ and whether or not the parent can make it through the first year.
And most mothers are exactly the same. They all enthuse about their children, talk about how wonderful the latest childcare manual is and how well they are coping with their method of childrearing. You can join in, discuss the joys of motherhood and exchange baby food recipes (smile and nod; smile and nod), or you can bitch and moan about the horror of it all and weed out the imposters.
