When are we experts?

[Fuschia]

In the absence of a mother of my own, i always seek advice when needed from a work colleague , now retired , from a big east end fAmily

She has grNd children and great grand children

But actually she only had 3 children

It suddenly occurred to me that now on baby 4 I probably have more experience than most

Scary!

[snowboarder]

Yep F we come to you!!

[womanofdulwich]

expert at what? every baby is different everyone has their own preferred parenting style. my mum told me not to breast feed and to add extra scoops of powder to formula. she did that for my brother and i . if i had relied on her advice it conflicted with friends in london.

i dont think you can be an expert, you can just relay your experinces. i expect you liked your colleague and had confidence in her. on the other hand if you successfully breast fed all your children and are a mifwife too then you might be a babyfeeding expert?

the forum is a great place to share experiences. keep it going.:)

[Fuschia]

I suppose the truth is a) we are never really experts b) every baby is different anyway and c) the Internet in a strange way can replace The community our mums could turn to

[Saffron]

Another nice quote:

'You did then what you thought was best. You do better now because you know better.'

xx

[Helen GV]

I have an ex colleague who is 76 who I have adopted as a surrogate grandmother for my kids. She's fab, doesn't tell me what to do but is v supportive. The best thing I find about those whith grown up kids is they can offer perspective!

Also this family room of course!

[candj]

I remember when I was interviewing a nanny for my eldest daughter, now 6, when she was 10 months old. I remember the nanny having 5 years experience with childcare and I said to my husband that this was not enough. My husband then pointed out the fact that we only had 10 months of experience with childcare. Needless to say, we hired her! I myself now have a whopping 6 years in childcare experience with three children and it sounds like nothing.