What fads in pregnancy/childcare are we living through, do you think?

[Pruners]

Message withdrawn

[Cocobear]

Classes for the far-too-young. Ie, baby yoga, 'signing', music groups for the under-2s, etc. Fun, harmless... but totally unnecessary and certainly a fad.

[shoptilidrop]

oh yes, i agree with that.

and tummy time.

and the whole, ' you arent allowed to tell your child they are naughty'

[WanderingTrolley]

Agree with Cocobear - yoga for babies wtf.

The amount of crap you can now buy: nappy bins that turn disposable nappies into a sausage-string of turds, wipe warmers, singing potties....

Those hiiiiiiiiideous hairbands for bald babies.

Judging

[Cocobear]

Oh, yeah, I hate the anti-naughty crusade. Like suggestions you should call it the 'thinking corner' instead of the 'naughty corner'. I'm sorry, but running down the cat with your Smoby plastic car IS naughty!! And the cat agrees with me.

[Mercy]

Cranial osteopathy

Baby whispering (or whatever it is)

[Pruners]

Message withdrawn

[weepotion]

i am one of those mums who takes her dd to classes - signing, music and swimming. I agree with pruner - it is for my sanity and not to have cabin fever in the house all day!

[WanderingTrolley]

Baby Einstein videos and hothousing a newborn.

Playing Mozart to a bump, unless in an attempt to drown out the sounds of your bowels after a particularly hot curry.

I saw an ad for a nanny once, where the couple needed someone with a degree to cuddle their 'intellectually advanced' 8 month old. I would have applied but it took me a year and half to stop laughing.

[thetryingistrying]

disposable everything - wipes, bibs, nappies, sheets. not sustainable. and smearing weirdy chemicals over children in stead of just using water.

[SueW]

use-at-home sonicaids/dopplers

CCTV in the cot

[princessmelBABY]

Cranial osteopathy has really helped my 2 children. I dont think its a fad on the same line as baby yoga.

[jellybelly25]

What about paying for private '4D Scans' i.e. a video of yoru baby in the womb?

I never did this and felt a tight ass cos I was perfectly happy with my still pic that already cost me £5 in an NHS hospital!!

Sorry if I offend anyone...

[moondog]

Moulds of pregnant bellies.
Soooooooo naff!

[NineUnlikelyTales]

Most classes I agree with - but signing has been brilliant for us. It has let DS communicate with us e.g. say he is hungry and wants a piece of toast when we couldn't possibly have guessed at 11.30pm.

Sterile, hygenically wrapped disposable children.

[screamsprout]

Oh definitely agree with all the classes - because the only time your 11mo could possibly hear music and be encouraged to move is if you are paying some woman £8ph for the opportunity

[wheresthehamster]

Must-have prams.
And not just one

[screamsprout]

Signing is completely different as that is a genuine communication aid. I sign at work so just used what I knew but am keen that ds knows some too. We met a 2yo boy with a cochlear implant the other day and they did a spot of signing. Fab.

[screamsprout]

£500 prams.

[MadamePlatypus]

Nightly baths. Now I have to say I look forward to chucking my two in the bath every night because it signals the end of the day and things get easier from that point onwards, but I do know that they don't actually need it and it is probably a huge waste of water.

[chalat]

Someone I met used signing with her children. Her ds has Down's Syndrome and it was brillant for communicating. Her dd born 2 years later also used signing with her brother, (she learnt to talk before he did).

[screamsprout]

There is a Deaf woman who lives locally who has been signing with her baby since birth and their exchanges are a lot more advanced than my verbal ones with ds.

[moljam]

i agree with thetryingistrying,disposable everything and lack of 'just' water!

[moljam]

i have 2 friends whos babies/children sign.one with downs syndrome the other just because she wanted.both communicate much better than others there age.

[Mercy]

I completely understand that cranial osteopathy has helped many babies/children - I just offered it as an example of something new which the current geneneration of mothers know about. But perhaps not the best example.

But there are so many methods, theories, gadgets etc these days compared to when I was a baby. My mum has said she'd hate to be the mother of young children today!