Is this media hype gone mad?

[foodinistar]

Mmmm... Sand... (Still a story my mother likes to tell.)

[Fifer182]

Yup - the world's gone mad and the media & ptb love shoving garbage up our noses and keeping us in fear of well.. basically everything that's not 'fake'. Soap doesn't clean unless its anti bacterial, foods not good for you unless it's been treated, prodded and tested and has a shelf life of oh.. two minutes. Water's no good unless it's got stuff added to it, milk from a cow... oh dear me no.. not unless it's a sterile, plastic cow which meets with EU regulations and has grown extra udders.... argh!!! The list can go on and on and on.....
Anti-bacterial, anti allergic, anti- static- ............ ANTI flaming natural more like lol!!!

Ocht.... I could go on a good wee rant here, I'm absolutely bloomin' well sick of dudes telling me how to bring up my kids, how to clean my house, how and what to eat, how to look.... but what the heck... My best thought for the day... How to think for yourself..... a concept soon to be made extinct

[the.fee.fairy]

I love these rants!

I was born 9 weeks early, so my mum and dad almost had the fear of god put into them that everything they did was going to kill me.

So...Mum used to take me to their friends houses when they went for dinner, and i'd be put in the middle of their double beds in a baby sleeping bag thing to sleep...and she'd make my food by pureeing whatever her and dad had for dinner (she likes telling the story of how she went to the health visitor once, and they asked what i'd had for lunch. Her answer was 'Gammon, Chips and Peas - her favourite'...).

She was told that i'd be mentally retarded, i'd have stunted growth and wouldn't be like other children. I have a degree, i'm 5'11 (thank god for that stunted growth - otherwise i'd be a giant!!), and i look pretty human...

I love the fact that people still stick to the 'old' ways and let kids eat mud pies and worms - Dad taught me to eat worms when i was a toddler - you have to bite their heads off and then suck out the insides. Apparently, i gave it a go too!

[Brij]

Graye, you sound like a wonderful grand parent!

I am the eldest of 7, sort of, and although we do quite like to have a clean bathroom and kitchen (that's clean, not sterile), we have all done our share of eating insects (my brother used to leave slugs in his pockets and they'd go through the wash!), playing in mud (and chopping the odd tree), rolling in grass, climbing trees, swimming in the paddling pool that was filled up a week ago, sharing baths with the cats, and only 2 of the resulting children are in any way sickly - one with glandular fever, the other with hormonal issues.

So there!

Kids are supposed to be mucky!

[Thomzo]

It does make me mad. I know of a mother who wouldn't eat the strawberries growing in her garden in case they were dirty but would buy plastic packs of plastic strawberries from the supermarket I think we all know people like that. But the same mother would buy all her children's toys and clothes second hand from car boot sales.

It's really good of you to do all those things for your grandchild. Enjoy their visit, I'm sure it'll be fun.

Zoe

[Graye]

Thank you everyone, I feel a lot more normal now!

In fact American daughter phoned me tonight, obviously having chewed over our conversation a bit more. The outcome is that she is homesick! I can't believe my all-American girl would ever confess to such a thing. She thinks she will feel a lot better when I've sent her a rescue pack of Marmite, jars of meat paste, some Yorkies and a few packs of Skittles when we pop back to the UK next week. And she thinks they might come for a visit to France next year (by which time her son will have outgrown said cot and high-chair, a fact I didn't like to mention to her). We shall see...

Anyway, here is the completed high chair. A very retro green colour, it was all we had. Just about everything in France is painted either this colour, pale blue or a greyish putty colour so it seems quite appropriate. I sent a picture to son and DIL. Their comment was "Wow, awesome!" So I don't think we will have too many complaints there.

[Urban Ayisha]

that is beautiful gray! i'd much rather that to our awkward bulky plastic thing!!!

[DeneciePie]

I'm from over here on the other side (America), I don't think its all of us. Eldest daughter is starting her second family. Last weekend they were over and I gave the 4 month old a watermelon rind to teeth on. It was nice and clean, grown in our yard and icy cold. Baby LOVED it , Daughter said "Oh Mom, you're NOT going to..." as I popped it into his little maw. He was delighted! She survived. As I recall, she was the one that toddled around with a bottle nipple on her finger till she was nearly three. She'd wipe it on her shirt before having a suck of it. She's hale and hearty today, probably because of the germs she ate!

How quickly they forget.

DeneciePie

[old tree man]

What a lovely piece of furniture, first class well done

[the.fee.fairy]

Gorgeous high chair!

[Fifer182]

What an absolutely gorgeous highchair! It's wonderfull! Big huge well done to you Graye

Thing is.. if it was for sale in one of those little 'bespoke' designer baby boutiques.. it would cost an absolute fortune....

Fiferxx

[grannymags]

My children were brought up in total chaos and inches of dust!
They are grown up now and very healthy. They never caught any
of the bugs going around at school and with their friends.

I agree, its media hype. We are constantly bombarded with ads
telling us our house is dirty and XXXX will sort the problem! The
government keeps telling us how to live! Cheek! I'll do it my
way thanks!

If children aren't exposed to any potential dangers how are they
going to build up resistance?

All your home made stuff looks wonderful. We made our children's things
where possible. The rest was bought second hand.

Maggie x

[mrsmiggins]

I love your highchair! It's so lovely you're going to so much effort

[paul123456]

Yes Milims ,

ure wright , so do our children ,abit of dirt and germs is good .
My mother used to run around with a gallon of dettol when i was a kid , now at 45 i've got
an allergy for alot of things , when i was a kid everything was always dettoled .

My skin specialist always tells me that people used to live with their animals in their house ,
and now everthing must be decontamed , this cause's allergy's on so on ,
what's better ?

regards ,

paul

[thesunflowergal]

Graye, I love the highchair too. Can I put my order in please?

I too had a Mother who had a love affair with dettol etc, and I have asthma, excema, and allergic to quite a few things. Much to my Mothers horror my girls kiss the cat, sit in the dogs bed, eat stuff in the garden. They are both really heathy, even though the little one was 11 weeks early and weighed 1lb 10oz.