19 March 2023 , 18:35
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It can be uncomfortable when people who aren't in your situation try to give you unsolicited parenting advice, and it can be hard to know how to respond.
One mum is fed up with one of her neighbours who keeps giving her "unsolicited s**t parenting advice" when she bumps into her.
She has a daughter, who is one years old and has "finally" started sleeping through the night. She and her husband rely on on their "gut" when parenting her – and hates having to "smile and listen" to the "woman's awful advice".
Taking to popular parenting forum Mumsnet, the mum-of-one wrote: "It's always very pointed and I'd love to have some responses up my sleeve to say back to her."
She has a one-year-old baby who has 'finally' started sleeping through the night (stock image) (Getty Images)She added: "Trouble is we live in a small village and she is the village 'busy body' who has her nose in everyone's business so I'd worry if I said what I really want to that she could shit-stir and make things difficult for me."
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The mum listed examples of things the woman had advised her to do, including drinking alcohol to "get the baby drunk from my breastmilk to make her sleep better".
She also claimed the neighbour suggested she "leave her in the house to cry as she used to leave her children crying at home and go to the greenhouse for a cup of tea for a rest".
Another supposed piece of advice was "sedating the baby" with medicines to get her to sleep better. She also told her to sleep train her and avoid picking her up because it will make her "needy".
The neighbour also told her not to feel guilty about her child going to nursery because it's "payback for all the sleepless nights".
Fellow parents took to the comment section to offer the mum advice, with one person saying: "Just don't stop and talk to her. When you see her give her a big smile, a cheery hello but keep on walking. If she starts talking just say, sorry I'm in a rush can't stop."
Another added: "As I said to my mother in law last month, 'well that may have worked for you, but that's not how I want to raise my child'."
A third agreed, adding: "This woman is observing you and criticising you. She's not trying to be pleasant and friendly. You do not have to interact with people who are horrible to you."
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.