
Don’t hold your baby too much, let them self-soothe, breastfeed only, don’t use jar food, only use organic products, do not co-sleep, and the list goes on and on.
Let’s face it people love to give advice whether we asked for it or not, especially when we become mothers! But they don’t stop there, their advice is not limited to you, your marriage, or your career.
Yes, advice is welcomed as we are starting a new journey but it can be overwhelming as we are learning too! Each family and baby is different so what works for one family may not work for another.
I’ll never forget the influx of advice I began receiving as soon as I became pregnant.
Advice can be tricky though, because sometimes unexpected advice may actually help us!
Have you been there before? Someone butts in and tells you what to do, internally you roll your eyes and get defensive, but then you get home, think about it, and it would actually help. Oops.
We can listen and decide how to respond.
Remember to consider who is offering the advice. Is it a person you’ll never see again or a close friend/family member you’ll deal with regularly?
If you’ll never see them again you can brush them off with a polite response, otherwise, it’s important to set boundaries.
🚨Here are some examples of how to kindly respond to unwanted advice:
✨ Thank you, I’ll think about it.
✨Good idea, I’ll consider if that works for me.
✨That’s an interesting view, but I prefer to do it this way.
✨Thank you, but what I’m doing what works for me/ my family.
✨I appreciate that, but at this time I’m not looking for any advice right now.
✨Thanks for your concern, but that advice doesn’t line up with my values.
Being on the receiving end of advice isn’t always pleasant, so I hope this post can help you respond kindly to unsolicited advice! In turn, the responses will lead to boundaries being set, although some people may need more hints!
What responses would you add? Comment down below!
XOXO,
Mel
Stay in touch with the MomChat community on Instagram !