Since I became pregnant, well-meaning family and friends have been giving advice. Most are solicited and some are not. For me I think that when it comes to imparting knowledge, it is important to understand the background and beliefs of your audience. Knowing the 2Bs will shape your conversation(s) with the audience.
A work colleague introduced me to Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies Quiz. I discovered that I am a Questioner, which means that my dominant tendency is to ask questions. I see myself as a constant learner and not the smartest person in my social groups, hence, asking others questions and doing research is something I enjoy doing. (If you're interested in the quiz, you may want to visit Gretchen's site.)
Being pregnant, I realised that older folks tend to advise "younger" folks like myself to abide by some old wives tale. As I do not live in these older folks' reality and I actually do enjoy challenging ideas, I would just listen and not act on them. Most of the time, the quoted examples of the consequences that the rebellious individual suffered from appeared to be superstitious rather than scientific. I believe that the older generations hold on to certain beliefs because they do not have access to credible resources. Therefore, they have to rely on what they were told to do and perhaps some lived experiences of the generations before. As these folks meant well, I usually nod in approval but will not follow their advice. Sharing with them that their advice may not be scientifically proven is another way but it also depends on the receiver's openness.
I have included over here the link to 8 Confinement Myths Debunked for your reference.
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I have also written a new entry on What Kind Of Parent I Would Like To Be (Part 1) on my Parenting page. Feel free to head over.
Love,
Pam
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