MagicMum.com

Shortly we will take our little (c 8.5lb 20wk) bundle out in the wild to meet the world. Being naive, I thought that we would avoid the unsolicited 'helpful advice' that comes the way of every parent - but we are assured by Sara (McGus) on another thread that this is not the case.

So, clearly we need to be armed with sharp, witty, cutting! verbal retaliations to whatever advice we will get. I hereby launch the great competition to get a better reply than Get Stuffed!

The categories are

A) Most caustic reply

B) Best Retort - Found this definition of Retort which I liked 'A quick incisive reply, especially one that turns the first speaker's words to his or her own disadvantage'

C) Best reply related to a Premmie!

Please feel free to illustrate using personal experience - but remember the focus is on the reply not the annoying advice!!!

So let's be havin your best efforts then, and enjoy

JB

god, cant really help ,
i usually just say something stupid, but think of something witty hours after the event!!!

i'll enter category A.-
someone says she's very small for her age,
you reply "and you are very ugly, so whats your point?"

sorry, cant think of anything better at the mo!

one word of advice,
when people tell you she is beautiful, agree with them and say "yes, she is, isn't she".

dont do the whole 'not taking a complimment graciously' thing!!

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A pure hand needs no glove to cover it. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

BOOYA!

Not being witty or caustic myself... I couldn't resist the urge to google some retorts!! Not categorised...

I can't remember any particular comments offhand but I know we've had enough of them to lead DH to comment that "it takes a village to raise a child, but these days only the village idiots are forthcoming with advice"

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Beanie xx

I had a woman ask me how old Osgar was & when I told her 6months, she looked at me with big eyes & said "Gosh, he's awfully small for 6months"....I got really annoyed & said "Oh yes, but he's doing much better now we've started to feed him"....she appologised & I explained he was a premie...she did see the funny side...lol!!

Whenever somebody tries to give me advice I tell them it is a mothers/fathers privillage to find out what works best for their child & I'd appreciate it if they only gave me advice when I asked for it....

Mind you, my MIL tried to tell to me a few things & told her I appreciated knowing how she raised her kids because I would do the opposite as I was trying to avoid my son turning out like hers. She didn't know whether to laugh or be offended!

Hello Girls,
I wish I'd had a few of those one-liners when my two premmies were small. They are now 14 & 13 and I had my share of THOSE comments when they were younger.
A few 'lovely' examples:
'Oh, his head is very narrow!' (that was a regular one!)
'Isn't he coming on a lot' (from WHAT???)
'He should catch up with kids his own age soon' (Is their a race or summat?)

My eldest was born in 1991 at 30weeks and in 1992 (12months, 3 weeks and 6 days later!!!) my second boy was born at 33 weeks. A certain person who came to visit when he was in S.C.B.U. remarked "Are they keeping him in their to find out what you did wrong during the pregnancy?". !!!!. That one TOOK the biscuit.

A friend of a firend was in the hospital having her baby at the same time as me in 1991 and I popped into her room to see her on my way back from SCBU one day. Her husband was there and she was propped up in bed with baby by her side. She asked did I have a boy or girl and I told her he was in Special Care etc. I foolishly took out my photo of him (wires, tubes and all) and she more or less went 'UGGH' flicked her head towards her hubby and remarked 'Why didn't we get a photo?'. I could have throttled her...SHE had her baby beside her, safe & healthy and she wanted a bloody photo...
Okay I'll stop now..the memories are flooding back!!!!

I like mands reply,,,,,,,,,,

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I get on with my MIL, Bids....it's just she lives up to all the stereotypes - bless her!!