I have seen many people on here that don’t have a child or children giving advice in the parenting section.I know I know your thinking "Well how do you know they don’t." Sometimes it is totally obvious and sometimes they say "Well I don’t have children but" and then give their opinion.So would you or do you take advice from someone who isn’t a parent?
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27 responses to Would you take parenting advice from someone who isn't a parent?
yep. plenty of parents give bad advice about parenting; and nonparents sometimes give great advice. experience in a lot of areas, from psychiatry to teaching to medicine to babysitting to child development classes to just hanging out with a lot of kids to remembering something that worked with you or your siblings can be relevant to parenting. i take advice that makes sense to me. if the source mattered to me, i wouldn’t ask the question on an anonymous forum in the first place.
Yes, if it was good advice. People have all sorts of sources of knowledge. It is possible to have good parenting knowledge gained from sources other than one’s own children.
I don’t listen to advice from people who don’t have children.
Its funny, on my husband’s side he has a bunch of female cousins. Only two of them have children. The rest are spoiled college aged girls and they are always giving advice and talking about how their kids will never have a tantrum or how their kids will always want to eat vegetable. I think they are in for a rude awakening once they become moms.
Only if the advice is good. Other then that I would say don’t take it because there YOUR children…not theirs!
Most likely not. I usually only ask questions on here so I can receive answers from experience, so I don’t really want advice from those who don’t have parenting experience. Yes they may have SOME experience with kids, but there is a world of difference between occasional child care and being a parent 24/7.
Usually someone without kids gives a ‘textbook’ answer i.e something they have heard or read, if I needed that I would google for advice, not ask a real mum or dad.
I’d never be rude to someone without kids who answered though, I just wouldn’t really take any advice/criticism seriously.
i dont think people who arent parents should give advice. you will never know what its like to be a parent until you have kids.
NOPE! Unless you’ve been in my situation, don’t try to act like you know how I should deal with it. It’s a LOT easier to read something in a book and tell someone to do it than it is to actually put that advice to use in real life. I listen to people with children, and tell those who are childless that they should be in awe of my parenting abilities!
LOL
If it was good, sound advice then Yes. Perhaps they grew up in a large family and had their fair share of dealing with family matters. Perhaps they had parents that instilled a good deal of sense into them. However, if it’s clearly advice coming from somebody who has no idea what they’re talking about then No.
Yes,by all means I would…. good parenting is a learning experience,as is knowledge gained from other resources…and an outside ojectionable opinion is always interesting to me…as long as its sincere and informative of course.
If it was put forth as a suggestion, I’d listen to it and consider it, and if I thought it was a good idea I’d give it a try.
If somebody without kids tried to come across as some kind of an expert because they’d done a child development course or something, and insisted I do it their way, I’d calmly tell them to pull their heads in.
I will, but probably with a grain of salt. It depends on what the advice is. Some stuff is common sense. Other stuff, however, really does take a parent to understand.
If it was good advice then yes I would. Before I had children I was still great with kids as I practically brought up my brother and sister because my mum worked a lot and looked after friends babies. Some things I think you never learn until you have kids of your own tho so it would depend on the question and the advice given. I wouldn’t rule out their advice just because they didn’t have kids.
Yes I would. And I do on a regular basis.
My boyfriend has no children of his own, but his mother did a wonderful job raising him. I consider the source and sometimes ask how he came up with the ideas that he has. Sometimes I agree and follow his advice. Other times I think in the back of my mind "Maybe some day when you have children, you will understand why that idea is totally unreasonable." Then I go on with my life.
Every opinion is important and I am glad that people admit what kind of source they are. … I feel that I have given good advice about twins, sons, and autistic children a few times. Not because I have any of these, but because I have spent enough time around them to figure out what works for me and to pick up on what works and doesn’t work for their parents.
No i wouldn’t take advice form someone who isn’t a parent because as soon as you become a parent your expectations of everything change therefore you would have to be a parent to know how to parent.
You know, normally I don’t, but there are instances where someone has learned something from watching someone else that is valuable to share. For example, if someone’s own parents did something a certain way that really worked, it might be valuable to share it. However, not being a parent means they don’t understand certain aspects of parenting from a first-hand basis, no matter how awesome their own parents (or their sister or brother or cousin or friend) is at being a parent. Something about first-hand experience that really teaches.
Isn’t that interesting? That’s sort of how everything in life works–you come to know more and understand better when you have to experience it first hand than from learning through someone else’s experiences.
No – i have alot of friends who have no children and think because they have babysat a couple of times they are experts in the field of child raising. I just listen to what they have to say and either disregard it, or if it makes sense i might take it on board depending on how relevant it is.
But usually i just listen to my parents or parents in law.
Why not ..sometimes people who are out of picture ca see it better!
Some of us work with children all day long, even if we personally don’t have children. I have a degree in education and I work in an early learning center, so I have lots of experience with all sorts of different kinds of children. It just depends on the person, in my opinion. Others have much younger siblings that they helped raise.
Just because they don’t have children doesn’t mean they don’t know about them.
Some have nieces/nephews/younger siblings and some are nannies.
I do agree some *some* people that have no experience with children and just spout off opinions should really keep it to themselves lol
Yes, for sure – if they are mature and intelligent.
For example, as a teacher long before I had a family, I had detailed knowledge and experience with children – even more than some parents have. Same with nannies, or early childhood education workers – they don’t need to have their own children to have a vast skill set and great experience.
And – sometimes – it’s just hearing another point of view!
I’m one of those people who answer parenting questions but I’m not a parent. The thing is, I’ve been a babysitter, I’m a nanny, an education major, and I deal with young kids a lot. Also, I feel that, from my own experiences from my family, I can offer advice.
It’s up to the person who asked the question whether they want to take my advice or not. Hopefully they have enough sense to determine whether they should listen to complete stranger’s or not. I’ve recieved best answer for my answers on here so people obviously think I know something.
I do not make myself out to be some know it all college student who is a parenting guru but I do know some things and that’s why I answer questions on here. Plus, I like the parenting section because there is a lot of useful information that I can use with the kids I watch, the young kids in my family, and even my siblings and parents. It’s a very informative site and everyone, whether their a mother, father, aunt, neighbor, or nanny, can offer useful information.
3 of my Sons see a specialist team for something.
Out of all the Doctors and theropists they see, a LOT (over 50%) are single woman with no children.
Is their advice that helps me Parent any less than if they did have children? Not at all. Some of the best advice I have received as a Parent is from Childless people.
Having Children doesn’t make me a genius on the subject, I know many people on here who claim to have children, and I would never take advice from them.
It’s all about the way it’s articulated. If they put the advice out there, and it seems good advice, sure I will have ago. I asked oh about a year ago on sleep walking in toddlerhood, and someone who wasn’t a parent gave me the best answer – Parents gave me *lock him in his room* Which had been clearly marked in the question it was not an option.
yes I would. And there are lots of people who are parents that I would never take advice from. Just because they are parents doe not make them good parents.
NO! Like stated by other people before me, you NEVER know what it is like to be a parent until you are one.
Yes I would. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so.
Just because someone isn’t a parent doesn’t mean they are incapable of giving good advice. Where I live, sadly a lot of the SAHM’s don’t stay home at all-they spend 90% of their time socializing, and their live in nanny’s raise their children. Those nannies are much more capable and knowledgeable than the children’s actual parents.
I have received plenty of good advice and opinions from people that aren’t parents. My 15yo who obviously has no children gives fantastic advice based on her experiences she has gained from being around her younger siblings, and friends children. She’s more capable than a lot of mothers I have met. In fact her close friend who is the eldest of 6 children has given me GREAT advice, and she is not a parent. But she basically raised those little kids, and I find her opinions and advice to be very mature, intelligent and reliable.
Has no one else ever heard a parent give terrible advice? Sure, being a mom or dad is a unique experience, but it doesn’t mean others advice is not valuable or worth taking on board.
There are some people that are parents but know nothing about parenting. This is obvious. Therefore there are probably some non-parents who know a thing or two about parenting.
Of course.
A doctor doesn’t have to have the disease to treat it, does he/she?
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