If you did, what do you remember most about those years as a babysitter? For me I remember the fact that 99% of all the babies I babysat wore regular old-fashioned cloth diapers with safety pins and rubber pants. Glass baby bottles were still popular and always used. Baby walkers with casters were still the in thing to put your crawling baby into, as were Jolly Jumpers. Spanking was still acceptable, and outdoor clotheslines with diapers drying on them was a common everyday sight.
2006-09-09 10:46:52 · 6 answers · asked by Frugalmom 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
I was born in 1980, I wore cloth diapers and my mom LOVED that jumper. She did breast feed but I'm sure when bottles came into play they were glass. I can even remember my aunt having glass bottles for her son when I was young. I got spanked. I grew up fine. I look forward to having an outdoor clothesline-with our without the diapers. I'll spank my kids, even if I have to do it under the cover of darkness, in the basement, 5 miles from any prying eyes.
We were also discussing the other day (since we were on the topic because I'm 15 weeks and shopping for strollers), carseats and how they weren't mandatory when I was born. I didn't have one until about 9 months. She just held me on her lap and my father drove. The seat my grandmother had for my uncle was a bucket with leg holes that hung on the back of the front seat (of course then seat belts werent' even mandatory in cars, so how else were you supposed to secure a baby seat in the car?). Ah, the days.
Yes, things change because we want convenience for ourselves and safety for our kids. But look how many hundreds of thousands of kids grew up just fine without our "modern conveniences"-refer to bucket carseat above. Parents don't carry their kids anymore, they lug around a carseat. My mom carried me everywhere until I was big enough to walk, and then I walked-oh the tragedy. And yes, they did sell seats and strollers back then. Most of these things were created and designed for the sole purpose of making children less of a burden to their parents. As for safety, if a 3 year old sits his little *** down in the car and puts on his seatbelt, he's no less safe than if he were strapped into a carseat the size of a Volvo.
2006-09-09 10:55:38 · answer #1 · answered by desiderio 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a shame that society had forfeited the health and safety of our babies and our environment for convenience.
Cloth diapers are best and cheapest to use in the long run.
Disposables put plastic, paper and chemicals against your baby's skin, is this really a good thing for the baby?? Not only that but with disposables you put all that paper, plastic, chemicals and human waste into our landfills.
The human waste breeds all kinds of bacteria that filters down into our water systems, isn't that just wonderful? Not to mention that the diapers themselves take decades to decay, long after our own bodies decay they will still be there. Why do that to our environment? I think disposables should be outlawed.
With cloth, your baby will have less chance of getting diaper rashes, your baby will be wrapped in a nice soft cloth diaper and will be more comfortable. Your baby will potty train sooner because with the cloth diapers your baby feels more when they are wet and messy and learn quicker not to like it and want to get rid of wearing the diapers.
Do we do that? No. We would rather be lazy and for the sake of convenience use disposables that the baby would wear for probably an average of 6 months longer than they would if they were in cloth diapers.
All new parents should think llong and hard about it. What are you really interested in? You should be interested in your baby's health and comfort, not your own convenience when it comes to changing diapers.
Take care of your baby, they aren't supposed to be a convenience, they are little human beings that you are supposed to be taking the best care of, lovingly raising them to become happy and healthy productive adults.
Good luck.
2006-09-09 20:20:43 · answer #2 · answered by wetsaway 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I babysat in the 80's and the baby did have cloth diapers but the parents used a diaper service. I found the cloth diapers more trouble than they were worth. Baby walkers should not be used because of falling hazards. i dont think most baby products are too expensive. I shop at target where you really can save some money.
2006-09-09 18:21:12 · answer #3 · answered by ursula G 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I didn't babysit in the 80's cause I was probably being babysat by someone else at that time. Hmmmm.... glass bottles, cloth diapers, I wonder if I had those things as a baby. I know I had the Johny jumper.
P.S. Spanking is still acceptable!!!! Ask my kids!
Cloth diapers are good for burp cloths now days.
2006-09-09 17:53:13 · answer #4 · answered by lees girl 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
yes, and I got 35 cents an hour in the early 70s! And I had to do the dishes and tidy up.
2006-09-09 18:42:09 · answer #5 · answered by Lydia 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, so. Times change. We are into more convenient items and we like our babies to be as safe as possible - that's why things change.
2006-09-09 17:53:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋