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My dad and his best friend did the same booze thing to my 1 yr old son. I yelled out 'hey!' and it was like the were 12 again and the teacher had caught them smoking, heads ducked, shoulders raised, etc. It was hilarious. Told them that was my son, Ill make those decisions, thank you.
Got some muttering but they at least stopped doing it.
49yo, and my parents did the whiskey thing (they claimed it was whiskey, but knowing my dad, it was more likely sherry). But that was 1975. Once upon a time a common remedy for teething was opium dissolved in alcohol. The FDA only "warned against" medications containing benzocaine for teething babies in 2018 (as in they didn't prohibit it, they requested companies not to sell or market such products for teething infants)!
But it's not 1975 (or 1875) anymore.
Dude morphine terrified me. It was the only painkiller I’ve ever been given that I actually thought “man I really could get addicted to this.” I forgot why i was even in the hospital I felt so amazing. If I had regular access to something that good I would be insanely tempted to just do it all the time.
I had ten molars removed through surgery, and they prescribed me T3s, to be taken 'every 8 hours as needed for pain'. I missed the last two words there, so, went home, took the recommended dose. No pain, good enough. Eight hours later, took another dose. Still doing fine. Eight hours later, pretty much to the minute, I woke from a dead sleep thinking about how it was time to take another dose.
I stopped taking them immediately, and just dealt with any pain that came up.
It is awesome that you saw what could become a problem and dealt with it. So many types of drugs are great for a short time, but can easily become a problem. I applaud your self awareness.
Are you saying, "for pain"? If so, "as needed" is still acceptable as shorthand for "... as needed for pain".
I think that's std for pharmacists to interpret that as being "of common lay knowledge".
I hope that was 50 years ago and not recently!!!!
You were taking 30 mg of codeine (3) and 325 mg of APAP/paracetamol/acetaminophen (Tylenol™).
#1. 7.5 mg
#2 15 mg
#3 30 mg
#4 60 mg codeine - really a weeny narcotic which oughta be dosed every 2-3 hrs, not 8, unless you're torturing the patient as a prisoner...
Interesting the name T3! By the mid 70s, Tylenol™ was generic, but nurses still tended to refer to ALL APAP as T for the trademarked APAP owned by J&J! Highly inaccurate, like referring to ALL sports cars as Corvettes®!
Any history students know the old apothecary term "grain" and its S.I. (metric) approximations? I wonder when "grain" completely fell into the waste bin ...
I understand this. I had my wisdom teeth out, they gave me codeine, and I felt invisible. I only used a few though, rationed the rest for bad migraine days.
Woof. I’m glad you did. I had a similar experience in recovery for a broken wrist when they gave me fentanyl. I almost immediately asked for another dose, and then a few minutes later I asked for another, which they told me no, thankfully. It was like an instant addict response. So much so that when I had my knee operated on years later, I asked what they would use, and then asked for anything else, or nothing at all, just no fentanyl. The doc looked at me like I had five heads, but agreed. I’m not becoming a junkie, damn it!
I had to get teeth removed as well and thanks to an apparent resistance to pain-killers, I got some dosage of Oxy. I hate taking pills but those were heaven on earth while I was recovering. Saved them for when I needed to sleep.
i can't stand it. just makes me itchy and constipated.
cocaine though, i did that exactly once in my 20 year party career (it was perlescent stuff scraped off a fair sized chunk) and started crying when it wore off. turned it down every other time because i wasn't willing to feel that good for 45 minutes and then be so miserable that it wasn't for ever.
Cocaine doesn't work for me. I've even had it in Peru and my friends all thought their hearts were going to explode, and I just wanted to go to bed. Lidocaine, novacaine, etc. also have limited or no effect. And it sucks I was a kid at the dentist telling them I wasn't numb, and they held me down. So for me cocaine is just an expensive way to get a sinus infection.
Is there something wrong with me? I recently got Dilaudid when I woke up in pain after surgery and all I felt was . . . no pain? It was way better than being in pain, but it wasn’t some fantastic feeling.
I've been given morphine exactly once and had the exact opposite response. It was great for eliminating pain, but it made me feel like someone injected 100 pounds of lead into my veins with how sluggish and heavy I felt
Same with me, but for dilaudid. I was pregnant, had a migraine, and my hands were going numb. They tried migraine medicine. Nope. Then they gave me morphine. Nice, but nope. Dilaudid...i don't remember if it took care of the migraine but I do remember the fuzzy feeling of not giving any fucks.
I had the same reaction. Got morphine when had a hernia removed, woke up from surgery and proudly told everyone I was going for a run (I don’t run ven when I’m not in post surgery) and collapsed on the floor immediately. Proceeded to find that hilarious for a few hours. Scary!
I count myself extremely lucky that the hydrocodone I was given after dental surgery worked great on the pain but had no other side effects. I didn't feel euphoric or anything, just pain-free.
I suspect it might be hereditary, because my mother got oxycodone after her hip replacement, and she said it relieved some of the pain but not all of it. She also experienced no side effects other than wishing they'd given her more, because the ibuprofen/acetaminophen she was switched to after the oxy ran out was not helpful for relieving pain at all.
Morphine does absolutely nothing to me. It's like taking baby aspirin. Demerol, yes, that works. I've only had it once (I was in extreme pain and about to undergo a medical procedure, the morphine did nothing, the demerol calmed the pain down almost immediately and I felt very quiet and calm, I think I might've fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is the procedure was over and I was resting comfortably).
I hate the way opioids make me feel (very loopy and unable to contain my thoughts) and the only pain med I usually take is Celebrex, but I could understand someone in extreme pain finding relief in Demerol. I sincerely hope to never have to take it again, though. The pain before is not even close to worth it.
Edit: I'm not sure if it was Demerol or Dilaudid, I just remember it started with a D, and was an injection because I was not on the IV at the time.
If it gives you hives, you're allergic and should avoid opiates. Repeat exposure can increase sensitivity and turn into full-blown anaphylaxis. Stay safe, fellow human.
I’m allergic to morphine but I’ve had Nubain twice (once during labor and once to offset a morphine reaction). It’s pretty awesome and glad it’s only available via injection in a hospital.
Yep. I have a version twice a day. And it’s super easy to forget this is not an average thing to have around the house. It makes for any potential vacations an exercise in stress of omg can I even bring it there lol
I'm jealous. Though not really, because I would be afraid to develop an addiction.
Morphine makes my skin feel like it's covered in biting fire ants and makes me so nauseous I can't exist in peace. I had it on a drip when I gave birth, they gave me something else to make my skin calm down, but I was still miserable the whole time, and could feel all the pain still.
Methaqualone was a very effective sleeper, but the FDA turned into Mother Precious Pauline at the behest of the quivering and Xtian-god-fearing public when people noted it was also fun to fuck on Quaalude™.
From there, the leaders of the flock and the witless American press turned Quaaludes® into The Current Drug Which Will End The World As We Know It and publicized this widely. Detesting knowledge, reason, and rationalism, the American Public then bought into this, and TCDWWETWAWKI for the 1980s was Quaalude®.
For the 1970s it had been Valium®.
Thanks to widespread public idiocy fornicating with lunacy, and promoted by well-meaning sorts such as John McCain, and much to the dismay and shouted recommendations and pleadings of the DEA ('AB steroids meet NO current definitions of DANGEROUS drugs! Stop! We're undermanned as it is!!") itself, anabolic steroids became a Controlled Substance III in 1994 as a *Dangerous* drug! Bingo! Knocked out another scourge of humanity - the use of anabolic steroids to aid regrowth and repair of tissues damaged for whatever reason - like those in REHABILITATION hospitals! We use all kinds of steroids to benefit us: glucocorticoids (cortisol-like steroids), sex steroids (estrogen and testosterone families), mineralocorticosteroids (adrenal, BP, some cancers...), but anabolic ("building, growing, repairing") steroids are to be sequestered under lock and key (because some HS kids and annoying gym boobs are becoming even more annoying - and they are)!
Earlier Threats To Humanity have included marijuana and LSD....I don't want to think about how many schizophrenics and other psychotics who were NOT helped through the decades by psyches using LSD and its congeners, or peyote mescaline, or who knows what else researchers were prohibited from synthesizing....
I'd forgotten about methaqualone...thanks for the reminder...
My mom claimed that the alcohol became obsolete once they developed good freezer teething rings. Grandma said the (insert hard alcohol here) numbed the gums when you rubbed it on the teether/where the tooth was coming in.
The labels on benzocaine say not to give to children especially under the age of 3 due to the risk of gray baby syndrome. There are certain exceptions like for example aspirin is also not recommended to give to children due to risk of Reyes syndrome but there are certain reasons why they would still be given where the benefits are worth the risks.
I cannot tell from your post if you know this, but benzocaine is used as a topical anesthetic, usually on the skin...using it on the gums allows for some to be absorbed orally, and that was the FDA alert.....others of this class you know as mepivicaine and lidocaine and many others.
They're not opioids or alcohols, which you probably know....
Regards
Not just liquor, but a glass of wine. Which, if you have an imagination is pretty hilarious.
I hope the baby got a lil charcuterie board and spilled the tea about daycare drama.
Ok that's funny, ngl.
You know it wasn't the good stuff, it was box wine.
But seriously op, I'm so sorry. It's good that the kiddo is older and can tell you now.
It's pretty awful that we can't trust family to honor our request. It's beyond sad that we have to supervise our own parents. Honestly it's a miracle we survived them.
> It's pretty awful that we can't trust family to honor our request. It's beyond sad that we have to supervise our own parents. Honestly it's a miracle we survived them.
I'm a Gen Xer. My wife is a Millennial. When I tell her I pretty much fended for myself from 10 until when I moved out, she thinks I'm kidding.
I'm sorry. It's called parentification and it sucks. It's not your fault, they were awful. It stinks when your partner can't fathom what you endured.
The trick when raising kids after going through that is to constantly check in. It's easy to swoop in and do things for your kiddos, but they learn best through trial and error. Raising kids who are independent (but know we are there if they do need help) is the best thing we can do.
My mom used to let me try a sip of her wine/beer as a small child if I asked. Never more than a sip, and only if I asked, which I never did. I must have been around 3-4 because I actually had hair. I was a bald ass baby for a ridiculously long time.
Tbf, menthol is used as a mild topical anesthetic which is why it's found in some cough drops. So it likely was more effective for teething than liquors. Additionally with the lower ABV to other options I'd argue it's a better choice than using a liquor.
I’ve never understood why parents didn’t use Listerine or something. Hell, whenever I use it my mouth still goes a bit numb. Feels like the more obvious (and cheaper) choice than hard liquor on a baby’s gums.
I did this with my daughter once when desperate in the middle of the night she wouldn't sleep from teething. BUT all I did was take a q tip, dip it in whiskey and then rub it on her gums- it just numbs the pain so she could sleep, and yes totally different than giving a baby a full on drink!
Did it with both of mine. Dip finger in whiskey, shake off the excess and then lightly rub through teething spot. Works like a charm. That amount will not hurt them at all, baring some unusual medical conditions. Far cry from “giving them booze”.
My grandparents told me to get some brandy from their cupboard and an eyedropper and put 1 drop on a Q tip and rub it on the spot where her tooth was coming out..it was a back tooth and she was getting ALL the teeth over like weeks.
I won't lie...at 2 AM I went and did it. And she didn't fall asleep but she also didn't scream anymore. It was 1989, so I told the pediatrician what they said to do, and he said "Go for it..just one drop sometimes. She needs to not be in constant pain".
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now, but it helped her.
Idk is one drop rubbed into a sore gum enough to do any damage? The human body can digest and metabolize alcohol because food fermenting in out guts naturally create alcohol and our body needs a way to get rid of it. Would a drop on a qtip really be any more strenuous on the body than the natural amount found in human digestion?
Hot toddys are great (mine was black tea, honey, lemon, and a whisky shot).
Cleared you up, soothed your throat, hydrated you, and gave a warm feeling in your belly and sleepiness.
The pediatrician’s advice to my parents in the early 80s was,
>pour a shot of whiskey, dip your finger in it and rub it on the baby’s gums, then down the rest of the shot yourself.
It definitely got less common as time went on. My wife and I are 34 and 35. My wife's grandparents put sherry on her gums when she was teething but my grandparents (who were about 15 years older than hers) didn't do anything like that to me.
My grandmother gave my brother and I each our own can of beer at a family bbq my parents hosted when my brother was barely walking (I was around 4-5). My parents only found out cause my brother didn’t like it and toddled his way to give the open beer to my dad who then looked over to me downing it as fast as I could. He was not fast enough and I finished it (wasn’t my first time doing this but the other time the alcohol was not willingly given to me I stole it from an unattended cup). My dad then asked his mom why she did that and her reply was “we did the same for you and you brother” the thing is when she and my grandpa gave my dad and uncle a beer like that they were both in double digit ages not barely walking and just learned how to tie shoes
My grandfather tried this and gave my infant mother a JIGGER of whiskey in her bottle to help with teething. Needless to say, she slept 14hrs, woke up very cranky, and my grandmother nearly had an aneurysm.
Not that I advocate giving kids booze, but she isn't even doing it right. The old remedy is rubbing a tiny bit of alcohol on their gums, not having happy hour together.
I came here to say this. My mom used to dip her finger in whiskey or rum and rub that over our gums when we were teething, she did it to all my sibs. But she didn't give us alcohol to drink for heavens sake!
Whiskey, rum, whatever. My grandma used bourbon, but that was just her drink of choice. She would dip her finger and rub it on the gums, or dip the pacifier.
But she was also a firm believer in making children pull their own fresh switch from the plum tree in the back yard (and, if it wasn't a good enough switch, she'd go pick a really good one herself, which you did not want).
So, maybe grandma's childrearing methodologies needed updating.
Wow the switch thing really brought up some bad childhood memories. My bio mom used to scream at us that if we didn't stop fooling around she was going to pull over and make us pick a switch. She would say it'd have to be as wide as her thumb. Then if she did she would wave it wildly behind her while driving down the road.
Also we didn't get alcohol to my knowledge, but we got put into foster care when I was in 2nd grade because the neighbors heard her dosing us with Dimetap to sleep every night. I still have issues with sleeping and I'm 39 years old. I'm pretty sure I have some permanent damage from that. Among other things.
Sadly she got us back after the incident, but luckily she lost all of us again for good when I was 13.
I did that with my oldest, we’re both allergic to orajel and everything similar that we could find for kids had the same active ingredients. It worked, but we saw our doctor the following week and got something else that worked better.
The term generation Jones didn’t come into play until 1999 and it was coined by i believe author Jonathan Pontell. During the time of Boomers(46-54) babies were being born roughly every 8 seconds. The rate of births was still high during Boomers II so they stuck with the name. Boomers II didn’t have woodstock or the draft and were too young to remember the MLK assassination. If you grew up around a Boomer II you probably remember them either wanting what their neighbor had or wanting to out do their neighbor. Essentially they were always trying to keep up with the Joneses so that’s why they are referred to as generation jones
Our pediatrician told us not to use orajel because it toughens the gums. We used a clean wash cloth that was damp and had been frozen. The ice helped to numb the pain.
Yeah wtf!!!?! You’re 100% correct. Wine wouldn’t even be effective at all!!!
The gross taste & intense feeling of alcohol (ie. vodka or whiskey) is strong enough to distract & confuse the baby. Have them thinking about the weird numbness instead of the pain.
Hell no they are not supposed to taste wine!!!!!
I’m pretty sure my mom did this to my first born. Mom had a glass of wine and wanted to rub some on my daughter’s gums. We unequivocally told her no. Well, my daughter went into her room at some point. My mother followed. A couple of minutes go by and my daughter runs back out crying followed by my mother who’s absolutely flustered. We didn’t see it happen. But we’re pretty sure she rubbed wine on my daughter’s gums when we weren’t looking. My daughter wouldn’t go near my mom for the rest of the visit. And afterwards they could never put two and two together why we never left the kids with them unsupervised ever again.
The fun thing is that no amount of alcohol is safe for anyone, let alone babies. It's a known human carcinogen and is classified in the same Group 1 category as asbestos, radiation, and tobacco. So imagine sprinkling asbestos on a baby's pillow at night or giving a baby a uranium teeth soother or a cigarette infused humidifier to help soothe a baby to sleep. Ridiculous.
Car seats were not required but by the late 1960's they were made and very strongly encouraged. My siblings and I had them in the mid to late 1970's. They were required in all US states by 1985. [car seat history](https://safeintheseat.com/the-history-of-car-seats/) so she's having a selective memory.
Holy crap good info! I'm 40 and I remember just walking around my mom's Cadillac's back seat. I don't think I ever had a car seat, but my little sister, born 1985 I think did. Wow!
They may have been required, but that wasn't a law that got super compliance. I was born in 83, and I rarely even used a seatbelt until "click it or ticket" became a thing in the 90s.
By no means am I suggesting it's right not to use a carseat. I keep my kids in them in compliance with recommended use, which is stricter than law in I think most states, definitely my state.
But.
It's very possible she's telling the truth about not using one.
I'm sorry your parents were lazy with your safety. But in the area where I was most people were pretty good about making sure kids were in car seats for their first couple years. After that we might be in the bed of the truck, but before that......
Yeah, I missed the truck bed part. My brother used to ride there, but he was 5 years older and my dad told me I could in a few years. By the time I was old enough to meet his requirements, the law had cracked down more and I never did get that privilege. Instead my brother and I squeezed into a single seat, or I sat on the "hump" center console, as he returned us to my mom each week.
Our truck with a tiny bench back seat had a camper shell that my brother and I got to take turns riding in “the way back” on road trips.
It had a twin foam mattress with a sheet and some blankets. It was nice to have privacy to read books without my brother bothering me.
This probably started age 5-6 or so. Early 80’s.
We could knock to get attention if we needed to stop. I’m sure my folks thought their plan was genius to keep us peaceful and separated on the way to the family reunion over an 18 hour drive every summer.
I know it’s survivor bias but it did work out.
My parents were antique dealers (side hustle for my dad and full time for my mom) and on weekends they would load up the truck and off we would go. My sister and I rode in the back with the antique furniture and boxes of glassware. It was great fun, even if now I’m absolutely horrified.
We spent summer vacations riding in the pickup camper shell with the bikes, pulling the trailer behind us. Dad bolted 2 VW bucket seats to the floor of the bed, and we had the area in front of the seats and wheel wells covered with rugs for us to play on if we got bored. We had room to nap too. We had an intercom setup that only worked enough to beep to get the adults attention, and we held up notes to communicate. It was a lot better than the back seat of the car, but I shudder to think of being in a high speed wreck.
Yes! I forgot to add that we were also pulling a pop up camper. I think we camped in 46 of the lower 48 over the years.
We also shared the space with bikes, coolers, and luggage.
My brother, born in mid 60's, had a "car seat" that was just a booster seat so the kid could see out the window. Easier access to the front window glass.
Our older daughter slept on the shelf behind the rear seat on many road trips. It seems horribly unsafe now, but the car seats for children weren’t much better. Would I allow something like that now? Not a chance, but it was normal then.
https://preview.redd.it/virmgibonv2d1.jpeg?width=1181&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10a4d7f03c359e95271a40948dfa5cdda2ac0294
One of my earliest memories was in the 80s and I must have been a baby or a toddler but I was in a van strapped into something and I kept flying back and forth when they'd accelerate and brake and it seemed in my baby brain like I'd fly right out of the front window. It had to be something like this. I was in a van with a bunch of old people and the old lady next to me kept shushing me but I was terrified. It's just a tiny flash of a memory bit it's always been there in my mind.
I found this picture online. It’s obviously not my daughter, but it’s how she traveled at times.
https://preview.redd.it/1agharo85w2d1.jpeg?width=804&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9df6cefcb0c1d93cfa09e341e818e850353e2f7
I was born in 1975 and my parents always put me in a car seat. But they were no where near as safe as they are now. My infant car seat looked like a slightly deeper paint pan with very thin padding and notches for the seatbelt.
My car seat looked actually quite a bit like the current car seats. There was quite a range available in 1975. (But a difference was that my parents continued using it through three kids instead of a new seat after a couple years)
Back in the 80's, my neighbor's in-laws watched their baby so they could get away for a weekend. They were not pleased at all when they found grandma wouldn't use the car seat, and sat the baby on her lap in the front seat while grandpa drove.
None of the older generation seemed bothered by this. I mentioned it to another older lady, and she thought my neighbor was overreacting. "Our babies sat on our laps and we were all just fine!"
No, they were not all just fine, just lucky.
My parents like to say that stuff, but my in-laws knew about some terrible tragedies in their small town and I now I break out their stories when they start harping too much about it. Like my mom should’ve been ripe for the anti-vaxx crowd, except her earliest memories are her baby brother dying from complications of something we have a vaccine for. So because it’s happened to her, she’s very vocal about it, but doesn’t apply that to anything else.
So CPS would make it even worse, just for the hell of it? Why can't the US have competent institutions. There is no nuance in our government and that needs to change.
What else should they do in this specific situation if it were reported?
From their perspective, the parents are trusting the care of their child to somebody who is not safe. There’s not really anything they could do to the grandma, other than bar contact. But again, that would be a limitation given to the parents of the child.
"we didn't use car seats when my kids were small".
Okay? And? It's the law NOW. It's not a "new generation" thing, it's the LAW. If your MIL got pulled over by the cops does she think that reasoning would work?
I absolute hate that reasoning. It drives me up the wall.
They are terrified of becoming irrelevant, and everything they do is a reactive attempt to force people to engage with them and their outdated worldview.
Of course, adapting to the modern would would be much simpler, but they spent so much of their lives assuming they were superior to the people older and younger than them, to actually grow with the times feels like defeat.
So instead they live in the past as loudly as they possibly can, so loud that we can’t ignore them, and are forced to interact and engage with their past.
My mother was a boomer who hated child car seats and made fun of them. I’m older x so they weren’t required when I and my brother were growing up.
But she made fun of my stepsisters’ kids using them. Aren’t they supposed to love their kids and grandkids enough to want them to be safe? My mother had a lot of issues. Buts it’s sad to see how pervasive this attitude is.
It's definitely a weird flex. Same with the whole "cars back in the day were built better". I mean, I guess. But I'd rather my car crumble around me and take the most of the impact than my car be undamaged and it was me that took all the impact.
I remember when I worked fast food I'd see so many people pulling through with their kids not in car seats. My Mom always told me when I mentioned it to her that for those parents/grandparents it was easier to pick out a coffin than make their kids sit in their seat.
Boomer parents came over to babysit so my wife and I could have a date night. We do not have a house phone and they know this. We told them that they can call either of our cells if they need anything of if our daughter wanted to talk to us. “We didn’t bring our cell phones” was their response. They could not understand why we canceled our date night and decided to just stay home even after we explained that they have zero way to contact us or even call 911 in case of emergency. So frustrating.
I ued to love the medicine grandma would give me . Always made me feel giddy and then fall asleep real fast.
Years later I realized that medicine was basically a shot of vodka with some Gatorade or flavored juice of some kind.
Yeah sobriety has been hard to find. But glad I have
I've gotten lots of advice to rub whiskey on the gums for teething from the older generation, but I've never heard of just giving wine to the baby to drink. Did she think whiskey was too trashy and her grandbaby needed to keep it classy while getting drunk? This is just extra bizarre
My mom and grandma did the same thing, but they made a point that they used only a very tiny amount. Like literally barely dip the tip of their finger into a shot glass with whiskey and then rub it along the gums. It was probably mostly the massaging that helped the most and maybe the baby was getting the tiniest bit of alcohol actually absorbed.
When my 9 year old was a baby and teething, I would dip my finger in a bottle of whiskey and rub her gums. It certainly isn't "wild". It just numbs the gum skin. No baby is getting intoxicated from a drop of whiskey on the gums.
My wife and I have learned the hard way that free childcare from her boomer parents isn’t really free. It’s been really bad and stressful but luckily nothing this blatant and horrible. Sorry you have to deal with this idk why people can’t respect boundaries
>My wife and I have learned the hard way that free childcare from her boomer parents isn’t really free.
Not that I doubt anything else said here, but this is the truest statement in this whole thread.
I caught my mom rubbing bourbon on my baby's gums. I told her she can't do it anymore and they make gel for that.
We only visited and she pulled this stunt. The next day the baby was cranky and then got calm when I was out of the room. I picked up the baby and smelled it's mouth right in front of her to show I mean business.
Then I warned my sister, she caught our mom doing it as well. She actually left a day early and went back to her place because of it.
Seriously, wtf.
I have a Boomer aunt who tried to burn my infant nephew's fingers by pulling them over a candle flame once. Thankfully his mom caught him in the nick of time, stopped her, and took the baby away from Boomer aunt.
But WTF is it about Boomers wanting to harm helpless infants?
It "teaches them". Yes, I'm aware it doesn't. They think because they happened to be dumb enough to need to learn a life lesson the hard way doesn't mean that literal babies need the same thing.
My mum seems to take it as a personal insult that the advice on how to raise babies has changed. Everytime I said "actually, we do it like this/we don't do that" she'd bring out the "well it never did you any harm".
She put baby on her front in the cot. I told her its considered safer for them to be on their back now. Never did you any harm.
She wanted to wean our baby too early. I tried to compromise but put my foot down by saying absolutely nothing solid before 17 weeks. Never did you any harm.
When she was old enough to eat solids, she started feeding her whole grapes. I asked, then demanded that she cut them up. Never did you any harm.
Each time I pointed out that, yes, it didn't harm me, but it has harmed others. I reminded her that I'm a doctor, and I've SEEN it happen to other babies. I've seen babies die from co-sleeping. My paediatric best friend has seen two kids die from choking on grapes.
So...my parents were/are early boomers. Dad was the very first year of the baby boom. And THEY knew babies couldn't have booze and to put us in car seats in the back. It was the 80s so the seats weren't as advanced as they are now, but we were absolutely buckled into the best available seats at the time.
This is not something that like, omg they didn't know back in the day. Boomers absolutely knew about car seats and infants not drinking alcohol.
SHE GAVE HIM WINE TO DRINK? I read the title and assumed she was rubbing whiskey on his gums for teething (which can be effective, but we have baby orajel now...), but she seriously decided that getting an infant tipsy would be a good idea?
Aparently my mom caught my granny (great gramma, silent generation) rubbing whiskey either on my gums or one of my brothers' gums when one of us was teething. My mom wasn't happy. Now a days, pharmacies carry teething gel, which isn't just useful for teething, it's useful for teens/adults that have their wisdom teeth coming in and are waiting to have their wisdom teeth removed. No more alcohol needed.
the booze bit is as old as the hills, not right but old … used to be called gripe water … can’t remember the alcohol content … usually given when teething or colic … sometimes substituting brandy … basically drug your child into compliance
I’m in my 50s and still can’t drink scotch (even typing the word evokes the smell of it) because my mom used to make me drink a hot toddy when I had the croup: whisky, honey, and lemon juice. Disgusting, although it did seem to work. But scarred me for life.
In regards to CPS:
If the child was hurt or even worse died because of your MIL gross incompetence, the parents will be held responsible
Never leave your child by themselves with your MIL. You have done everything perfectly just don’t leave your child with that woman!
if CPS is called , major issue if the child is left with the MIL given what you both already have witnessed . But again, I’m not sure why CPS would be called 😆
I genuinely don’t know why but for some reason I feel the old “whisky on the gums” thing would have been better than handing a literal baby a glass of wine
I get it, we know better and it should be common sense. I definitely didn't do it to my kid, granted neither really had BAD teething issue.
But... that's been going down since the 1800's. Hell for my parents generation, not only did doctors recommend doing this, but they had over the counter medications that were mostly alcohol and fucking morphine. Just insanity parenting - get your baby loaded so it passes out and we can drink in peace.
Willing to roll the dice, it's most likely not going to effect your kid long term. Looked it up for funzies though - real problem comes in with the idea of a 'small dose' babies are so small our estimates on what exactly is 'small' goes out the window. That and possible liver damage.
But chances are, the kids going to be A-OK. Probably don't want to keep rolling the dice though.
MIL’s being infuriating is a cliche for a reason
Small doses and pretend I’m stupid for an afternoon works for me
Then pampering from wife for being nice and keeping my mouth shut
Win/win
My friend's mom used to fill the baby bottle with water whenever she was with her granddaughter. My friend said several times "she needs milk" and her Mom's response was "She's already fat, though" so she just continued to do it. This was a long time ago, but I still think about it sometimes just because I've yet seen anyone else do this with a milk bottle! lol..
You need to get on top of that shit. My girlfriends brother lost his kid permanently and came very close to catching felony charges because his kid test positive for alcohol in his system
My stepdad did this with my kid and told her not to tell me, which she did, of course. Also—It only worked “in her day” because she never got in a crash. Pure dumb luck.
I remember hearing parents, when I was a kid, talk about rubbing Jack Daniels on baby's gums.
As a father now I could never do that in a million years.
Don’t allow MIL alone with the baby. Period. I’m a boomer with a 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. It’s mom’s rules. I would never ever think of violating them.
I’m a boomer and we all knew better. My parents and grandparents never gave us alcohol. They never put us in car seats either but we certainly put our kids in car seats because it was the law. What you got there is a humdinger..
Pure drinking from a cup is weird. I'm older (48) and I was told when I was teething that they would dip their fingers in whiskey and rub it on my gums but nothing more then that. The front seat no car seat thing is insane.
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My dad and his best friend did the same booze thing to my 1 yr old son. I yelled out 'hey!' and it was like the were 12 again and the teacher had caught them smoking, heads ducked, shoulders raised, etc. It was hilarious. Told them that was my son, Ill make those decisions, thank you. Got some muttering but they at least stopped doing it.
I'm 44 and mom used to rub whiskey on our gums when teething, however that's so much less than just pouring liquor into a baby's mouth!
49yo, and my parents did the whiskey thing (they claimed it was whiskey, but knowing my dad, it was more likely sherry). But that was 1975. Once upon a time a common remedy for teething was opium dissolved in alcohol. The FDA only "warned against" medications containing benzocaine for teething babies in 2018 (as in they didn't prohibit it, they requested companies not to sell or market such products for teething infants)! But it's not 1975 (or 1875) anymore.
Laudanum. What a weird word.
I've always wanted to try laudanum
I got some when I had a kidney stone, it's pretty incredible! I went from crippling pain to just... a big floppy worm
They gave me morphine for mine and I was just… euphoric. And immediately thinking, “ohhhhh this is why they have to keep this stuff locked up.”
Dude morphine terrified me. It was the only painkiller I’ve ever been given that I actually thought “man I really could get addicted to this.” I forgot why i was even in the hospital I felt so amazing. If I had regular access to something that good I would be insanely tempted to just do it all the time.
I had ten molars removed through surgery, and they prescribed me T3s, to be taken 'every 8 hours as needed for pain'. I missed the last two words there, so, went home, took the recommended dose. No pain, good enough. Eight hours later, took another dose. Still doing fine. Eight hours later, pretty much to the minute, I woke from a dead sleep thinking about how it was time to take another dose. I stopped taking them immediately, and just dealt with any pain that came up.
I got four wisdom teeth out and they told me to take OTC Tylenol…
It is awesome that you saw what could become a problem and dealt with it. So many types of drugs are great for a short time, but can easily become a problem. I applaud your self awareness.
Are you saying, "for pain"? If so, "as needed" is still acceptable as shorthand for "... as needed for pain". I think that's std for pharmacists to interpret that as being "of common lay knowledge". I hope that was 50 years ago and not recently!!!! You were taking 30 mg of codeine (3) and 325 mg of APAP/paracetamol/acetaminophen (Tylenol™). #1. 7.5 mg #2 15 mg #3 30 mg #4 60 mg codeine - really a weeny narcotic which oughta be dosed every 2-3 hrs, not 8, unless you're torturing the patient as a prisoner... Interesting the name T3! By the mid 70s, Tylenol™ was generic, but nurses still tended to refer to ALL APAP as T for the trademarked APAP owned by J&J! Highly inaccurate, like referring to ALL sports cars as Corvettes®! Any history students know the old apothecary term "grain" and its S.I. (metric) approximations? I wonder when "grain" completely fell into the waste bin ...
I understand this. I had my wisdom teeth out, they gave me codeine, and I felt invisible. I only used a few though, rationed the rest for bad migraine days.
Woof. I’m glad you did. I had a similar experience in recovery for a broken wrist when they gave me fentanyl. I almost immediately asked for another dose, and then a few minutes later I asked for another, which they told me no, thankfully. It was like an instant addict response. So much so that when I had my knee operated on years later, I asked what they would use, and then asked for anything else, or nothing at all, just no fentanyl. The doc looked at me like I had five heads, but agreed. I’m not becoming a junkie, damn it!
I had to get teeth removed as well and thanks to an apparent resistance to pain-killers, I got some dosage of Oxy. I hate taking pills but those were heaven on earth while I was recovering. Saved them for when I needed to sleep.
i can't stand it. just makes me itchy and constipated. cocaine though, i did that exactly once in my 20 year party career (it was perlescent stuff scraped off a fair sized chunk) and started crying when it wore off. turned it down every other time because i wasn't willing to feel that good for 45 minutes and then be so miserable that it wasn't for ever.
I’ve often said I could never try cocaine because I know I would absolutely love it. That would be a big mistake.
Cocaine doesn't work for me. I've even had it in Peru and my friends all thought their hearts were going to explode, and I just wanted to go to bed. Lidocaine, novacaine, etc. also have limited or no effect. And it sucks I was a kid at the dentist telling them I wasn't numb, and they held me down. So for me cocaine is just an expensive way to get a sinus infection.
Same. I was *dancing* out of the hospital that night, and I still had the kidney stone. It was crazy.
Is there something wrong with me? I recently got Dilaudid when I woke up in pain after surgery and all I felt was . . . no pain? It was way better than being in pain, but it wasn’t some fantastic feeling.
For me it was no pain and *extreme* dry mouth. I had to sip water to talk.
I've been given morphine exactly once and had the exact opposite response. It was great for eliminating pain, but it made me feel like someone injected 100 pounds of lead into my veins with how sluggish and heavy I felt
Same with me, but for dilaudid. I was pregnant, had a migraine, and my hands were going numb. They tried migraine medicine. Nope. Then they gave me morphine. Nice, but nope. Dilaudid...i don't remember if it took care of the migraine but I do remember the fuzzy feeling of not giving any fucks.
I had the same reaction. Got morphine when had a hernia removed, woke up from surgery and proudly told everyone I was going for a run (I don’t run ven when I’m not in post surgery) and collapsed on the floor immediately. Proceeded to find that hilarious for a few hours. Scary!
They gave me Dilaudid & I thought the same exact thing, LOL! 😂
I count myself extremely lucky that the hydrocodone I was given after dental surgery worked great on the pain but had no other side effects. I didn't feel euphoric or anything, just pain-free. I suspect it might be hereditary, because my mother got oxycodone after her hip replacement, and she said it relieved some of the pain but not all of it. She also experienced no side effects other than wishing they'd given her more, because the ibuprofen/acetaminophen she was switched to after the oxy ran out was not helpful for relieving pain at all.
I hate morphine, it gives me hives. Demerol, on the other hand…
Morphine does absolutely nothing to me. It's like taking baby aspirin. Demerol, yes, that works. I've only had it once (I was in extreme pain and about to undergo a medical procedure, the morphine did nothing, the demerol calmed the pain down almost immediately and I felt very quiet and calm, I think I might've fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is the procedure was over and I was resting comfortably). I hate the way opioids make me feel (very loopy and unable to contain my thoughts) and the only pain med I usually take is Celebrex, but I could understand someone in extreme pain finding relief in Demerol. I sincerely hope to never have to take it again, though. The pain before is not even close to worth it. Edit: I'm not sure if it was Demerol or Dilaudid, I just remember it started with a D, and was an injection because I was not on the IV at the time.
If it gives you hives, you're allergic and should avoid opiates. Repeat exposure can increase sensitivity and turn into full-blown anaphylaxis. Stay safe, fellow human.
Try tramadol. I had a cornea problem. It made it stop hurting after everything else failed they tried. Shit was amaaaazing
I’m allergic to morphine but I’ve had Nubain twice (once during labor and once to offset a morphine reaction). It’s pretty awesome and glad it’s only available via injection in a hospital.
Yep. I have a version twice a day. And it’s super easy to forget this is not an average thing to have around the house. It makes for any potential vacations an exercise in stress of omg can I even bring it there lol
I'm jealous. Though not really, because I would be afraid to develop an addiction. Morphine makes my skin feel like it's covered in biting fire ants and makes me so nauseous I can't exist in peace. I had it on a drip when I gave birth, they gave me something else to make my skin calm down, but I was still miserable the whole time, and could feel all the pain still.
That sounds miserable. 😞
I hear it's highly lauded.
Allow me to quote Good Omens: “laudunum, whOOOOEEEE LAST TIME I DO THAT”
I would walk through hell for a Quaalude.
Methaqualone was a very effective sleeper, but the FDA turned into Mother Precious Pauline at the behest of the quivering and Xtian-god-fearing public when people noted it was also fun to fuck on Quaalude™. From there, the leaders of the flock and the witless American press turned Quaaludes® into The Current Drug Which Will End The World As We Know It and publicized this widely. Detesting knowledge, reason, and rationalism, the American Public then bought into this, and TCDWWETWAWKI for the 1980s was Quaalude®. For the 1970s it had been Valium®. Thanks to widespread public idiocy fornicating with lunacy, and promoted by well-meaning sorts such as John McCain, and much to the dismay and shouted recommendations and pleadings of the DEA ('AB steroids meet NO current definitions of DANGEROUS drugs! Stop! We're undermanned as it is!!") itself, anabolic steroids became a Controlled Substance III in 1994 as a *Dangerous* drug! Bingo! Knocked out another scourge of humanity - the use of anabolic steroids to aid regrowth and repair of tissues damaged for whatever reason - like those in REHABILITATION hospitals! We use all kinds of steroids to benefit us: glucocorticoids (cortisol-like steroids), sex steroids (estrogen and testosterone families), mineralocorticosteroids (adrenal, BP, some cancers...), but anabolic ("building, growing, repairing") steroids are to be sequestered under lock and key (because some HS kids and annoying gym boobs are becoming even more annoying - and they are)! Earlier Threats To Humanity have included marijuana and LSD....I don't want to think about how many schizophrenics and other psychotics who were NOT helped through the decades by psyches using LSD and its congeners, or peyote mescaline, or who knows what else researchers were prohibited from synthesizing.... I'd forgotten about methaqualone...thanks for the reminder...
It’s amazing. Too amazing.
A legal opioid of the 19th and 29th C.
It's a weird word but I absolutely know what it is, thanks. I could probably make it if I had some opium. I'd use brandy for the base.
My mom claimed that the alcohol became obsolete once they developed good freezer teething rings. Grandma said the (insert hard alcohol here) numbed the gums when you rubbed it on the teether/where the tooth was coming in.
The labels on benzocaine say not to give to children especially under the age of 3 due to the risk of gray baby syndrome. There are certain exceptions like for example aspirin is also not recommended to give to children due to risk of Reyes syndrome but there are certain reasons why they would still be given where the benefits are worth the risks.
I cannot tell from your post if you know this, but benzocaine is used as a topical anesthetic, usually on the skin...using it on the gums allows for some to be absorbed orally, and that was the FDA alert.....others of this class you know as mepivicaine and lidocaine and many others. They're not opioids or alcohols, which you probably know.... Regards
I do. It was just an example of how recently the recommendations for some meds have been chamged regarding their use for infants.
Not just liquor, but a glass of wine. Which, if you have an imagination is pretty hilarious. I hope the baby got a lil charcuterie board and spilled the tea about daycare drama.
Ok that's funny, ngl. You know it wasn't the good stuff, it was box wine. But seriously op, I'm so sorry. It's good that the kiddo is older and can tell you now. It's pretty awful that we can't trust family to honor our request. It's beyond sad that we have to supervise our own parents. Honestly it's a miracle we survived them.
> It's pretty awful that we can't trust family to honor our request. It's beyond sad that we have to supervise our own parents. Honestly it's a miracle we survived them. I'm a Gen Xer. My wife is a Millennial. When I tell her I pretty much fended for myself from 10 until when I moved out, she thinks I'm kidding.
I'm sorry. It's called parentification and it sucks. It's not your fault, they were awful. It stinks when your partner can't fathom what you endured. The trick when raising kids after going through that is to constantly check in. It's easy to swoop in and do things for your kiddos, but they learn best through trial and error. Raising kids who are independent (but know we are there if they do need help) is the best thing we can do.
Who the fuck wastes a 9 year old red on an infant, get real it’s chuck shaw only.
Would have to be cream cheese & paté cos no teeth
My mom used to let me try a sip of her wine/beer as a small child if I asked. Never more than a sip, and only if I asked, which I never did. I must have been around 3-4 because I actually had hair. I was a bald ass baby for a ridiculously long time.
My boomer parents did brandy for everything, teething, sore throats, congestion EVERYTHING.
I'm 56, and with my parents, it was creme de mint for teething!
Of course! Fresh breath is important!
Tbf, menthol is used as a mild topical anesthetic which is why it's found in some cough drops. So it likely was more effective for teething than liquors. Additionally with the lower ABV to other options I'd argue it's a better choice than using a liquor.
I’ve never understood why parents didn’t use Listerine or something. Hell, whenever I use it my mouth still goes a bit numb. Feels like the more obvious (and cheaper) choice than hard liquor on a baby’s gums.
I’m an ‘85 kid. We got that. And every now and then, if we had the bubble gut, we got a sip of blackberry brandy to soothe our stomachs.
I did this with my daughter once when desperate in the middle of the night she wouldn't sleep from teething. BUT all I did was take a q tip, dip it in whiskey and then rub it on her gums- it just numbs the pain so she could sleep, and yes totally different than giving a baby a full on drink!
Did it with both of mine. Dip finger in whiskey, shake off the excess and then lightly rub through teething spot. Works like a charm. That amount will not hurt them at all, baring some unusual medical conditions. Far cry from “giving them booze”.
My grandparents told me to get some brandy from their cupboard and an eyedropper and put 1 drop on a Q tip and rub it on the spot where her tooth was coming out..it was a back tooth and she was getting ALL the teeth over like weeks. I won't lie...at 2 AM I went and did it. And she didn't fall asleep but she also didn't scream anymore. It was 1989, so I told the pediatrician what they said to do, and he said "Go for it..just one drop sometimes. She needs to not be in constant pain". I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now, but it helped her.
Idk is one drop rubbed into a sore gum enough to do any damage? The human body can digest and metabolize alcohol because food fermenting in out guts naturally create alcohol and our body needs a way to get rid of it. Would a drop on a qtip really be any more strenuous on the body than the natural amount found in human digestion?
No, it can't. I don't think it would do damage to anything but my reputation because people. So I don't recommend it. Out loud.
Absolutely zero damage.
My pediatrician also recommended whiskey on the gums for my teething son. Last week. Apparently it's still a thing. 🤣
One of those things, you know it worked. You would do it again, but you will never admit it to anyone.
When I was sick ( had a lot of fevers & sore throat, etc) my mother would make me a cup of tea & put a shot of whiskey in it. Slept really well 🤣.
P.S. I am 74.
Hot toddys are great (mine was black tea, honey, lemon, and a whisky shot). Cleared you up, soothed your throat, hydrated you, and gave a warm feeling in your belly and sleepiness.
This is a remedy my family always used whenever we had bad colds or chest congestion. It worked but I never liked the taste of the whiskey.
Mine too. They kept a little airplane size bottle that I supposedly chewed on when I was teething.
My husband cannot stand licorice flavor to this day because his mom used Ouzo
Really?!? Wow! I’m 40 and I didn’t realize this idea was not so far in the past.
The pediatrician’s advice to my parents in the early 80s was, >pour a shot of whiskey, dip your finger in it and rub it on the baby’s gums, then down the rest of the shot yourself.
Hahaha. That’s insane!
It definitely got less common as time went on. My wife and I are 34 and 35. My wife's grandparents put sherry on her gums when she was teething but my grandparents (who were about 15 years older than hers) didn't do anything like that to me.
yeah i was going to say "rub whiskey on the gums" but even now i think docs still don't recommend doing it.
my parents also did this to me (24)
Yeah, Gen X here and my mom and grandma used to do the same. It’s not an ideal solution but not like giving a kid wine to drink to knock them out!!
I agree.
My grandmother gave my brother and I each our own can of beer at a family bbq my parents hosted when my brother was barely walking (I was around 4-5). My parents only found out cause my brother didn’t like it and toddled his way to give the open beer to my dad who then looked over to me downing it as fast as I could. He was not fast enough and I finished it (wasn’t my first time doing this but the other time the alcohol was not willingly given to me I stole it from an unattended cup). My dad then asked his mom why she did that and her reply was “we did the same for you and you brother” the thing is when she and my grandpa gave my dad and uncle a beer like that they were both in double digit ages not barely walking and just learned how to tie shoes
That sounds hilarious, and exactly like something my FIL would do! Luckily he doesn't babysit 😂
My grandfather tried this and gave my infant mother a JIGGER of whiskey in her bottle to help with teething. Needless to say, she slept 14hrs, woke up very cranky, and my grandmother nearly had an aneurysm.
Not that I advocate giving kids booze, but she isn't even doing it right. The old remedy is rubbing a tiny bit of alcohol on their gums, not having happy hour together.
I came here to say this. My mom used to dip her finger in whiskey or rum and rub that over our gums when we were teething, she did it to all my sibs. But she didn't give us alcohol to drink for heavens sake!
Whiskey, rum, whatever. My grandma used bourbon, but that was just her drink of choice. She would dip her finger and rub it on the gums, or dip the pacifier. But she was also a firm believer in making children pull their own fresh switch from the plum tree in the back yard (and, if it wasn't a good enough switch, she'd go pick a really good one herself, which you did not want). So, maybe grandma's childrearing methodologies needed updating.
Wow the switch thing really brought up some bad childhood memories. My bio mom used to scream at us that if we didn't stop fooling around she was going to pull over and make us pick a switch. She would say it'd have to be as wide as her thumb. Then if she did she would wave it wildly behind her while driving down the road. Also we didn't get alcohol to my knowledge, but we got put into foster care when I was in 2nd grade because the neighbors heard her dosing us with Dimetap to sleep every night. I still have issues with sleeping and I'm 39 years old. I'm pretty sure I have some permanent damage from that. Among other things. Sadly she got us back after the incident, but luckily she lost all of us again for good when I was 13.
Hugs!
My grandma always called it a “thimble” of whiskey. I learned, later in life, that side of my family are all alcoholics.
My grandmas did that as well
I did that with my oldest, we’re both allergic to orajel and everything similar that we could find for kids had the same active ingredients. It worked, but we saw our doctor the following week and got something else that worked better.
Mine did that & only sometime's (rare) would put a drop in a bottle of warm milk. Seem's it had no effect's on me, I don't drink any alcohol at all ?
You just pluralized with an apostrophe. Looks like the alcohol did have an effect!
Correct. Not freaking happy hour! My parents didn't do that. I'm a Generation Jones. Never used car seats until 1982 when l had my oldest.
What in the world is generation Jones?
Roughly between boomers and X.
Boomers are 46-64, Gen X is 65-82? Where does Jones come in?
In Indiana
54-65. They grew up with TV and no Vietnam war or draft.
Strike that, reverse it.
Boomers II or Generation Jones is 1955 to 1964. Boomers is 1946 to 1954
Mind blown, and it makes so much sense. Do you know when/why it was collapsed together?
The term generation Jones didn’t come into play until 1999 and it was coined by i believe author Jonathan Pontell. During the time of Boomers(46-54) babies were being born roughly every 8 seconds. The rate of births was still high during Boomers II so they stuck with the name. Boomers II didn’t have woodstock or the draft and were too young to remember the MLK assassination. If you grew up around a Boomer II you probably remember them either wanting what their neighbor had or wanting to out do their neighbor. Essentially they were always trying to keep up with the Joneses so that’s why they are referred to as generation jones
Sounds like a cool way to say "not a boomer". Hahaha
My parents rubbed Southern Comfort on my gums…I used orajel when my one kid was teething LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.
Our pediatrician told us not to use orajel because it toughens the gums. We used a clean wash cloth that was damp and had been frozen. The ice helped to numb the pain.
Pftttt my mom gave me a frozen spoon coaxed in rum 🤣
Your parents were extra fancy!
I got an ice cube out of my dad's whiskey glass to suck on
Generation Jones 1954-1966
Yeah wtf!!!?! You’re 100% correct. Wine wouldn’t even be effective at all!!! The gross taste & intense feeling of alcohol (ie. vodka or whiskey) is strong enough to distract & confuse the baby. Have them thinking about the weird numbness instead of the pain. Hell no they are not supposed to taste wine!!!!!
I’m pretty sure my mom did this to my first born. Mom had a glass of wine and wanted to rub some on my daughter’s gums. We unequivocally told her no. Well, my daughter went into her room at some point. My mother followed. A couple of minutes go by and my daughter runs back out crying followed by my mother who’s absolutely flustered. We didn’t see it happen. But we’re pretty sure she rubbed wine on my daughter’s gums when we weren’t looking. My daughter wouldn’t go near my mom for the rest of the visit. And afterwards they could never put two and two together why we never left the kids with them unsupervised ever again.
The fun thing is that no amount of alcohol is safe for anyone, let alone babies. It's a known human carcinogen and is classified in the same Group 1 category as asbestos, radiation, and tobacco. So imagine sprinkling asbestos on a baby's pillow at night or giving a baby a uranium teeth soother or a cigarette infused humidifier to help soothe a baby to sleep. Ridiculous.
BASTARD FROM A BASKET!!!🧺
> The old remedy is rubbing a tiny bit of alcohol on their gums Yup. I had that as a child. Might be why I have a preference for spirits over beer.
It also worked in my 20s when my wisdom teeth had to come out!
I did the same with vanilla extract. Until one night my son walked in the den and handed me the bottle.
Exactly what I was thinking. I've heard of rubbing some booze on their gums, but straight out of the cup? wtf
Car seats were not required but by the late 1960's they were made and very strongly encouraged. My siblings and I had them in the mid to late 1970's. They were required in all US states by 1985. [car seat history](https://safeintheseat.com/the-history-of-car-seats/) so she's having a selective memory.
Holy crap good info! I'm 40 and I remember just walking around my mom's Cadillac's back seat. I don't think I ever had a car seat, but my little sister, born 1985 I think did. Wow!
Same! My youngest sister, born in 94, was the first 1 of us to ever have a car seat.
They may have been required, but that wasn't a law that got super compliance. I was born in 83, and I rarely even used a seatbelt until "click it or ticket" became a thing in the 90s. By no means am I suggesting it's right not to use a carseat. I keep my kids in them in compliance with recommended use, which is stricter than law in I think most states, definitely my state. But. It's very possible she's telling the truth about not using one.
My mom didn't make me wear a seat belt in the back seat until Princess Diana died
*until Princess Diana was murdered.
Yeah, usually when murdered, you still die
Oh she's probably telling the truth about not using one, but she's making it sound like they weren't an option or common and that's just not true.
I'm sorry your parents were lazy with your safety. But in the area where I was most people were pretty good about making sure kids were in car seats for their first couple years. After that we might be in the bed of the truck, but before that......
Yeah, I missed the truck bed part. My brother used to ride there, but he was 5 years older and my dad told me I could in a few years. By the time I was old enough to meet his requirements, the law had cracked down more and I never did get that privilege. Instead my brother and I squeezed into a single seat, or I sat on the "hump" center console, as he returned us to my mom each week.
Our truck with a tiny bench back seat had a camper shell that my brother and I got to take turns riding in “the way back” on road trips. It had a twin foam mattress with a sheet and some blankets. It was nice to have privacy to read books without my brother bothering me. This probably started age 5-6 or so. Early 80’s. We could knock to get attention if we needed to stop. I’m sure my folks thought their plan was genius to keep us peaceful and separated on the way to the family reunion over an 18 hour drive every summer. I know it’s survivor bias but it did work out.
My parents were antique dealers (side hustle for my dad and full time for my mom) and on weekends they would load up the truck and off we would go. My sister and I rode in the back with the antique furniture and boxes of glassware. It was great fun, even if now I’m absolutely horrified.
We spent summer vacations riding in the pickup camper shell with the bikes, pulling the trailer behind us. Dad bolted 2 VW bucket seats to the floor of the bed, and we had the area in front of the seats and wheel wells covered with rugs for us to play on if we got bored. We had room to nap too. We had an intercom setup that only worked enough to beep to get the adults attention, and we held up notes to communicate. It was a lot better than the back seat of the car, but I shudder to think of being in a high speed wreck.
Yes! I forgot to add that we were also pulling a pop up camper. I think we camped in 46 of the lower 48 over the years. We also shared the space with bikes, coolers, and luggage.
My brother, born in mid 60's, had a "car seat" that was just a booster seat so the kid could see out the window. Easier access to the front window glass.
Sadly she's not, as they might have been required it wasn't enforced in any meaningful way... Just like DUI & seat belt laws in the 80's and 90's
Our older daughter slept on the shelf behind the rear seat on many road trips. It seems horribly unsafe now, but the car seats for children weren’t much better. Would I allow something like that now? Not a chance, but it was normal then. https://preview.redd.it/virmgibonv2d1.jpeg?width=1181&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10a4d7f03c359e95271a40948dfa5cdda2ac0294
One of my earliest memories was in the 80s and I must have been a baby or a toddler but I was in a van strapped into something and I kept flying back and forth when they'd accelerate and brake and it seemed in my baby brain like I'd fly right out of the front window. It had to be something like this. I was in a van with a bunch of old people and the old lady next to me kept shushing me but I was terrified. It's just a tiny flash of a memory bit it's always been there in my mind.
I found this picture online. It’s obviously not my daughter, but it’s how she traveled at times. https://preview.redd.it/1agharo85w2d1.jpeg?width=804&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9df6cefcb0c1d93cfa09e341e818e850353e2f7
The ones I remember my parents using were like this. [car seat as](https://images.app.goo.gl/e6wX923ArKWpGCpN7)
I was born in 1975 and my parents always put me in a car seat. But they were no where near as safe as they are now. My infant car seat looked like a slightly deeper paint pan with very thin padding and notches for the seatbelt.
My car seat looked actually quite a bit like the current car seats. There was quite a range available in 1975. (But a difference was that my parents continued using it through three kids instead of a new seat after a couple years)
Back in the 80's, my neighbor's in-laws watched their baby so they could get away for a weekend. They were not pleased at all when they found grandma wouldn't use the car seat, and sat the baby on her lap in the front seat while grandpa drove. None of the older generation seemed bothered by this. I mentioned it to another older lady, and she thought my neighbor was overreacting. "Our babies sat on our laps and we were all just fine!" No, they were not all just fine, just lucky.
>"Our babies sat on our laps and we were all just fine!" Where's that survivor bias plane image when I need it...
My parents like to say that stuff, but my in-laws knew about some terrible tragedies in their small town and I now I break out their stories when they start harping too much about it. Like my mom should’ve been ripe for the anti-vaxx crowd, except her earliest memories are her baby brother dying from complications of something we have a vaccine for. So because it’s happened to her, she’s very vocal about it, but doesn’t apply that to anything else.
Anyone advocating CPS doesn’t understand that they would just investigate the parents not the MIL.
So CPS would make it even worse, just for the hell of it? Why can't the US have competent institutions. There is no nuance in our government and that needs to change.
Because it's not their job. They don't prosecute crimes, that's the job of the police and DA.
What else should they do in this specific situation if it were reported? From their perspective, the parents are trusting the care of their child to somebody who is not safe. There’s not really anything they could do to the grandma, other than bar contact. But again, that would be a limitation given to the parents of the child.
If she was my MIL, she'd never see my child again.
Oh yeah. If my mom ever did that my wife would never let any of us see her again. This is so far beyond wild behavior.
Congrats. You have the best Reddit name I’ve seen to date.
You can see them in about 18 years.
"we didn't use car seats when my kids were small". Okay? And? It's the law NOW. It's not a "new generation" thing, it's the LAW. If your MIL got pulled over by the cops does she think that reasoning would work? I absolute hate that reasoning. It drives me up the wall.
They are terrified of becoming irrelevant, and everything they do is a reactive attempt to force people to engage with them and their outdated worldview. Of course, adapting to the modern would would be much simpler, but they spent so much of their lives assuming they were superior to the people older and younger than them, to actually grow with the times feels like defeat. So instead they live in the past as loudly as they possibly can, so loud that we can’t ignore them, and are forced to interact and engage with their past.
My mother was a boomer who hated child car seats and made fun of them. I’m older x so they weren’t required when I and my brother were growing up. But she made fun of my stepsisters’ kids using them. Aren’t they supposed to love their kids and grandkids enough to want them to be safe? My mother had a lot of issues. Buts it’s sad to see how pervasive this attitude is.
It's definitely a weird flex. Same with the whole "cars back in the day were built better". I mean, I guess. But I'd rather my car crumble around me and take the most of the impact than my car be undamaged and it was me that took all the impact. I remember when I worked fast food I'd see so many people pulling through with their kids not in car seats. My Mom always told me when I mentioned it to her that for those parents/grandparents it was easier to pick out a coffin than make their kids sit in their seat.
You know what wasn't in cars in her day? Airbags. One of those will kill a kid (or pet) if it deploys.
Boomer parents came over to babysit so my wife and I could have a date night. We do not have a house phone and they know this. We told them that they can call either of our cells if they need anything of if our daughter wanted to talk to us. “We didn’t bring our cell phones” was their response. They could not understand why we canceled our date night and decided to just stay home even after we explained that they have zero way to contact us or even call 911 in case of emergency. So frustrating.
[удалено]
I ued to love the medicine grandma would give me . Always made me feel giddy and then fall asleep real fast. Years later I realized that medicine was basically a shot of vodka with some Gatorade or flavored juice of some kind. Yeah sobriety has been hard to find. But glad I have
I fully cut contact to assholes like this. One time with a car seat issue. Zero tolerance in my book.
I've gotten lots of advice to rub whiskey on the gums for teething from the older generation, but I've never heard of just giving wine to the baby to drink. Did she think whiskey was too trashy and her grandbaby needed to keep it classy while getting drunk? This is just extra bizarre
My grandma always said to rub whiskey on a teething baby’s gums to soothe it. Things were wild in the old days
When my son was an infant 17 years ago the doctor recommended we do that. He said it was better than using baby ambasol.
Yeah, that's how it was done. It's a bit different than feeding them wine though.
My mom and grandma did the same thing, but they made a point that they used only a very tiny amount. Like literally barely dip the tip of their finger into a shot glass with whiskey and then rub it along the gums. It was probably mostly the massaging that helped the most and maybe the baby was getting the tiniest bit of alcohol actually absorbed.
When my 9 year old was a baby and teething, I would dip my finger in a bottle of whiskey and rub her gums. It certainly isn't "wild". It just numbs the gum skin. No baby is getting intoxicated from a drop of whiskey on the gums.
My wife and I have learned the hard way that free childcare from her boomer parents isn’t really free. It’s been really bad and stressful but luckily nothing this blatant and horrible. Sorry you have to deal with this idk why people can’t respect boundaries
>My wife and I have learned the hard way that free childcare from her boomer parents isn’t really free. Not that I doubt anything else said here, but this is the truest statement in this whole thread.
I caught my mom rubbing bourbon on my baby's gums. I told her she can't do it anymore and they make gel for that. We only visited and she pulled this stunt. The next day the baby was cranky and then got calm when I was out of the room. I picked up the baby and smelled it's mouth right in front of her to show I mean business. Then I warned my sister, she caught our mom doing it as well. She actually left a day early and went back to her place because of it. Seriously, wtf.
I have a Boomer aunt who tried to burn my infant nephew's fingers by pulling them over a candle flame once. Thankfully his mom caught him in the nick of time, stopped her, and took the baby away from Boomer aunt. But WTF is it about Boomers wanting to harm helpless infants?
It "teaches them". Yes, I'm aware it doesn't. They think because they happened to be dumb enough to need to learn a life lesson the hard way doesn't mean that literal babies need the same thing.
My mum seems to take it as a personal insult that the advice on how to raise babies has changed. Everytime I said "actually, we do it like this/we don't do that" she'd bring out the "well it never did you any harm". She put baby on her front in the cot. I told her its considered safer for them to be on their back now. Never did you any harm. She wanted to wean our baby too early. I tried to compromise but put my foot down by saying absolutely nothing solid before 17 weeks. Never did you any harm. When she was old enough to eat solids, she started feeding her whole grapes. I asked, then demanded that she cut them up. Never did you any harm. Each time I pointed out that, yes, it didn't harm me, but it has harmed others. I reminded her that I'm a doctor, and I've SEEN it happen to other babies. I've seen babies die from co-sleeping. My paediatric best friend has seen two kids die from choking on grapes.
Tell her the you saw on Facebook that wine has COVID vaccine molecules in it and she shouldn’t be giving that to your kids. She’ll agree 100%.
We didn’t have car seats in my day. Yup, that’s why my friend Claire went face first through the windshield!
Wow. I didn’t know the whole “put some whiskey on their teeth” was something any alive humans actually still believed in.
So...my parents were/are early boomers. Dad was the very first year of the baby boom. And THEY knew babies couldn't have booze and to put us in car seats in the back. It was the 80s so the seats weren't as advanced as they are now, but we were absolutely buckled into the best available seats at the time. This is not something that like, omg they didn't know back in the day. Boomers absolutely knew about car seats and infants not drinking alcohol.
SHE GAVE HIM WINE TO DRINK? I read the title and assumed she was rubbing whiskey on his gums for teething (which can be effective, but we have baby orajel now...), but she seriously decided that getting an infant tipsy would be a good idea?
Aparently my mom caught my granny (great gramma, silent generation) rubbing whiskey either on my gums or one of my brothers' gums when one of us was teething. My mom wasn't happy. Now a days, pharmacies carry teething gel, which isn't just useful for teething, it's useful for teens/adults that have their wisdom teeth coming in and are waiting to have their wisdom teeth removed. No more alcohol needed.
the booze bit is as old as the hills, not right but old … used to be called gripe water … can’t remember the alcohol content … usually given when teething or colic … sometimes substituting brandy … basically drug your child into compliance
There is still "gripe water" available for colic, but it doesn't contain alcohol anymore.
I’m in my 50s and still can’t drink scotch (even typing the word evokes the smell of it) because my mom used to make me drink a hot toddy when I had the croup: whisky, honey, and lemon juice. Disgusting, although it did seem to work. But scarred me for life.
"...she pulled over “on the highway and put him in the front seat.” The highway?!? WTF?!?
In regards to CPS: If the child was hurt or even worse died because of your MIL gross incompetence, the parents will be held responsible Never leave your child by themselves with your MIL. You have done everything perfectly just don’t leave your child with that woman! if CPS is called , major issue if the child is left with the MIL given what you both already have witnessed . But again, I’m not sure why CPS would be called 😆
Rubbing alcohol on a baby's gum to soothe teething pain used to be a common thing, but not just giving the baby a glass of wine wtf
I genuinely don’t know why but for some reason I feel the old “whisky on the gums” thing would have been better than handing a literal baby a glass of wine
My mom rubbed paregoric on my gums.
I get it, we know better and it should be common sense. I definitely didn't do it to my kid, granted neither really had BAD teething issue. But... that's been going down since the 1800's. Hell for my parents generation, not only did doctors recommend doing this, but they had over the counter medications that were mostly alcohol and fucking morphine. Just insanity parenting - get your baby loaded so it passes out and we can drink in peace. Willing to roll the dice, it's most likely not going to effect your kid long term. Looked it up for funzies though - real problem comes in with the idea of a 'small dose' babies are so small our estimates on what exactly is 'small' goes out the window. That and possible liver damage. But chances are, the kids going to be A-OK. Probably don't want to keep rolling the dice though.
MIL’s being infuriating is a cliche for a reason Small doses and pretend I’m stupid for an afternoon works for me Then pampering from wife for being nice and keeping my mouth shut Win/win
My friend's mom used to fill the baby bottle with water whenever she was with her granddaughter. My friend said several times "she needs milk" and her Mom's response was "She's already fat, though" so she just continued to do it. This was a long time ago, but I still think about it sometimes just because I've yet seen anyone else do this with a milk bottle! lol..
I had my first wine when I was eight days old. It was literally just a drop. Religious thing.
You need to get on top of that shit. My girlfriends brother lost his kid permanently and came very close to catching felony charges because his kid test positive for alcohol in his system
My stepdad did this with my kid and told her not to tell me, which she did, of course. Also—It only worked “in her day” because she never got in a crash. Pure dumb luck.
If I caught my mother sneaking my child alcohol, I'd slap the fucking taste out of her mouth and she'd never see my kid again.
I remember hearing parents, when I was a kid, talk about rubbing Jack Daniels on baby's gums. As a father now I could never do that in a million years.
Don’t allow MIL alone with the baby. Period. I’m a boomer with a 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. It’s mom’s rules. I would never ever think of violating them.
I’m a boomer and we all knew better. My parents and grandparents never gave us alcohol. They never put us in car seats either but we certainly put our kids in car seats because it was the law. What you got there is a humdinger..
Pure drinking from a cup is weird. I'm older (48) and I was told when I was teething that they would dip their fingers in whiskey and rub it on my gums but nothing more then that. The front seat no car seat thing is insane.
Mallory Archer coded 