Bringing common sense with a grain of salt back to parenting!
The Early Chaos Years (0–3 years)
Sleep-deprived, slightly sticky, and powered by caffeine — welcome to the most beautiful blur of your life.
These articles look at the early years when everything feels urgent and uncertain: the constant soothing, the hovering, the guilt, and the pressure to get it “right.”
Here you’ll find reflections on surviving the baby bubble with your sanity (mostly) intact — beyond milestone charts, mommy gurus, and perfectly filtered nurseries.
The "DIY Baby Einstein" trap
We like to think flashcards, apps, and enrichment programs will rocket our babies toward brilliance. But the truth is, infants don’t need a syllabus in the crib — they need play, curiosity, and connection.
The best part? We can nurture all that without turning their first years into academic boot camp.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Baby Gear Maximalism" trap
Modern parents are drowning in stuff. Every aisle, website, and Instagram ad insists you must have the newest swing, bassinet, or stroller designed by NASA engineers. Before you know it, your living room looks like a cross between a daycare and a tech startup and an obstacle course designed by ninja warrior.
The irony? Your baby usually prefers your arms, a cardboard box, or the TV remote. The fact? Escaping Baby Gear Maximalism help reclaiming your space, your budget, and your back.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Misusing Milestones" trap
We might think we’re protecting our children’s future by obsessing over milestone charts and comparing them to every toddler in the playgroup.
Actually, if we are too obsessed with measuring our babies against every possible developmental milestone, we risk raising kids who feel pressured, insecure, and rushed through the very years meant for discovery.
Developmental milestones were designed as guidelines for child development professionals—not commandments dictating what your child must be doing at any exact moment.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Germ Patrol HQ" trap
We might think scrubbing away every germ protects our kids. In reality, when we run Germ Patrol HQ 24/7 — wipes at the ready, sprays holstered like weapons — we risk raising kids who believe the world is hostile, sticky, and terrifying.
The good news? We can keep hygiene sensible without losing your sanity — or turning ourselves into ever-alert security guards of perfect hygiene—and our kids into little paranoids who will see lurking horrors and worst-case scenarios around every corner throughout their lives.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Sleep Position Panic" trap
Constantly changing your baby’s sleep position and flipping them like pancakes based on the latest advice, article, or alarming social media post?
Few things make parents more anxious than sleep. Not just getting enough of it, but getting it right. For decades, the “correct” sleep position has changed like fashion trends: tummy, back, side, swaddled, not swaddled, inclined, flat, bassinet, crib. Parents, meanwhile, become Olympic gymnasts of worry — flipping, adjusting, Googling. All in search of recommendations that will probably change again in a few years.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The “Natural Parenting Shaming" Trap
Believing (or spreading) that only “pure” parenting — cloth diapers, organic everything, zero screens, home-churned yogurt — is real parenting?
Parenting in the 2020s comes with a new pressure: being “natural.” It’s no longer enough to raise a child — you must raise them organically, sustainably, toxin-free, screen-free, sugar-free, and ideally while baking your own bread (from sourdough, of course).
While there’s nothing wrong with healthy ideals, when they turn into shame (for yourself or others), they stop helping and start hurting.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Competitive Crawling" Trap
We might think early crawling proves our baby is “ahead.” In reality, when we turn crawling (or any other developmental milestone) into a contest, we stress babies, ourselves, and start a comparison cycle that never ends.
Seeing crawling, walking, or babbling as competitive sports morph playdates into scoreboards, and every reached milestone into a bragging opportunity. But babies don’t know there’s a race — and parenting isn’t a medal ceremony. Turning developmental milestones into a competition, can have severe unwanted consequences for a child’s self-confidence.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Overzealous Baby-Proofer" Trap
We might think wrapping the entire house in foam will keep our baby safe.
Yes, protecting our baby is instinctive. But when “baby-proofing” turns into a home redesign that resembles an NFL training camp, it’s worth asking: are we keeping our child safe, or keeping them from learning? Overzealous baby-proofing can actually shrink their world and stunt exploration.
Striking a balance — so our baby gets to explore safely, and we get to live in a house that still feels like a home — is a key to retain sanity.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Posting Poop Updates" Trap
Babies poop. A lot. Enough to fill diapers, laundry baskets, and occasionally entire afternoons.
But do we really need to post about it? Somewhere along the way, modern parenting blurred the line between private life and public content, and bowel movements became social media updates.
Let's talk about why sometimes we feel the urge to share overshare diaper drama, how it backfires, and how to keep poop where it belongs — in the diaper, not on the timeline.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
The "Smart Nursery" Trap
The smart nursery is marketed as salvation: better sleep, peace of mind, total safety.
Who wouldn’t want that?
But reality looks more like exhausted parents staring at sleep charts, false alarms jolting them awake, and bank accounts drained by $400 “must-have” gadgets collecting dust in the closet.
Let's talk about why parents buy into the tech nursery fantasy, how it backfires, and how to reclaim sanity without treating your baby like a Silicon Valley startup.
Why we do it? How it harms babies? What can I do about it?
