Of course, every parent first turns to the grandparents to watch their children, but according to one doctor, they should really rethink leaving their kids alone with their grandparents. Why? Because according to a study, leaving children with their grandparents can have hidden dangers.
Dr. Andrew Adesman says that many parents trust their parents to use safe methods when raising and taking care of their children just because they themselves turned out fine. However, that is not always the case. He is the lead author in the aforementioned study, and he said that it is wrong for parents to assume that just because their parents have raised them that they know how to do it. Plus, parenting practices always change and what was safe back in their time, may not be considered to be safe now.
When it comes to grandparents paying attention and keeping them safe from unintentional injuries, they need to always learn and stay up to date with the practices of childcare as much as possible. This is vital considering the fact that more and more children today are raised by their grandparents.
Of course, some say that keeping up to that with parenting practices is not so important while others argue that something as innocent and as simple as putting a stuffed animal near the baby when it’s asleep can cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
For example, 40% of the participants in the study said that cold baths are a good way to reduce high body temperature while in fact, a cold bath can worsen the situation because it can drop the child’s body temperature too low. Therefore, when it comes to these things, proper communication together with setting boundaries can go a long way.
Of course, we should all be more cautious and try to educate our parents and tell them what we want for our children and what we do not want, but at the end of the day, they are still the best caregivers we can ever find because their love for our children has no limits.
Do you leave your children with your parents?
