01/01/04: "Oh, she's just got colic"

juju · 01-01-2004, 08:50 AM

Hello everyone! Well, I have asked UT to give me my forum back. The last part of last year was very hectic for me, and I just didn't have the time to post in my forum. But my life is settling down again, and I have some more things I wanted to share with you. So, without further ado, here is the first entry in my forum in 5 months!

Any new parent, such as myself, is inevitably barraged with advice. They're inundated with stories of their friends' nostalgic misadventures in parenting. Sadly, I am no exception to this. And in these conversations, there is one word in particular that really pisses me off. The sheer stupidity of it is really just more than I can take. That word is colic.

For those of you who don't know, here are a couple definitions of the word "colic", as used in parenting literature and conversations:

From here:

Colic is when a baby cries for longer than three hours every day for more than three days a week. It is the extreme end of normal crying behaviour. The condition is harmless, though it can be very distressing for parents or carers. The cause is not known, but there are ways to help calm a baby down.

From here:

Your baby cries every afternoon for hours at a time, and the crying has worn you down to the point where you feel like joining in. What could be upsetting your child? When a healthy baby cries like this, chances are that it's colic.

Whenever an infant cries for a decent amount of time and the parents can't figure out the cause, some well-intentioned soul will always nod their head vigorously and say, "Oh, she's just got the colic! Such a terrible thing!".

Do you know what this word really means? It means, "I don't know what the fuck is going on.". Augh! If you don't know what the fuck is going on, you can NOT just make up a word and pretend that you do.

Babies don't cry for no reason. I know that everyone thinks that they do. It's widely accepted common knowledge. Since there is no proof for it, I can just as easily claim that babies always have a reason for crying. Do you cry for no reason? I seriously doubt it (unless you're a woman on her period. Gah..). No, if they're crying, it's for a reason. Crying is a message telling you, "There is something wrong with me. Please find out what it is and fix it". Saying, "OH! OH! I know what it is! It's Colic!!", and then being all proud of yourself solves absolutely nothing.

This whole thing reminds me of another pet peeve. What's up with people shoving pacifiers into their kids' mouths the moment they start to cry, and then completely ignoring them? This is akin to, when the phone rings, just picking it up and then hanging it right back up again. Hey, how about fixing the problem?? Me, I have a list of things to try, and there's a specific order I try them in. I suspect all parents have this list. If they do, when why in the hell would "pacifier" ever be #1 on the list?

01-01-2004, 08:50 AM	#1
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	01/01/04: "Oh, she's just got colic" Hello everyone! Well, I have asked UT to give me my forum back. The last part of last year was very hectic for me, and I just didn't have the time to post in my forum. But my life is settling down again, and I have some more things I wanted to share with you. So, without further ado, here is the first entry in my forum in 5 months! Any new parent, such as myself, is inevitably barraged with advice. They're inundated with stories of their friends' nostalgic misadventures in parenting. Sadly, I am no exception to this. And in these conversations, there is one word in particular that really pisses me off. The sheer stupidity of it is really just more than I can take. That word is colic. For those of you who don't know, here are a couple definitions of the word "colic", as used in parenting literature and conversations: From here: Colic is when a baby cries for longer than three hours every day for more than three days a week. It is the extreme end of normal crying behaviour. The condition is harmless, though it can be very distressing for parents or carers. The cause is not known, but there are ways to help calm a baby down. From here: Your baby cries every afternoon for hours at a time, and the crying has worn you down to the point where you feel like joining in. What could be upsetting your child? When a healthy baby cries like this, chances are that it's colic. Whenever an infant cries for a decent amount of time and the parents can't figure out the cause, some well-intentioned soul will always nod their head vigorously and say, "Oh, she's just got the colic! Such a terrible thing!". Do you know what this word really means? It means, "I don't know what the fuck is going on.". Augh! If you don't know what the fuck is going on, you can NOT just make up a word and pretend that you do. Babies don't cry for no reason. I know that everyone thinks that they do. It's widely accepted common knowledge. Since there is no proof for it, I can just as easily claim that babies always have a reason for crying. Do you cry for no reason? I seriously doubt it (unless you're a woman on her period. Gah..). No, if they're crying, it's for a reason. Crying is a message telling you, "There is something wrong with me. Please find out what it is and fix it". Saying, "OH! OH! I know what it is! It's Colic!!", and then being all proud of yourself solves absolutely nothing. This whole thing reminds me of another pet peeve. What's up with people shoving pacifiers into their kids' mouths the moment they start to cry, and then completely ignoring them? This is akin to, when the phone rings, just picking it up and then hanging it right back up again. Hey, how about fixing the problem?? Me, I have a list of things to try, and there's a specific order I try them in. I suspect all parents have this list. If they do, when why in the hell would "pacifier" ever be #1 on the list?

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