Parenting then and now: How your mother did it compared to you

I was talking to some friends recently about how many of the choices we have about parenting were just alien concepts a few decades ago. But is everything so much better now? The question has inspired some then and now comparisons of motherhood. Feel free to leave your own comparisons in the comments section......

Then
Billowing maternity smocks in flurid florals
Now
Figure hugging lycra and maternity denim


Then
Feeding them basic mash and meat or a mashed version of whatever the family is eating
Now
Gnocchi, risotto and organic vegies.


Then
Cloth nappies and many, many hours of boiling and washing them
Now
The rise of the organic disposable nappy. Drop them in your bin guilt-free!


Then
Toilet training as soon as possible (often around age one) to get them (and you) out of the dreaded nappy routine
Now
It happens when it happens (to our own parents’ horror) just so long as we get them over the hump before kinder starts.


Then
Regular visits to your maternal health nurse
Now
A tightly pared back health visit schedule thanks to funding cuts


Then
Bottle feeding with sweetened condensed milk for babies
Now
An overwhelming choice: Soy formula, milk with extra omega vitamins, iron-enriched formulas, the list goes on. Then there’s the new range toddler formulas……


Then
Breastfeeding in private
Now
The right to breastfeed anywhere (well, at least in theory)


Then
Leaving work with your first child and often never returning
Now
Mothers who are expected to run two full time jobs – the kids and the paid employment.


Then
Your bouncing bundle of joy sits in the bassinette on the back seat of the car
Now
A car seat for every occasion and circumstance