Allow me a clarification. Babies should be welcome at BF conferences, no
question. When I said tolerance of baby noises is part of our job, I did NOT
extend that same tolerance to wailing kids whose mothers won't leave the
room. Snarfs and snuffles are not the same as outright crying.

 

I once had a mother bring her 6-month old to a several-day course. The child
was adorable and a real "chatty Cathy." (no offense to the Cathys on this
list). Nobody in the class was bothered in the least by the chatty baby
sounds. However, one day mom decided that "Cathy" needed a nap and put her
in a playpen in the back of the room and expected her to fall asleep by
herself. "Cathy" wasn't sleepy and naturally protested loudly. I gently
suggested to mom that Cathy wasn't sleepy, but mom said "I'm training her to
sleep on a schedule." I had to tell the mother that allowing "Cathy" to cry
it out IN MY COURSE was unacceptable. By that I meant that deliberately
ignoring a child's needs to the point where the child was crying in distress
was inappropriate behavior, to "Cathy" and the other participants. Mom
reluctantly picked up "Cathy" who immediately calmed down. When mom tried
the same thing a few hours later, I pulled her aside and offered to refund
her course payment. 

 

Many years ago I read a wonderful line by a mom torn between wanting to
attend a conference and who had a nursing child who didn't travel well. She
wrote "There will always be another conference."  

 

That's the spirit. 

 

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC

Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre, Ltd.

6540 Cedarview Ct, Dayton OH 45459

ph 937-438-9458 / fax 937-438-3228

www.BFLRC.com 

 


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