By: Audrey Okaneko

I remember when I first announced that I was pregnant. Two things happened. I began getting phone calls of congratulations and I began getting advice.

Today, it is 20 years later and I’ve continued to get parenting advice through the infant stage, the toddler stage, the young adult stage, the teen stage and now the adult child stage. Everyone has advice to offer.

So, how can you stop yourself from going nuts with all of the advice? Here are a few of my suggestions.

Listen to those who you want to listen to. There is always something to be learned. You may pick up a tidbit of what to do or you just may be persuaded to never try something that is being offered to you as advice. I have had women over the years offer advice to me that I knew was exactly what not to do.

If you don’t want to listen, simply say “thank you, right now I’m just on information overload”. Most folks will stop when asked to stop. When I was pregnant, I had some health issues. I was following the advice of my doctor. I think everyone I spoke to either knew someone or knew someone who knew someone else who had been through what I was going through and everyone wanted to help me. I simply said “thank you so much for caring, however I really need to listen to my doctor, I trust her 100%”. At this point, most folks stopped offering their advice.

Through the years as I’ve had various parenting questions and parenting dilemmas, I have most definitely solicited information from others who had walked in my shoes previously. Again, listen to and take in what you find useful. If the information gets overwhelming, then once again thank people for their concern and change the subject.

Anyone who has been pregnant and had a child will have information and advice to share. It’s up to you how much you listen to and how much you say “no thanks”.

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About The Author: Audrey Okaneko is mom to two girls. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at www.recipe-barn.com