noon_child
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- Jan 27, 2013
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Though this was really interesting as this forum is full of advice based on sometimes very little info (I'm guilty of it too).
At my Breastfeeding Peer Support training we were recently encouraged to think of a very clear distinction between "information" and "advice" and to try very very hard to offer information only and not advice.
e.g Mum says "I'm getting no sleep, LO is breastfeeding once every hour at night". One person's 'advice' might be "You should co-sleep, this is the info on how you do it safely" whereas an informational approach might be "If you want to consider co-sleeping here is the info on how you do it safely" (obviously this is vastly simplified).
It seems like a tiny difference but the possible dangers of 'advice' (telling someone what choice to make rather than giving them info to make their own choice) are quite rea :
1)If advice is taken but doesn't work then Mum loses faith in you (and seeking help in general)
2)If advice is taken and does work Mum loses faith in herself and her own choices and parents 'your way', not hers
3)If advice isn't taken because it doesn't 'feel right', Mum may not want to admit this to you and future communication is lost.
So I'm definitely thinking this is something I need to work on, as the anonymity of a forum often makes our opinions stronger and therefore our 'advice' more rigid. Info only, info only....
At my Breastfeeding Peer Support training we were recently encouraged to think of a very clear distinction between "information" and "advice" and to try very very hard to offer information only and not advice.
e.g Mum says "I'm getting no sleep, LO is breastfeeding once every hour at night". One person's 'advice' might be "You should co-sleep, this is the info on how you do it safely" whereas an informational approach might be "If you want to consider co-sleeping here is the info on how you do it safely" (obviously this is vastly simplified).
It seems like a tiny difference but the possible dangers of 'advice' (telling someone what choice to make rather than giving them info to make their own choice) are quite rea :
1)If advice is taken but doesn't work then Mum loses faith in you (and seeking help in general)
2)If advice is taken and does work Mum loses faith in herself and her own choices and parents 'your way', not hers
3)If advice isn't taken because it doesn't 'feel right', Mum may not want to admit this to you and future communication is lost.
So I'm definitely thinking this is something I need to work on, as the anonymity of a forum often makes our opinions stronger and therefore our 'advice' more rigid. Info only, info only....
