Tune In To The KidStart Parent Challenge

Jan 25 • ,
I don’t know about you but during my twenties I was broody for a long time. I loved the look of babies, cuddling them and wandering in and out of BabyGap (yes, sad I know).Then my best friend had a baby and very quickly I went off the idea. I don’t know if it was the moment poo exploded out of her daughter’s nappy or the fact my friend seemed to cry a lot but suddenly I wasn’t broody any more. Now I’m a mother of two, I just love the idea of the KidStart Parent Challenge, which is starting tomorrow. KidStart have challenged two of their baby-free twenty-something recruits to look after 2 Realityworks RealCare babies for 5 days. Aside from the fact I am sure it will be amusing I think it’s a great way to show someone without kids what living with a baby is really like. James (father to baby ‘Will’) and Jo (mother to baby ‘Kate’) will have to figure out whether their baby needs feeding, burping, rocking or changing. So in reality that means 5 days of being woken up at night, 5 days of feeding, changing and constant crying (and you can’t switch these babies off as they have mini computers in them keeping track of everything). Not to mention 5 days of having to commute to work in public with the ‘baby’ in tow. To see how they fare I’m definitely going to tune-in on Twitter and via their daily diaries and vote for who I think is doing the best. KidStart also want us parents to offer them our best parenting tips so here are mine:
  • Ignore all people who give you the ‘evil stare’ when your baby is crying, screaming and going ballistic.
  • Do not wear any item of clothing over £20.00. It will be ruined instantly.
  • Do not attempt to have a social life for two weeks, actually make that four, as you’ll need 2 weeks to recover!
  • Finally, do not expect to have a full night’s sleep for the duration of the challenge. If you don’t expect it you won’t be disappointed.
So what do you think of the Parent challenge? Who will fare the best and what’s your best parenting tip for non parents? Let me know.