New Pittsburgh mom, Sammi Travis, admits that she has had a lot of questions for Google since her first baby, Skye, was born earlier this year.
“Recently I’ve had lots of queries about nursing, like when to switch sides, different positions and what supplements to take to increase supply (like fenugreek?),” she says. “I’ve watched several how-to videos about side-lying breastfeeding and sought lots of advice on bed sharing.”
Her search history also reveals that she has Googled random questions like “how do I get a newborn baby a passport?” and “are you allowed to bring an infant into a movie theatre?”
Sammi was one of the many parents who responded to a question I posted on Facebook: “What parenting-related questions have you asked Google for advice?”
Here are more of the responses I received from parents with kids of all ages.
- “How much Tylenol can I give per my babies’ current weight?”
- “How do I discipline my toddler when she touches Christmas ornaments?”
- “Can my baby hate me?”
- “What are signs of colic?”
- “What are the appropriate wake windows for certain ages?”
- “Am I too strict?”
- “Where is the manual for raising teens? Why is it so hard?”
Even my husband bravely responded to my Facebook question, saying that he had once Googled “should I pay an allowance, how much and should it be tied to chores?” But when my incredulous stepdaughter read it, she replied, “You Googled this? Interesting…”
If my stepdaughter doesn’t remember receiving an allowance, it’s because… uh… she didn’t.
Awkward.
It takes a village
When parents need help, they want it quick, and what better resource is there than Google, which requires only a few keystrokes to put information at the tips of a frazzled parent’s fingers.
In 2022, skincare company, CeraVe sponsored an online survey of 2,000 U.S. parents of children aged newborn to two-years-old. Three out of four of these parents admitted that they searched for online information an average of six times a day, and an overwhelming majority (71 percent), agreed that they would not have made it through baby’s first year without the help of parenting experts.
The term “expert” can be relative, though, as the internet is notorious for spitting out inexpert as easily as expert information. While Google offers fact check tools, it is up to users to test or question the veracity of the online information the company provides through its search feature.
The same survey also found that parents still rely on family members for advice, with 57 percent reporting that they still contact family up to five times a month. But even advice from family members can be unreliable. A couple of great grandmas I know still believe that “baby formula” is a mixture of evaporated milk, boiling water and corn syrup, a concoction that modern-day pediatricians probably wouldn’t recommend.
What are the most Googled questions about parenting?
In December 2023, stay-at-home dad, Aaron Martin, who writes for the parenting website, babychick.com, devoted a column to this question. By researching common parenting questions over the prior 12 months and cross-referencing each topic using Google Trends, he reported these 20 questions to be the top Googled parenting questions for the year 2023.
- Why won’t my baby stop crying?
This question appears on every list of top parenting questions every year and is probably the most urgent and frustrating question that parents have. - How to potty train?
If you want to know what the most popular potty-training technique is at the moment, Google “three-day method,” which entails keeping your child naked for three days until they get used to going in the potty. Warning: this method is not for the faint of heart. - What can I do for my child’s fever?
A fever indicates that a child’s immune system is working hard to fight off an infection or illness. When one of my own children spiked a fever, I remember calling the pediatrician, who gave essentially the same advice as I see online today, which is to give acetaminophen or ibuprofen and make sure your child drinks plenty of liquids.
Read more in the September 2024 issue of Pittsburgh Parent magazine
Photos supplied by: Ann K Howley
Author: Ann K. Howley
