I have never been more aware of the distinction between ideal and reality than I am now. If you read any books about parenting, they give you all sorts of advice that seems like a good idea until you actually try it. They never tell you what to do when it just doesn't work. For example, they'll tell you that your toddler shouldn't be watching any TV- but what do you when you have to make dinner and nothing else will keep her busy while you do so?

I read an article recently saying that even “second-hand screen-time” was a bad thing for my newborn's brain development- so even if I've just spent the entire day completely focused on her, I shouldn't watch a movie on Netflix at the end of the day.

Apparently, you're also supposed to sterilize bottles for newborns before each and every use. So if she wakes up at 3 am and needs a bottle, you're supposed to go boil some water before you give it to her, with her shrieking her head off the whole time.

It goes on and on. I'd have to say no more than about half of what I've seen in parenting books or articles could actually be applied exactly as written. So what's the story here? Does anybody actually do what they describe in these books, even the people that write them? Or do the authors just write the books from a perspective that they themselves know to be unrealistic?