How to handle criticism from people who don’t agree with your schedule

There’s always those relatives or friends who can’t understand why you’ve put your baby on a schedule and never fails to give you a hard time about it.

“come on, lighten up a little”

“he can go to bed late this once”

“she’s not even tired, you’re too strict!”

We’ve heard it all! The good news is, you’re not alone and you’re completely entitled to make the decisions about your schedule that best suit your family. We’ve complied a list of ways to enforce your boundaries when it feels difficult.

Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash

1) Suggest a different time

Let’s say a relative or friend wants you to go our with your baby during nap or after bedtime. Sometimes, you can say “I’m sorry that doesn’t work for our schedule for the day. Can we meet up at X time instead?”

If this isn’t possible, you could always arrive late or leave early. Sure, sometimes people might give you a hard time about it, but a well rested, happy baby is far easier to manage at an event that a cranky one!

2) Invite people over to your house

A way to get around messing up your kid’s schedule by taking them out is to do the hosting. At your own home, you can easily put the baby down at their designated sleep time without interrupting the visit. Make sure to inform guests ahead of time when the baby will be sleeping so that they can arrive early if they want time to play.

3) Make a joke about them having to deal with the consequences

One of the most effective ways I’ve managed to get people off my back whenever they’ve given me a hard time about my schedule was joking that “Sure, you can keep them up. But if you do, you’ll have to take them home and deal with them when they wake up in the middle of the night and far too early in the morning.” You’d be surprised at how fast people will back down from that one!

At the end of the day, you are the parent and you are the one in charge of making decisions for your child. Yes, there are going to be times when schedules need to be adjusted, but that choice rests solely with you, and you should not feel pressured by anyone else. If you want to keep your schedule, you should feel empowered to do so, and we are here to cheer you on!

If you’re interested in more ideas for how to respond to push back, follow us over on Facebook and Instagram for our Monthly Clapback posts of sample responses to negative comments about our schedules and empower each other to do what we need to keep our families well-rested.

And if you do fall off your schedule or need some help setting boundaries, feel free to contact us for more information!