Two Parents, Just Hilariously Trying to Follow Advice From the Experts

I think the best piece of advice you can give a bewildered parent or panicking parent-to-be is to trust your instincts. Sure, there will be things you don’t know, and you’ll take to Google on too many occasions to count, but you really do generally know what to do, and you really do know your kid the best. You may have to check out a library book or two when you think you might die of sleep deprivation, but on the whole, parenting is a trial-by-fire, learn-on-the-job kind of business. You get thrown in and then have to figure it out. And when you do think you have it figured out, it all changes anyway because your kids do.

Parenting is a crazy, unpredictable job — and the amount of parenting books dispensing conflicting advice on the best way to do that crazy, unpredictable job is hilarious. Which is why I adore this clip from Portlandia, which shows two parents following all kinds of book advice, to hilarious effect.

Can’t see the video? Click here to see parents following book advice in this Portlandia clip. 

I love how they go from no eye contact to TOTAL EYE CONTACT. Because that’s totally what parenting feels like: You’re willing to try everything, even the crazy, just to make your kiddo happy. Luckily, most of us don’t have to read a book to know that staring creepily at your kid is probably not the right answer.

Did you ready many parenting books or are you just playing this whole crazy thing by ear? —Erin