New "old" ideas

Some things our mothers did just made comebacks because they actually make more sense, especially on the issue of being eco-friendly.

For example, I do remember that my mom used to bring along bayongs (woven bags) to the market. Other moms use baskets instead. I do not think that they were thinking "green shopping", that's just the way things were done at the time. Eventually the bayongs and baskets gave way to disposable plastic bags. But now, with the emergence of environmental awareness, plastic bags are becoming less popular and "greener" consumers are now using reusable bags, not necessarily the old bayong but bags that may be used repeatedly a number of times. This is in an attempt to somehow lessen the carbon footprint.

Breastfeeding is another thing that came back into vogue, thankfully. My grandmother breastfed her kids. But my mother is from the seventies. The thinking that time is that formulas for infants are better and the modern way. While it didn't do harm for us in the long term, breastfeeding just makes more sense, especially nowadays when we have more knowledge about its benefits.

I guess what I'm saying is that we should always keep an open mind. What seems to be old ideas may actually be right. Not all, perhaps, but maybe there's some wisdom in them. So don't discount them. But, we should work with whatever facts we have on hand. Some old ideas may not be good too. We should always be discerning, not carried away by some idea just because someone said that. Consider everything -- studies, evidences -- and just do things the best way that we can.