A large sense of skepticism rises in me whenever people start to tell me how babies and children “should” be raised. I figure that we humans have been around for a long time and most of us got reared to adulthood without parenting books, classes or guidelines created by medical or governmental committees
I am no Luddite, mind you. One of my sons would probably be dead today were it not for antibiotics and the excellent neonatal care at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. I just believe that our children can thrive quite well, and often better, by relying on our instincts than on the advice of people who have never met either our children or us.
Clearly I am not alone. CNN is reporting that main mainstream researchers are “discovering” that common sense works well when feeding babies in Doctors challenge baby feeding myths
It’s time to discard everything you think you know about feeding babies. It turns out most advice parents get about weaning infants onto solid foods — even from pediatricians — is more myth than science.
That’s right, rice cereal may not be the best first food. Peanut butter doesn’t have to wait until after the first birthday. Offering fruits before vegetables won’t breed a sweet tooth. And strong spices? Bring ’em on.
“There’s a bunch of mythology out there about this,” says Dr. David Bergman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. “There’s not much evidence to support any particular way of doing things.”
I encourage you to at least skim through the CNN article. And consider this: If all of the recent advice on what to feed babies was true, how did your grandparents manage to raise your parents?
