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You may tout the breast is best party line with the best of them, but when no one is around, what else are you slipping your baby?
A study in Australia found that 25 percent of mothers feed their infants biscuits, cakes, and fruit juice before they're 6 months old. Some gave junk food to infants as young as 4 weeks old!
Are you gasping in horror ... or feeling a few pangs of guilt?
Researchers say early exposure to such foods is problematic and can establish unhealthy eating habits that can result in obesity later in life. They stress the importance of a breast-milk only diet for at least six months and getting children off to the right start.
I agree with all of that, but I also wonder just how much of these forbidden foods the women give their babies. Was it just a taste here or there, or part of a regular diet?
If it's the latter, then it's an obvious, big problem in my book. But if it's just a lick of ice cream here and a taste of a cookie there, then I'm less judgmental.
With my first child, he didn't even breathe the same air as sugar until his first birthday when he had his own little smash cake. I let him have it for a few pictures as I panicked nearby about the effects of the sugar and artificial colors entering his blood stream.
He was fine, but for the next couple years, I did everything I could to keep sugar at bay. When my mom would question how I could deprive him of a little cookie, I'd firmly tell her that he didn't miss it, so why give it to him.
But the older he got, the more birthday parties there were and the more class celebrations, and somehow dessert has now pretty much become part of our daily menu -- as long as he eats the healthy stuff, he can have a treat. And he does -- he's a great eater.
So when my daughter came along, the thought of keeping her away from sugar for an entire year just seemed unrealistic ... and not quite so important this time around.
Plus, I admit I adore watching her face as she tastes new and delicious food. And while her reactions to asparagus and brown rice were great, I can't say they came anywhere close to the delight I saw when she first tasted chocolate -- which she did well before she was a year old.
Sure, once they taste a yummy food, they want more, but that's where the word "no" comes in handy. Sooner or later children are going to be exposed to sinful foods, so why not start early in helping them learn when and how much is OK?
Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I know the foods I bring into my house and the healthy standards I insist we maintain (e.g., my 7-year-old has never had a can of soda), and I don't feel like my slipping my baby a treat once in awhile is putting us on a slippery slope to nutritional disaster.
What about you? Do you slip your baby treats?
Image via StuartWebster/Flickr
Comments (18)
My son didn't have anything sweet before 6 months, maybe once he had some pear juice because he was constipated and thats what the Ped reccomended.
We limited the amount of treats, but both of my children had them when they were babies.
The only thing I did not give to my kids before 1 years old was honey, everthing else was fair game. Now, at 4 years old, they will ask for a healthy snack or treat over junk food most of the time.
My 13 month old has never had any sugar drink or fruit juice. Just water and BM. I don't know why I bother, because he's had plenty of little desserts here and there!
Before 6 months, the only thing that went into my daughter's mouth intentionally was medicine and breastmilk.
I also let her birthday cupcake be her first real treat, other than the coffee/soda I SPILLED in her mouth (go me) and the cookie she stole when I walked away for a minute.
I totally get how fun it can be, but at the same time, I have games and toys for playing and fun, but my daughter's health isn't part of that.
i never gave my son anything sweet until he was over 6 months old. i've given a cookie a couple of times. he eats healthy though. he loves food. he hasn't tasted any food he doesn't like. when he's older i won't let him drink soda or eat a lot of sweets. he's healthy for his age. he weighs what he should but he's tall so he looks thin.
SKL, while I don't know about a tiny taste of random things, there is evidence that a single bottle of formula changes the internal flora of the gut and it takes the baby's body two weeks of nothing but breastmilk to recover.
Nope. No solids before 6 months, no treats for longer then that.
We started solids at 6 months. I think the first with anything added was the baby mummum and eventually some arrowroot cookies.
They had cake on their first birthday. One hated it and tossed it away at once; one loved to squish it in his fingers but ate very little. They don't really like sweets at 15 months, either of them. I had to hide fruit in their veggies when they were first starting on solids. It makes it a bit easier for me since they dont seem to want it.
Interestingly, I wanted nothing even remotely related to sugar while I was pregnant. I gave away any sweets that came my way (and still ended up with GD). Within an hour of their birth, I was craving sugar.