Life threatening allergies

[playfelt]

Cereals were started between 2-4 months and by 7-9 months kids ate from the table with the family and finger fed soft foods. They were on a cup and off bottles by a year.

But we also left them in playpens where they could roll around safely and exercise their muscles and mature instead of confining them to some apparatus they way kids are now.

This was the norm not the exception. What we have now for children does them a disservice. It is propaganda by the formula companies that pay doctors to promote their products that is partly to blame. Nutritionally maybe kids don't need solids before a year but developmentally they do - that is how gums are exercised for teething, that is how the tongue and mouth develop for speech - which most children developed between 10-12 months not 18 months like now.

Parents do not give children credit for what they can do and as a result they are held back. Unfortunately some of them just give up as we see on these boards of providers wondering what to do with 2 year olds that can't chew and 3 year olds that won't give up soothers and bedtime bottles.