Cotton Candy as Baby Food?

I was reading this article about an adoptive mom and her struggles to care for her brain-injured niece and stopped dead in my tracks when I read this:

"She loved to eat Cheetos and cotton candy."

Really? The she being referred to in this quote is a 3-month old baby? How can it be that a 3-month old baby loved to eat Cheetos and cotton candy? How could she have possibly eaten those things? While someone I know and love tried to give Charlotte a french fry around 3 months, I don't really think he was teasing more than actually trying to get her to eat it. I can't possibly imagine what these parents were thinking by giving these treats to an infant.

Charlotte is almost 6 months old and won't be getting any table food for awhile. Now that we've made it 6 months, the minimum recommended age by the WHO and a whole slew of other medical organizations, I am waiting for her to show the signs of readiness, as defined at Kellymom.com.

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

  1. Baby can sit up well without support.
  2. Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
  3. Baby is ready and willing to chew.
  4. Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
  5. Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

She has already mastered #1 and #5 in this list. I am still waiting to see #4 while she is playing with her toys before I try solids. I don't expect that I will know about #2 & #3 until I actually try to give her something. I can assure you though, that even when I do decide she is ready for solids, it won't be Cheetos and cotton candy!

EDIT: I think this adoptive mom is doing a great job and I want everyone to know that my opinion about what the little girl was fed at 3-months old doesn't diminish my admiration for this woman taking up the care of this sweet, little girl.

Comments

  1. wow, that is an eye opener. I'm very strict about what I give my kids. I remember, when I dropped my daughter off at daycare once, a little 6 month old was munching on hashbrowns from BK. that still rings loud in my brain!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I meant Whoa! not woe ......

    I am still shaking my head why someone would feed that to an infant. It's not healthy food to begin with, but to give it to an infant is much worse. It's terrible for their digestive system.

    I just really hate to see children on the path to becoming human trash cans when there are so many healthy "God made" foods for their little bodies that we are responsible for.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I used to work in a pediatric emergency room and you would not believe the things we saw on a daily basis. One of my earliest memories of working there was a mother who brought in her 4 month old baby for vomiting and diarrhea -- as they were waiting to be seen she proceeded to let her baby suck on a Cheeto as she held it up to her mouth. SERIOUSLY! SERIOUSLY!
    We started out twins on solids at six months and knowing and if I had known then what I know now I probably would have waited at least another month and continued exclusively breastfeeding. I don't think it did any harm but I do believe it was inconvenient and a waste of time.

    Sorry to rant, this is just a topic I feel very passionately about. Thanks for the great post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Queen - Woe works for me! Woe to them who thinks that is a good idea!

    Emily - the thing that makes the BK hasbrowns even worse in my mind is the salt content. Little kidneys aren't ready to process all that salt at 6 months. Thanks for stopping by!

    Meleah - rant away! That is what I do best... and the more research I read the more I feel the urge to rant myself. I will probably wait another month for my own daughter too. Any suggestions for her first food?

    ReplyDelete

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