A new baby started in my room today (4 months old). The child's mother expected him to wait 6+ hours between feedings so that she could breast feed. The child was starving after 3 hours and was just screaming. At first I was getting angry with the parents and wasn't sure how to calmly explain to them that usually babies need to eat between 2-4 hours (without completely insulting their lack of parenting skills). They thought that their child just had "a big appetite" and they tried to stretch out his feeding. They figured that offering the child a jar of fruit after 3 hours would suffice. They also thought that when he sucked on his hands it meant that he was teething!
As it started to sink in for them, it dawned on me...I know a lot more about child development than any parent that ever steps foot in my room. Don't know why it took me so long to figure that out, but I need to act more like an authority when it comes to basic things like feeding, because most parents just don't have a clue. They've never done this before. And even if they have, it was maybe with one or two other children...of their own...in their own home. And with doctors these days stuffing their heads full of threats of obesity...No wonder more and more parents are trying to starve their children.
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