
Why Starting Solids Matters
How and when babies eat their first solid foods can bean exciting stage for new parents, but it can also bring confusion and anxiety due to conflicting advice and opinions. When should you start offering food to your baby? Which foods should you give, and how much? What about milk? And does any of this really matter?
Why Starting Solids Matters aims to help readers find answers to these questions by exploring the science behind the headlines. It provides a gentle introduction to the importance of the first year and beyond for the development of long-term healthy eating habits and weight, and is relevant when thinking about the diet of older children and even the rest of the family.
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Sensible and well-researched
The subject of starting solids divides parents into those who trust their instincts and those who do not. Those who trust their instincts will enjoy this book, which offers evidence to help them make decisions; but they won’t need it. Those who do not, will find it insufficiently instructional. This is the eternal dilemma of the subject, and Amy Brown recognises that. This is not a manual for introducing solids. It’s a really good resource, though, for anyone supporting parents in either state of mind. It is a sensible, well-researched little book, casting no moral judgement on any of the different options, even as it sets out the compelling arguments for waiting until around 6 months, and enabling babies to self-feed. Why Starting Solids Matters gives us an interesting history of infant feeding, which lays foundations for the following chapters. It acknowledges the sparsity of good evidence around allergies, and really makes its point about the importance, above all else, of responsive feeding. Closing with a ten-step summary and a long list of resources, and thoroughly referenced, Why Starting Solids Matters ticks all my boxes for a thoroughly useful book. I fervently hope that it will be as widely read as it deserves.