Let them eat spice!

I’m not sure if this is correct or not, but it does make a lot of sense to me.

Ditch the rice cereal and mashed peas, and make way for enchiladas, curry and even — gasp! — hot peppers. It's time to discard everything you think you know about feeding babies. It turns out most advice parents get about weaning infants onto solid foods — even from pediatricians — is more myth than science.

That's right, rice cereal may not be the best first food. Peanut butter doesn't have to wait until after the first birthday. Offering fruits before vegetables won't breed a sweet tooth. And strong spices? Bring 'em on.

"There's a bunch of mythology out there about this," says Dr. David Bergman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. "There's not much evidence to support any particular way of doing things."

It sure is a lot easier to feed your baby what you are eating. With our second, we have found that she will eat almost anything. She wants to try what we are eating so we give it to her. The other day, she wanted some hot sauce so I gave it to her…she thought it was great.

With our first, we were so concerned that we might do something wrong. We followed the “guide lines” like Bible truth.

"Parents have lost touch with the notion that these charts are guides, not rules," says Rachel Brandeis, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Babies start with a very clean palate and it's your job to mold it."

It's easy to mistake that for a regimented process. Most parents are told to start rice cereal at 6 months, then slowly progress to simple vegetables, mild fruits and finally pasta and meat.

I have found that children can move quicker than these guides allow for. Regardless, it is a lot cheaper to feed your kids what you are eating than to buy all that cereal, and baby food.

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