The question is posed: how do you respond when someone says, "Well, *I* (or
John Doe or Superman) was raised on formula, and turned out fine."

My favorite rejoinder is to say,"Well, I remember standing up in my Mom's
car to see out the window when she drove.  But you can bet my kids are in
car seats and seat belts!"  [This is a true statement, by the way.]
Sometimes I'll add, "And, she gave me cereal when I was barely a few weeks
old!" [Also true.]

It seems most effective to turn the conversation "back" to the person making
the original statement, in a non-accusatory manner.  Let them now defend the
safety of other old-fashioned notions, like seat-beltless, cereal-crammed
infants.  It serves as a gentle reminder that while BF is hardly new, what
we know about it and teach about it has changed dramatically in a
generation.

I am not trying to bash my dear mom.  She also, by the way, breastfed me for
quite some time -- virtually unheard of in the 1950's.

Try searching the archives under "snappy comebacks."  I think that is how
the topic has been described in past Lactnet discussions.


Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

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