My son, who works part-time at a childcare center, recently brought home
copies of Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine which were being distributed to
the parents.  I was thrilled to see positive breastfeeding messages being
presented (and no ABM ads in sight).

 The October 2002 issue contained a column entitled Ask Dr. Needlman.  The
topic of the column was "Mommy, I Fell Down!"-How to treat bumps bruises and
other inevitabilities by Robert Needlman, MD. The third question in the
article was:

Both my husband and I have worn glasses since we were in grade school. Now we
have noticed that Chris, our 4-year-old, sits close to the TV and sometimes
seems to squint. How can we tell if he needs glasses?

As part of a much longer response, Dr. Needlman stated:

What about diet and vision? Serious nutritional deficiencies or metabolic
diseases can lead to poor vision, but can taking vitamins or eating certain
foods make a healthy child's vision better? So far, there is no solid
evidence that it can. There is some thought that breast milk might be better
for children's developing vision than formula. (Of course, there are many
reasons why "breast is best" and thankfully, more and more mothers realize
this.)

The November/December issue had a column entitled Focus on Health, in which
there was an item called Good Eating Habits Begin in Infancy which stated:

  Breastfeeding helps babies appreciate the flavors of the food the mother
consumes. Babies are born knowing how much they need to eat to thrive. Early
physical activity contributes to early brain development and learning.
Source: University of Tennessee.

I think this is a great way to normalize breastfeeding and Scholastic should
be commended!

Kathleen Fallon Pasakarnis, M.Ed., IBCLC

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