Many leaves are quite edible (lettuce, cabbage, etc.), we just have this
cultural thing about eating some and not others.  I read in a baby book
once that babies like to put things in their mouths because the mouth has
more nerve endings than fingers, and this is how they explore their
surroundings. I accepted this at first, since the author was a "baby
expert".  But the more I observed babies, the more it became obvious to me
that this was ludicrous, since putting everything and anything in the
mouth is dangerous.  IMHO, the major reason babies put things in
their mouths is to taste them.  In a "natural" situation, babies who are
not yet crawling are held by someone all the time.  Such a baby would
naturally reach out and grab something that the adult who was holding them
had grabbed to eat.  The baby would go through a period of "just tasting"
so that they would become accustomed to the taste of what was edible
before they became mobile, so that they would know what was appropriate to
eat and what wasn't.  Paradoxically, today's infants get their tasting
started on things that are not edible, like plastic, wood, and metal,
because no one will let them taste anything that *is* edible.

On Fri, 21 Apr 2000, Steve & Gerry Welch wrote:

> No offense but I disagree. Just because a baby is interested in solids doesn't
> mean we should give them. My kid ate leaves too. Should I let her eat leaves
> just because of her instinct and interest? I think my pedi knows what she's
> talking about when she follows the AAP advice to wait until 4-6 months. I also
> agreed when she suggested we wait until 6 months to decrease the possibility of
> allergies.
>
> newman wrote:
>
> >   The
> > appropriate time for the vast majority of infants to start eating is when
> > they start taking food from their parents plates and try to eat it (usually
> > about 5 to 6 months of age).  I can't believe that any research, whatever it
> > says, is better than the baby's instinct and interest.  There is nothing
> > magical about 4 or 5 or 6 months. This hangup on numbers is killing us.
>
> --
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