Well, if the child is obviously interested in eating, then he
demonstrates this by trying to get the food and eat it.  And if they get
the food, they *will* eat it.  What more obvious sign of readiness would
you look for?  Why is a 6 month birthday somehow more physiologic?  Of
course, they will also try to reach for a beer.  This is part of the
readiness, but the responsibility of the parents is to allow the baby to
eat the potato, but not drink the beer.

As far as the nurse who reported the parents for nursing a child to
sleep, this disgusts me.  What possible business is it of hers?  So the
family was not like Ozzie and Harriet.  Smoking marijuana?  30,000,000+
people in the US apparently have done that.  This is not a reason to
have these people's lives investigated by the children's aid.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC