This seriously disgusts me

OMG. Ok so my co-workers 18 yr old daughter gave birth to a little boy 5 months ago. I learned in the past 2 weeks that my coworker took her son and other daughter out for ice cream and she was watching the baby so he came along too. Well while they were there she bought him his own small ice cream cone (reminder hes 5 months) and he ate it all. Well he wanted more so she bought him another one! holy **** I nearly fell over when I learned about this. Well I was just told today by another coworker over heard her saying that the other night her and the daughter were trying to feed him little pieces of chicken, WHOLE CHICKEN! and he procceded to choke on that chicken and they just laughed. OMFG they need social services called on them immediately. im trying to figure out how my coworkers 3 kids grew up to be there age but then I realized that it was because her mother was still alive up until a few yrs ago and she was taking care of them mostly cause they all lived together. omg i just cant get over it.

OH! I forgot to add about the father of the kid. The daughter and the baby live w. him and well the baby was put down w. a bottle for the night and he woke at about 11:30. At that time the father was making himself a big sundae w. syrup and crushed peanuts. Well he was giving the baby some of the ice cream b.c the baby "wanted" some and he "took" the peanuts out of what he gave him. That baby could have had an allergic reaction and died right there and he would be at fault for the the death of his child.

Unfortunately, not everyone has risen out of ignorance, and common sense is not that common.  I don't doubt that they care for this child, but there are those of us who read parenting magazines and books, and those who haven't a clue.  And most of the clueless have children who do survive, though I, like you, am completely overcome by the odds against the kids.  I don't know what you could do other than make comments to the co-worker like "you know, I heard regular dairy is bad for children under 1," but in my experience that doesn't help in the slightest.

nope it wouldnt. If i said something I would probably get a "mind your own business" then again Im still an ignorant 22 yr old and would tell her not to share her business with the world. I just feel horrible for the little guy. Hes really adorable too. The other coworker that over heard her, his wife was watching the baby during the day while the daughter was in school and she would have to call the school for her to come pick up the baby because he would scream bloody murder for hours. Oh I forgot that one day when she was watching him his feet were turning purple or plue or some color of the sort. The baby has some kind of stomach problem too that I think from what I was told they usually grow out of it around this time. Im not sure what it was again. I dont have any children of my own but I still know what a baby would need and not need even if that baby screamed bloody murder for the ice cream still wouldnt give it to him.

Well, I have to say that I had a whole lot of "I would never do that" ideas before I had kids, and a lot, not all, went down the drain once I had them.  Sometimes, when you are in the heat of the moment, you forget why you aren't supposed to do something, and end up doing it.  Kinda like sticking to a healthy diet!

I understand why you are upset, and I would be too, because it does seem the baby isn't getting responsible care, but at the same time, you are NOT involved.  There is little you can do, since any advice wouldn't be taken well, so it is best for YOU to try to not think about it, to assume that these people are doing the best they know how to do, and to comfort yourself in how much better off your future possible children will be.  I had to do this many times as a speech-pathologist in an urban school district.  I had so many kids with so many problems - I had to let it go at some point just to stay sane, even though I wanted to take some of them home with me.

I wont say anything. I know its not my place so Ill just nod my head and say ok. But You would sit there and feed a 5 month old 2 small cones full of ice cream. I can see a few licks but not 2 whole cones. Or even whole chicken and just laugh when he chokes on it. Thats what bothers me. He barely has teeth and their feeding him solids.

I do have to say (and I an because I was a young mother) that there is a reason why teenagers should not have children.  Most do not know how to care for their nutritional needs.  I may sound like I am bragging, but I was the exception to the rule.  It needs to be manditory that every woman who is pregnant should have to take a quick nutrition course or at least be manditory that they read parenting books.  I was always sure to give my son only what the pediatrition said to give him, and he never got sweets.  When my son was 10 months, my sister decided it would be funny to give him the topping of a cherry cheesecake becasue she knew I would get angry.  She always gave ger kids whatever they wanted to eat and fed them foods they werent supposed to have.  Now my son is 3 and her 3 kids are 5, 3, and 10 months and I am not sure if it is related in any way, but my son is more intelligent than all 3 of her kids put together.  Some people dont care about their childrens health adn dont realize that what you feed your kids in their early life models what they will grow up to eat, which is why childhood obeisity is becoming an epidemic!!!!!!!

Well, I can't say as though I think that the ice cream for the 5 month old is all that much of a big deal.  I do not think he should have had 2, but a little certianly isn't going to hurt him.  My kids have all had things "before they are supposed to".  You give them a little, and watch to make sure they are ok.  The chicken, eh maybe not the best idea in the world, but again the child does need to learn to chew at some point.  All of my children have been eating table food since well before thier 1st birthdays and we have zero food allergies.  We are also average weight and above average for height.  My oldest is in 1st grade and can read at 5 grade level.  I really don't think it's fair for people to judge other people's parenting by what they feed thier children.  Now, should the baby be laying down with a bottle, absolutly not, but we don't know that anyone ever told them that that is wrong. 

agreed. My office manager said that most doctors are telling mothers to stay on the bottle up to at least a year because it helps conter act obesity. When I was young I didnt have my first soda till I was like 5 and even then it was a small orange soda and when that was gone it was either milk or water or juice. I look at my friends family, her and her one sister are same in build. They're tall a skinny. Her little sister who is about 13 is chubby. I know shes still growing but I remember when we were her age my friends was still tall and skinny maybe soft a. baby fat but thats it. All the girl eats is like hot dogs, cereal and fast food. I feel bad for her.

Edit: I see there is nothing wrong w. a taste of ice cream but it was 2 cones full. I wouldnt think all that sugar is good for the digestive track of a baby. I agree w. feeding a baby soft foods to get him learning how to chew but not chicken. Maybe some mashed potatos or rice puffs.

When my first child was an infant, we did everything by the book (and I was a young mother). She didn't have any "bad" foods before she was supposed to. My son, who is now 8 months old, has tasted almost everything, ice cream included. Since I've been there, done that, I'm a little more lax on what goes into his mouth but I am still cautious.

Now, I would NOT feed my son two ice cream cones. He would have the runs for days! I don't feed him anything that has touched nuts because he has eczema which puts him at a higher risk for peanut allergies. He does eat chicken and pork but through a mesh feeder or pureed. He can eat toast and small bits of bread but that's as far as I go at this point.

They don't sound mean but they certainly sound uninformed and wreckless. You have more common sense then they do, that's for sure! I feel so sad for children like this. Most will grow up to be fine but it certainly doesn't put them off to the best start. To think that their path in life may be predisposed because of something they couldn't control as an infant (food habits that they are teaching their child) just makes me sad.

EVERYTHING is different with EVERY child. I started giving my son cereal at one month because he was a BIG boy and he was ready. He got his first tooth at 4 months, and I have him real solid food. I was never a fan of baby food, so he got what we got, in smaller chunks and/or mashed up. He was definitely eating tiny little pieces of chicken at 5 months. It really depends on the child, and as long as they were supervising him very closely, there really is no reason to get upset.

And yeah. MAYBE the ice cream thing was a little overboard, but as long as it's not a regular habit for them to give him ice cream all the time, there's no real harm in giving him a treat. One day like that is not going to kill him ( even if there are peanuts involved, as peanuts are usually a developed allergy, and BTW they found out in Canada, I believe, that kids who are introduced to peanuts at less than a year have a lower chance of getting the allergy, so who really knows).

The only real problem I see in the whole thing was the kid was put down for a bed at night with a bottle. I know from personal experience how LONG it takes to break them of that habit, and how bad it is for their teeth.

well I think the ice cream thing is persistant thing cause the same night he got the bottle he was up i guess a little while later and was with the father and he was feeding the baby ice cream from his bowl that he made.

Original Post by saetum:

EVERYTHING is different with EVERY child. I started giving my son cereal at one month because he was a BIG boy and he was ready. He got his first tooth at 4 months, and I have him real solid food. I was never a fan of baby food, so he got what we got, in smaller chunks and/or mashed up. He was definitely eating tiny little pieces of chicken at 5 months. It really depends on the child, and as long as they were supervising him very closely, there really is no reason to get upset.

 

And yeah. MAYBE the ice cream thing was a little overboard, but as long as it's not a regular habit for them to give him ice cream all the time, there's no real harm in giving him a treat. One day like that is not going to kill him ( even if there are peanuts involved, as peanuts are usually a developed allergy, and BTW they found out in Canada, I believe, that kids who are introduced to peanuts at less than a year have a lower chance of getting the allergy, so who really knows).

The only real problem I see in the whole thing was the kid was put down for a bed at night with a bottle. I know from personal experience how LONG it takes to break them of that habit, and how bad it is for their teeth.

 You have a problem with putting babies down with a bottle but not with them eating two adult servings of ice cream? He's 5 months old for goodness sake! His stomach probably only holds 2 tablespoons of food! Babies digestive systems aren't equipped to handle adult foods yet. Every food you give them under a year old increases their risk for allergies to that particular food, dairy included. Giving them those foods COULD kill them if they have a severe allergy. There is a reason that pediatricians say we should feed babies breastmilk or formula as the sole source of nutrition the first year of life.

How long do you think it will take to break the habit of eating huge portions of ice cream? A lifetime? Quite possibly...

WHOA WHOA WHOA, all the recommendations about what and when to start feeding children food are just that. Recommendations. 

 If there is no history of a peanut/milk/egg/shell fish allergy in either side of the family, or any other underlining precursor,  then the chances are very very low that a child will develop them. As for "the sole source of nutrition" thing, not true. My doctor said that at 7 months I can start feeding my child baby foods and soft veggies and fruits. The percentage of nutrition that a child can receive from food before 12 months is about 30-40 percent. They have to learn to chew and exercise different parts of the mouth.

The other issue of putting a baby down with a bottle is  a current  theory that it can deform developing teeth, and can cause tooth decay. I find it a very messy affair as most bottles will drip out, as will sippy cups.

Roasted chicken is actually a very good start for a chlild with teeth. It all has to do with the size of the piece and how much they have in thier mouth. I gave my son some roasted chicken when he was around 6 months, and he gobbled down whatever I gave him.   

From Dr. Sears:

Consider solid foods an addition to, not a substitute for, breastmilk or formula, which are more nutritionally balanced than any solid food.

From WHO:

According to current UN recommendations, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and thereafter should receive appropriate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond.

Formula should continue to be supplied for at least the first six months of age, followed by formula or some other kind of milk up to at least one year, and preferably up to two years.

Babies don't HAVE to have solid foods in the first year of life. Their sole source of nutrition is breastmilk or formula and any solid foods that are given are to compliment breast or formula feeding and are mostly for practice, not nutrition. While they do get nutrients from solids they consume, they are not NEEDED nutrients.

I don't doubt that sending baby to bed with a bottle is harmful. I certainly wouldn't want to deal with bottle rot but my point was that teaching your child poor eating habits will lead to poor health as well. They are equally concerning for me which is why I don't put my son to bed with a bottle or feed him two adult servings of ice cream at 8 months old.

Roasted chicken is certainly a good choice on the parent's part but when they laugh at the baby for choking on pieces, that's just sad. Choking is a sign that the pieces are either too big or baby isn't ready for finger foods.

Edited to add: my previous post was a bit inappropriate. I should have worded it better and not been so accusitory. My apologies.

Second edit: What I meant to say was breastmilk/formula should be the PRIMARY source of nutrition, not the sole source. I knew what I was talking about in my head I just failed to express that.