AIBU?
Allegorical · 13/10/2018 23:43
You do know that babies get most of their food/nutrition from their mil still at this stage don’t you? Food at this ages is just supposed to be fun/ exploring of textures/tastes. So I always gave mine a bit of what I was eating to explore ( including maccies on occasion).
And at the end of the day it is essentially meat and potatoes with a bit of fat/salt. The baby will have mostly gummed the chicken nigget/fries. The only bad thing there really is the salt and you can ask for fries unsalted which she probably did.
You need to get a grip.
reallyreallynow · 14/10/2018 05:52
@FlowThroughIt but apart from judging what would you actually do about the child in McDonalds? You know saying well I care isn't going to really do anything, it's just judging! Would you speak to the parent? Would you try to educate them?
Why not try to get McDonalds to put on the box not to be eaten by under 2s?
Natsku · 14/10/2018 08:27
The 6 months guideline is because of breastfeeding (to get the 6 month exclusive breastfeeding as recommended by the WHO), nothing to do with when it's actually right to introduce solids, which is between 4-6 months depending on readiness but by 6 months at the very latest to prevent allergies.
ferrier · 14/10/2018 08:51
The six month guideline is also to try and stop those who, whenever you give them a guideline, try to 'better' it. So if the guideline said 4 months there will be parents proudly posting photos of their 3 month old eating a chip.
Back to the original question .... not abuse but irresponsible if more than a very occasional occurrence and nothing to be proud of. The fact she posted a photo would worry me. Also, if she bought the happy meal specifically for the not quite 6 month old that would worry me too. Anyone who thinks that McD chicken nuggets are a healthy option or similar to a home made chicken nugget would also worry me too.
roundaboutthetown · 14/10/2018 09:20
Allegorical - I don't know a single person who followed the 6 months guideline, yet allergies have been increasing in the UK for donkeys' years - since well before there was ever any suggestion anybody wait six months to start weaning their baby. Is the evidence actually that strong one way or the other? Anything I've ever read about the cause of the increase in allergies in developed countries seems to have, frankly, admitted that scientists still haven't worked out what combination of factors is actually causing this, hence swinging wildly from one direction to another in their advice.
Everyone I know started weaning their babies when they became obsessed with the food being eaten around them, at 4 months or younger because that's what their parents did, or when they thought it might reduce the number of sleepless nights they were getting by filling their baby up more. Has much research been done to find out what proportion of parents actually heeded the six months advice and also whether those parents were actually more at risk of having children with allergies in the first place?
Natsku · 14/10/2018 09:25
roundaboutthetown It's not just about starting food before 6 months but starting the right foods before 6 months - current advice based on latest research is to introduce the major allergens straight away by 6 months, and regularly, to prevent allergies. Weaning at 4 months but just giving baby cereal and fruit and veg will do nothing to prevent allergies (except to wheat if you give wheat cereal).
roundaboutthetown · 14/10/2018 09:32
Nataku - yes, but how robust is the latest research, given that the "latest research" used to advise the exact opposite? Tbh, I ignored the advice on allergies during my pregnancy and when my children were small, because it didn't make any sense to me, but swinging wildly from one direction to the other in terms of official advice hasn't made me any more inclined to believe it or follow it now.
Caprisunorange · 14/10/2018 09:34
“Anyone who thinks that McD chicken nuggets are a healthy option or similar to a home made chicken nugget would also worry me too.”
So explain the difference between McDonald nuggets and home
made? A PP poster posted the ingredients in a McDonald’s nugget so you can see what’s in it
Natsku · 14/10/2018 09:41
roundaboutthetown
Understandable to be wary with the way recommendations change but I've read the latest research and it seems pretty robust to me. And completely anecdotally, I followed the NHS guidelines with my daughter who ended up with multiple allergies as a baby, and follow the newer guidelines with my son who so far has no allergies despite being high risk as his dad is allergic to nuts. But of course that's just a sample size of 2!
roundaboutthetown · 14/10/2018 09:49
Natsku - my dh's family have a v strong history of allergies, too. On my equally small sample size, my child with very mild hayfever was given antibiotics at a few weeks old. My other child has no allergies whatsoever. Needless to say, I do believe the bit of research that implicates antibiotic use in the development of allergies! 
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