by Robin Tidwell

Created on: April 30, 2008

Historically women of child-bearing age have remained in the home, so feeding schedules were much more flexible. Recent trends are for women to work outside the home, where feeding on demand may be impossible; an infant in daycare must usually conform to the caregiver's schedule.

However, many women who stay at home choose not to feed on demand; there are hazards to this, some more long-lasting than others. Infants fed on demand require a certain parental mindset to enable a mother to stop whatever she is doing to tend to the baby - not that this is a bad thing, but if an infant is on a rough schedule, the mother can plan a bit better for her day-to-day activities. Many infants fed on demand suffer from weight issues as well, and it's much easier to control later feeding if one begins at the beginning.

Babies are a part of the family; that said, a family typically eats at set times throughout the day. Babies are no different, and eventually they will eat with the family as well. If a mother feeds her child at 6:00 am, and the newborn will usually go back to sleep for a period of time after this, the mother can then tend to herself, her husband, or to other children. How much more important this schedule is if the mother has several children, or is on her own and must handle every detail. If she knows the baby will eat again around 9:00 am, the mother can plan ahead and be prepared.

Most babies eat every 3-4 hours. As the child grows, the feeding times can be extended as his little stomach can hold more for a longer period of time. Babies thrive on predictability, and this is one area that can be controlled, more or less.

By using the initial example time, the baby will require feeding at noon, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm, and probably for a couple of months at least, sometime during the night. Several of these time slots are during regular mealtimes, which enable the baby to become used to that commonality with the rest of the family. Furthermore, a baby fed on demand is much like an older child who is constantly raiding the fridge or pantry and wanting "snacks". Children today eat far more than children ever have - so-called experts have deluded us into thinking that "snack time" is "anytime".

Weight issues arise from this very thing: children, even infants, or adults, who are "snacking" constantly frequently become overweight. Yes, an infant can be overweight. Most people can tell when they become "full", but some choose to eat for comfort or a myriad of other reasons. Babies cannot tell anyone, in words, if they are hungry or full; babies cannot always differentiate between wanting food and wanting to suckle. New mothers, especially, have difficulty distinguishing between the types of cries and discomfort from their infants, and all too often resort to another feeding; this teaches the infant that food solves the problem - as well as training the mother to respond in the same fashion.

Scheduled feeding is both more convenient (and babies are mostly inconvenient so one must take her breaks where she can get them!), and better for mother and child. There are too many reasons to avoid on-demand feedings, and zero evidence of any positivity.

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