AITA: Giving Baby Spices

Weaning our babies onto solids is certainly a minefield of a topic.

As times have changed, so has the advice. In the past, it was advised to give newly weaned babies bland, soft foods only, but over the years there has been a shift of focus onto Baby-Led Weaning, and introducing baby to a broad range of flavours from early on - within reason of course!

Would any sensible parent give their baby a chilli pepper that is hot enough to stop a grown adult in their tracks? Hopefully not. However, it could be argued that there are different degrees of spiciness and 'tang', so a small baby might cope with something slightly aromatic and may even enjoy the new experience. There's also evidence that suggests that introducing babies to a broader range of flavours has lots of long term benefits - here's just one of many studies we found.

One new dad has taken to the Reddit AITA (Am I The Asshole) board to ask if he's in the wrong for giving his 6 month old spices - and by spices, she means a little cinnamon, garlic powder and pepper, rather than something as firey as a cayenne pepper. These spices aren't inherently hot, but they're certainly an exciting taste sensation that will elevate bland food, and it's also worth mentioning that babies in many cultures around the world are weaned straight onto food that many of us in the West would deem 'spicy'.

Read the full post below...

"Since our baby hit six months, we have been trying to introduce him to food. He pretty much turned his nose up at the vast majority. Our pediatrician said that babies like to eat what their parents eat, so I started sharing food with him. The thing is, the plain mashed sweet potatoes and carrots are gross. So I put cinnamon in the sweet potato and some garlic powder and pepper in the carrots, just a little to make it palatable.

I looked up if these are safe for babies, and they are (although honey definitely isn't, and that was one of my original ideas, so I'm glad I looked it up). For the past week he has been eating with me, and it has been awesome, and he sleeps better too. However, my wife was furious when she saw me put cinnamon in the sweet potatoes. She said it wasn't safe for the baby and I should never have done that without consulting her.

I explained that I did research, but she said that didn't matter, because mother's instincts are more important. I asked what about my instincts, and she said I didn't have any. She said moms instinctually know what is good for there babies. This whole thing has me bummed out, because I was enjoying sharing dinner with my little guy. Was I an asshole for not asking permission to season my baby's dinner?"

Find the main thread here on Reddit.

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What was the general consensus?

The new dad was voted NTA (Not The Asshole) and actually praised for his very clear research into the topic - hence his awareness of the risks of honey. The top rated comment was;

"Baby feeding authorities say that spices are fine and good for babies to have you’re just supposed to avoid salt since they can’t have too much sodium and honey until they’re one because of the botulism risk. I have three children including a 9-month old and they’ve all eaten whatever we eat as long as it’s safe for them (not a choking hazard) including whatever seasonings are in the dish. It’s called baby-led weaning and research (and my experience) shows that it leads to kids who tolerate more food tastes and textures and don’t end up being picky. You’re doing a great job!"

Another comment we enjoyed was;

"NTA, and if she's going to claim mother's instincts every time you guys disagree it's going to be a long 18 years. You did nothing dangerous, and she needs to chill out. - Signed, a mom"

Our verdict...

Firstly, we have to say, as amazing as 'mummy instinct' is, it doesn't make her the all-seeing, all-knowing guru and authority on their baby, and how does she explain cultures where aromatic foods are the norm from weaning age onwards, going by that logic? Her comment about daddies not having parental instincts is also undoubtedly wrong, as well as offensive to dads.

As long as baby isn't being fed chillies that measure in the millions on the Scoville Scale - Carolina Reaper peppers can floor a grown adult, let alone a 6 month old - then we see absolutely nothing wrong with daddy sharing his aromatic, seasoned food with his baby boy. The little one clearly enjoys it and has suffered no ill effects, and his father has demonstrated a great knowledge when it comes to safe weaning.

There also seems to be a deeper rooted issue here; we can totally relate if mum is perhaps a tad anxious, but what she said with regard to 'mum instinct' and claiming that dads don't have the same parental instincts sends up red flags. To us, this reads as a controlling behaviour that will turn into a pattern if this dad doesn't call her out on it. Both parents should have equal input, unless one does something that is explicitly and proven to be dangerous to their baby.

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