Bad Science, Infant Cereal, and Church Tradition

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Cap'n Crunch regular flavor cereal

In her post, “Why Ditch The Infant Cereals?” KristenM at Food Renegade makes a compelling case for not giving cereal to babies before they are one year-old.  The case is made of two important arguments: 1) What is developmentally and biologically appropriate and 2) There is no “traditional” basis for it.

Against these two arguments, one can only feebly make up something like “well, if it weren’t OK, then it wouldn’t be in stores” or “it’s just a little wheat–what’s the harm?”  You know, the best debate champions in their clique.

So powerful are these two arguments, and so counter to what my friends and relatives are doing, that it leads me toward that strange existential crisis of fighting with my own mind.  Normally, we settle these fights with a pretty obvious question: could I send this to my sister and get a positive response?  Or is she simply going to say “What a quack”? And we normally let that question govern our decision-making.  What will others think of me if I followed this?  And the answer is usually go with your gut because your friends and family are wrong.

Knowing that my friends and family are no doubt reading this, I will say that you aren’t always wrong. And I trust you with my life.  You never steer me wrong.

However, our friends and family are more interested in your not being weird and outcasted than they are in discovering scientific truths about child-rearing.  Except my Mom.  But she’s a little weird, herself.

This also seems incredibly relevant to churches and all people of faith.  How does current practice match up to those two questions: 1) What is developmentally and biologically appropriate and 2) What is the traditional basis for this.  Or better yet, when faced with new ideas, how do they match up?

Our philosophy is to ignore the stats and make up the difference.  We paint in the space between the our beliefs and the truth with the detail of a Thomas Kinkade print.  But really, Catholic or Protestant, our worship is not biologically or developmentally appropriate to the average participant, let alone to our youngest members.  Nor are many of our practices historically traditional.

Like those experts who fail to recognize the biological development of babies before encouraging new parents to stop nursing and start popping cereal in their mouths as soon as possible, many Christians fail to recognize how untraditional our current practices truly are.

And in the end, what is more important than raising healthy children?

 

What are your thoughts?  What is the place of innovation and tradition with raising our children?  And with raising up the church?