2023-07-25 18:00:13
GIULIA D’ANNA LUPO
It’s one of those innumerable “methods” that suddenly appear in the daily life of young mothers, between a “Magicmaman” forum, midwifery advice and playground discussions: the DME. “Child-led diversification” is a technique consisting of offering your baby, from 6 months, not homemade purees, even less small industrial jars (horror!), but whole pieces of various fruits and vegetables, which have been cut beforehand according to precise instructions in order to avoid the risk of suffocation. We lay out the pieces in front of the child, who makes his choice alone, and then, well, we pass the broom.
The gratification is therefore not immediate, but these efforts will not be in vain, guarantee its promoters. EMR “encourages fine motor skills, awakening and development, supports autonomy, invites sharing”to believe natural mom website. In France, it was Christine Zalejski, a doctor in cell biology who became a stay-at-home mother, who popularized the concept, through three books, conferences and training.
All the elements of modern parenting advice are in place: a scientific guarantee delivering its recommendations, an issue presented as important, methods that require being a full-time parent, support that will be invoiced. And then there is the part of risk: “The link with the food that you are going to transmit to your baby consciously or not is essential because your baby will positively or negatively register his actions or the food depending on the environment at the time”writes Christine Zalejski.
On the Maman-naturelle site, we read that to pass your DME, you must “Learn to let go. In other words, don’t be in a rush. For his part, your baby (who has no concept of time) will stroll. Take the opportunity to observe it. Live in the present moment and contemplate its small exploits”.
It’s up to the mother to adapt
On paper, this moment of sharing seems idyllic. But what about when you’re stuck between the eldest’s homework, the file you haven’t had time to complete at the office, your parents’ nursing home and the hassles of everyday life? The use of the feminine here is not an error but a choice, because the recipients of this advice are indeed the mothers. Even more than other areas of a parent’s life, feeding a young child is “their business”.
The DME, which appeared in the 2000s in Anglo-Saxon countries and which is slowly taking hold in France, is based on a presupposition: it is up to the mother to adapt to the needs of the child, and not the other way around. Obviously, this does not convince everyone. “Couldn’t we also give him the choice of his school? »writes to us, accompanied by an emoji rolling on the ground with laughter, a researcher to whom we have detailed the concept of the DME.
You have 72.82% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
#Breastfeeding #myth #total #mother