conuly

1. Jenn's still nursing ANA, no way she'd stop nursing a baby. But she takes EBM during the day, yes.

2. The longer you can delay solids, the better your kid's eventual health, generally speaking. There's a risk of allergies and such. Children can be perfectly healthy without solids up until I think nearing a year or so - indeed, their diet should be mostly breastmilk (or formula, if needed) until then.

3. Kids that age *can* be cruel - in fact, they often are - but they also seem to lack the appropriate ability to understand their actions. I don't think it's fair to blame them for things they don't necessarily understand. Yes, you should certainly not allow them to say/do mean things - but you can't just punish them, you need to explain *why* it's wrong. And, eventually, it'll stick.

That's the trouble. Children that age may understand that other people have feelings, and they may even understand that how they act affects how other people feel - but I've seen a lot of four year olds. The connection between "I act this way, they feel bad - I should stop acting that way so that others feel bad" doesn't always look like it clicks. Because they're four.

If Deniz and other four year olds I've met are at all typical (possible they're not, I don't know *that* many four and five year olds), they spend a lot of time thinking about themselves, and not so much time thinking about other people. Even if they're being mean to other people, it's all about them. (So says my amazing psychic ability, of course :P)