Revised and condensed version of Greiner T. Sustained breastfeeding, complementation and care. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 16(4):313-319, 1995.

The younger the child, the greater the extent to which his physical as well as emotional welfare is dependent on care. Regarding feeding, however, the time and knowledge required for proper care increase to a maximum during the age period 6-18 months. Up until six months of age, breastfeeding can meet the infant’s nutritional needs and any additional time and resources spent on feeding of supplements are usually unnecessary and may be harmful. Most of the key basic knowledge required in these first months is “automatically” transferred as a part of growing up and becoming a mother in traditional cultures. As the child grows older, language capabilities and motor skills enable him better to express and independently to respond to his own hunger signals.

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