Feeding babies, the Chinese custom

[aihaike]

Dear all,

I wonder about the difference in the way to feed babies in China and in Europe, or at least in France.

Well, in France they try to feed babies regularly with like 4 hours between meals It seems that in China the way is to feed babies when ever they want and time between 2 meals does not matter at all. I observe the same behave regarding sleeping.

So, I'm wondering whether only me make that observations.

I don't want to go like this way is correct, that one not.

In France if you do not follow that way you are considered as bad parents. In China it seems to be the opposite. Well, results are pretty much the same, babies grow up and become most of the time healthy adults.

So, is there any reason to not follow our heart like in China or to somehow impose the our kid a formated way of leaving?

Eric.

[zhxlier]

Well, if you are talking about breastfeeding, you are supposed to breastfeed on demand.

Personally I think feeding on a schedule (older babies) is easier on parents, so I'm all for it.

[aihaike]

Yeah, I'm talking about older babies like one year old.

Thank you for you reply.

[blackmeow]

good question

those kind of different customs between china and europe is simply because we are genetically different. through many years we both find the better way of doing things which are more fit our body.

for example when chinese catch a flu， it's nothing! even the SARS didn't kill much. which the flu will easily kill any white people. because the chinese are extremely strong by their respiratory system.

but chinese can not eat fresh and cold food, many chinese go to restaurant ask for hot water, and can not drink the cold milk in the morning. for chinese diarrhea kills. but for white people, it is just the daily life, because the europens are extremely strong by their digestive system.

that's the main reason for many of our customs are different.

[jbradfor]

but chinese can not eat fresh and cold food, many chinese go to restaurant ask for hot water, and can not drink the cold milk in the morning.

Do you have any evidence that this is due to any genetic difference, and not due to cultural preference? I know plenty of Chinese that came to the US and started to drink cold drinks, at all times of day, with no ill effects.

Personally I think this whole "genetically different" thing is crap and has no scientific basis.

[boxcar]

or example when chinese catch a flu， it's nothing! even the SARS didn't kill much. which the flu will easily kill any white people. because the chinese are extremely strong by their respiratory system.

This is nonsense. Here is a quote from a WHO report about the SARA mortality rate.

In addition, the mortality rate varied from country to country:

- Eleven percent to 17 percent in Hong Kong;

- Thirteen percent to 15 percent in Singapore;

- Fifteen percent to 19 percent in Canada;

- Five percent to 13 percent in mainland China; and

- Eight percent in Vietnam.

Globally, SARS has infected more than 6,900 people, killing almost 500, according to the WHO.

In the United States, 65 cases have been reported, but there have been no deaths, according to WHO.

Looks like Asians weren't simply shrugging off SARS, while white people dropped like flies.

[blackmeow]

yeah talk about examples, ehhh, me.

when i move to Australia i was 16 years old, and i was so happy that i finially can eat and drink the fresh and cold food. it was fine for 6 years, then my digestive system start to be in trouble until now. many of my classmates come from china were having the some problem, because of the some reason.

yes, of course we looks fine with it, if we meet in a cafe u wouldn't know that i ever got this problem, it doesn't works as u lost a leg or so, but it slowly break down the immune system of many of us.

by the way, if u can access the data of genetics, it is intersting that we are different（which black and white are quite similar）. not knowing why, but there is a theory which have just pop out these few years: that if human does come from ape, then maybe the white and black came from let's say gorilla and chinese came from, let's say chimpanzee.

of course this is just an untested theory, and i am not willing to defend it since i am not in that feild. just try to give a new view of the facts, and let people discuss.

[blackmeow]

to boxcar:

ehh.....500 people had been killed in a international plague that number is really...... nothing.

i don't know where were u when the SARS exploded in china, but u'd better ask someone who was in china during that time. Globally, SARS has infected more than 6,900 people................ i seriously doubet that, form my own eyes i believe there was at least fifty times more had been infected in china alone but rarly anyone get killed by it. since i was witnessed that many hospitals were closed during too many infected patients， i have about over thirty of my friends were infected (all of them from the some grade of my school as me, which we have about 300 student per grade.) when they were puted into quarantine, we were woried, because we have heared that chance of young people who will be killed by SARS is much higher then old people.

But what happened is i didn't find out any of them died, and at the some time, keeps getting the news that people get killed by SARS from a lot of other countries.

anyway, what did SARS told me, is that SARS doesn't kill...... you will get sick for a few weeks but you will recover from it.

[jbradfor]

I would hazard a guess that every one you knew that "got SARS" actually had a common cold or flu, not SARS. We're they actually tested for SARS, or did they just say "I'm sick, it must be SARS"?

[blackmeow]

ohh, they were on a quarantine progarm hold by goverment hospitals, which they were tested for SARS, i was tested too in fact if anyone of the grade got SARS, then it is a must that all 300 will have to do that test includ blood test, but most of us were fine.

[boxcar]

ehh.....500 people had been killed in a international plague that number is really...... nothing.

I was replying to your ridiculous statement that white people are killed easily by SARS while it doesn't affect Chinese due to their strong respiratory system. The numbers showed that regions had similar mortality rates.

form my own eyes i believe there was at least fifty times more had been infected in china alone but rarly anyone get killed by it

Personally, I will trust the numbers coming from WHO over someone's anecdotes. However, feel free to continue to think you can extrapolate the affect of a disease on an entire planet based on your observations in your school. If 10% of your grade was infected, that must mean 600 million people were infected worldwide. Sounds serious.

[aihaike]

I believe it is a cultural preference, human is human.

I'm pretty sure one do create our own reality.

So if one believe eat such or drink such thing that way will cause you to be sick, it will.

That's mean there is no best way, all are good.

[Lu]

those kind of different customs between china and europe is simply because we are genetically different. through many years we both find the better way of doing things which are more fit our body.

So how often should one feed a half Chinese half white child? And what happens when Chinese babies are adopted and fed according to the western custom?

[rezaf]

There is some truth in what blackmeow is saying as cultural preferences can result in biological changes in ethnic groups after thousands of years(like the fact that some ethnic groups can drink milk and some can't). There should be more studies to be certain of course but I think everyone should be careful of making big changes in diet.

[gerri]

Rezaf's medical background (I remember correctly, don't I?) comes in handy... at the same time, I must say I wonder:

Genetic variability, for all I know, is typically greater amongst ethnic groups than between them. That does not mean that there aren't any differences, lactose intolerance being a prominent example.

However, something like "I have to eat hot foods and rice or I get sick" is more of a cultural attitude (or even only that) than anything truly based in biology.

What makes it even more interesting: at the same time at which you get people like blackmeow argue that eating/drinking cold things has made them sick, you get others who just know that Americans are so much bigger and stronger because they eat beef and drink milk - and drink milk themselves even when it's clear, because of widespread lactose intolerance amongst Asian populations, that they probably can't digest it, therefore suffering ill effects...

Hey, maybe I'm really Chinese, genetically... I was having a nervous stomach in Europe, and have gotten much better (or at least I think so when I'm not having diarrhea from eating something bad) since I got to China ;-)

[skylee]

But what happened is i didn't find out any of them died, and at the some time, keeps getting the news that people get killed by SARS from a lot of other countries.

anyway, what did SARS told me, is that SARS doesn't kill...... you will get sick for a few weeks but you will recover from it.

I was in Hong Kong (like I usually am) during the SARS outbreak and I am positive that many people died of it.

But I think this thread is about feeding babies.

[rezaf]

Anyway is it really as the OP says in china?