Controversial new chocolate and vanilla-flavored baby formulas are inciting the passions of enraged mom bloggers worried the product will induce bad eating habits in their young ones. The formula is a creation of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. and is meant for toddlers’ transition from infant formula or breast milk. Nutritionists worry the product will introduce that craving for sugar that’s so hard for adults to knock, while the company argues the flavors are to add incentive for the toddler to drink milk as it gets older while providing added health benefits that regular milk doesn’t provide.
While the knee-jerk reaction for many moms is to think of the flavored formulas as a bad idea, the lure of chocolate or vanilla-flavored formula might actually be good for some struggling moms. From the LA Times:
Stacy DeBroff, founder and chief executive of MomCentral.com, a website geared toward busy moms, said that while at first glance chocolate-flavored formula sounds like a bad idea, in some cases, it might be a “second best” option for parents with picky toddlers. “If something stands between your children and drinking milk, than this becomes a better choice than juice or juice-based products, even, theoretically water,” she said. Toddlers crave carbohydrates all the time, she said, and sometimes their palates need to be “bribed,” she said.
Other health professionals say the product will fuel an interest in eating sweets early on. That is, before they get hit by advertisers. On the other hand, if babies want to be ready for the culinary challenges awaiting them — including such delicacies as the bacon explosion — they’ve got to start early.
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