According to the World Health Organization, mothers should begin breastfeeding their babies within an hour of birth and breastfeed them exclusively for six months. Despite this recommendation, the UNICEF Regional Nutrition Adviser for Eastern and Southern Africa stated that false advertising persists in claiming that “infant formula is as good as breast milk.”

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.

Researchers in Montreal have suggested that children of authoritarian parents—those who enforce rigid rules but show little affection for their children—are 30 percent more likely to be obese than children whose parents maintain a balance of affection and discipline.

DID YOU KNOW? The parenting style that is most beneficial for children was identified in the Bible centuries ago.—Colossians 3:21.

A study of Dutch families in which both parents work has concluded that parents who keep their work and family roles strictly separate have better interactions with their children than parents who allow their work to interfere with family responsibilities. For example, integrating work and family by making work-related telephone calls from home after working hours may prevent parents from giving their children the attention they need.

TO THINK ABOUT: “There is an appointed [best] time for everything.”—Ecclesiastes 3:1.