#78. Milk and Meat for Babies
Should a baby wait six hours?
In giving a milk bottle to a baby or a small child after they have eaten meat, one has to make a clear distinction between the prohibition of eating meat after milk and the one of eating milk after meat. After the child had their milk bottle and now for example dinner is being served, and for dinner there is chicken or meat, there is no Halachic problem with the child eating chicken or meat after the milk, as long as one ensures their mouth is rinsed or they eat something in the interim. However, the reverse, meat after milk, is a much more serious Halachic issue. If it is a little child, under two or three years old, Stam Tinok Mesukan Etzel Cholov, a child is considered in danger when it comes to their milk bottle, and therefore it would be permitted with practically no wait time as long as it is not at the same time. After three years old, it is important to make sure the child waits some time. A person who is in the state of a Choili, who is considered unwell, which is what a regular child would be considered under normal circumstances, should wait at least an hour. As a child matures, they should wait more and more, provided the food about to be given is important to the child’s healthy development and not just some extra nosh.