From first latch to first foods to the kid who will only eat beige things. One hour covers all of it.
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Table of contents
Preface: A Note Before We Start
First Son is seven. He eats plain pasta, chicken nuggets, and exactly one vegetable. This playbook is about Second Son, and what changed.
The Remote Was in the Fridge
The first time First Son refused solid food, Jack thought something was wrong with him. Spoiler: nothing was wrong with him.
Hungry or Not
First Son was a big eater. Jack and his wife took this as a sign they were doing everything right. They were not.
The One Thing Missing
A short chapter. The point is simple and the evidence behind it is as solid as evidence gets in nutrition science.
Fed
Breast, bottle, formula, supplemented. The only thing that matters and the noise you can ignore.
The Window
The most important thing in a thousand hours of reading about infant feeding. Don't miss this one.
The Iron Gap
Nobody told Jack about the iron gap before First Son. The conversation pediatricians aren't having.
The Allergen Mistake
For most of First Son's infancy, the standard advice was: delay allergen introduction. The science reversed. Here's what that means.
Hands First
Baby-led weaning, purees, or both. What the evidence says and why texture matters more than you think.
The Pouch Problem
They're convenient. They're everywhere. There are three specific ways they can work against you.
The Table
Family meals and food exposure. The research on how children learn to eat is not what most parents expect.
Twenty Refusals
First Son refused broccoli eighteen times. Jack gave up on attempt four. Here's what the research says about persistence.
Milk Becomes a Side Dish
The transition from milk to solids as the primary nutrition source. The timeline and how to navigate it.
When Done Looks Different
Some kids are done at twelve months. Some aren't. What normal looks like and when to loop in your pediatrician.
"Repeated exposure is one of the most consistent findings in the feeding literature. Most children need between 10 and 15 exposures to an unfamiliar food before accepting it."
Source: Birch & Marlin, Appetite (1982) · One of 45+ sources in this playbook
What you earn
Complete the playbook and quiz to earn your badge and certificate. Add it to your FamilyForce profile. Text it to your partner.
Good Eater Guide
Proof you read the chapter about the broccoli. Yes, that one.
Good Eater Guide
The Feeding Playbook · by Jack Hartley
Proudly Awarded To
Your Name Here
For completing The Feeding Playbook and mastering the research, the timing, and the patience it takes to raise a healthy, adventurous eater.
Key questions answered
Breast or formula: does it really matter?
The actual state of the evidence in 2026, without the tribal politics. Short answer: fed is fed. Longer answer: also in this playbook. (Chapter 4.)
When should I introduce solids?
The window, the signs, and the specific timing the research supports. (Not the age your mother started.)
My kid won't eat anything. Is that normal?
The twenty-refusal rule. The neophobia research. And the strategy that works, which is the opposite of what most parents do. (Chapter 11.)
Up next
Every playbook follows the same format. Same standard. Different topic.
One hour. The research. A quiz. A certificate. And a badge for your FamilyForce profile.
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