Milking That Excuse To Meddle

My mom, eighteen-month-old daughter, and I are on a road trip. One of our stops is to visit family. My aunt has some pretty strong views when it comes to politics, vaccines, etc., and very much believes she is always right. She also believes anything she reads on the internet, even if it’s something off of Reddit, Tumblr, etc. We are staying at her house, and other family members, including one of my cousins and her nine-month-old son, have come by. My aunt witnesses me giving my daughter coconut milk.

Aunt: “You know you’re starving her brain, right?”

Me: “Excuse me?!”

Aunt: “You aren’t giving her whole milk! She needs the fat! She’s too tiny.”

Me: “She’s doing just fine, [Aunt]. She doesn’t tolerate dairy milk well. It gives her a rash and makes her constipated, and she throws it up whenever we’ve offered it. Her pediatrician told us to switch.”

Aunt: “Well, I read online that if they don’t have adequate fats, you starve their brains and then they get dementia. She doesn’t weigh enough for her age.”

Me: “She eats just fine, and she’s meeting all her milestones, including growth. She is just on the petite side.”

Aunt: “She needs more fat. You don’t want to starve her brain, do you?”

I just picked my daughter up and took her to our room. Later, I found out my aunt thought I was starving my daughter because she weighed the same amount as the nine-month-old baby there. When it came time to eat dinner, my aunt promptly dropped it when she saw how much my daughter ate.