The importance of this level of achievement is underscored by the fact that this is the age at which children raised in institutions, without getting sufficient stimulation, begin to show signs of deprivation. A baby of this age may whimper when hungry, rather than crying, and may even be able to wait a few minutes. This ability to wait in anticipation of an expected reward is an important step, representing a level of understanding and trust not present in a younger infant. Feeding time will also become playtime. By now, feeding is the most receptive time, and babies may remove their mouth from the nipple to watch what is going on in the room.
Many parents begin to wonder in the third month when to introduce solid foods.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends delaying the introduction of solid foods until sometime between the fourth and sixth month. Because the baby gets them by spoon, eating these foods requires a certain level of neurological coordination, a level that very few infants have reached by the age of three months. By far the majority are still at the sucking stage and simply don't know how to work their tongues in order to swallow food from a spoon. Unfortunately, the introduction of solid food is often misguidedly regarded by parents as a sort of landmark in development, and a competition may develop over whose baby is eating solid foods first. This kind of competition is for the benefit of the parents, not the child, and should be avoided.