ecisions about young child feeding are taken at different levels. At the household and community level they are affected by several factors: traditions, customs handed down from parents, control over available resources, the media, the knowledge that we have received at school and elsewhere about food and nutrition. Factors at the national level are the trends of modernization, food marketing and advertising, patterns of employment and the time available to feed our children, and new gender roles. Some result from a new understanding of the value of certain practices.