Italian rabbit cooked in milk

Silvia Viviano describes herself as "an Italian mum", but is quick to add: "I’m not the classic Italian mamma". She and her husband, who is also Italian, have lived in London for six years. But when it comes to feeding their one-year-old son, Alessandro, they are sticking to Italian tradition – both in terms of diet, and meal times.

Many parents I know consider weaning and feeding potentially picky young people one of the most stressful aspects of parenting. When my daughter was just starting to eat, I ran around reading books, and ringing my mother, arguing with my mother, and declaring that I was no longer speaking to my mother whenever we disagreed about what children should be fed.

If only we were Italian! When deciding what to feed her son, Silvia simply consulted the notes from her paediatrician, which indicated when it was time to add different types of food to his diet. In your regular checks with your state-provided paediatrician in Italy, he or she gives you a detailed schedule of what to feed your baby. Silvia provided this rough outline of the advice from her paediatrician (whom she visits regularly back in Italy.