Halachic Issues with Infants on Shabbat

The writer is not a halachic authority and is only a mother that has had to ask these questions. Please discuss these issues with your husband and your Rav to get your own psak.

Mazal Tov! You have your beautiful newborn child, home at last. Suddenly, Shabbat arrives. How do you warm the bottle? Can you express if you are nursing? Is there anything different when changing his diaper/nappy? If you are blessed with an eiruv, can you put the hood on your stroller up? What about giving your child a bottle just after they had chicken? Help!

Changing diapers/nappies

1. Either buy diapers which use Velcro-type tabs to attach the diaper or you may have to open and close the tabs before Shabbat – due to the issur of unglueing something which has been stuck for more than 24 hours. We use Huggies, solves the problem.
2. Wiping bums. This is a big issue that many frum families are totally unaware of. There is an issur of sechita, squeezing, on Shabbos. By using wet wipes there is likelihood that liquid will be squeezed out of the wipe onto your baby’s bottom in order to clean it. There are poskim that rule that by wiping gently and not pushing with the wipe, this is circumvented. Other poskim rule that using paper wipes, or heavily saturated wipes where the liquid is visible on the surface (and therefore not inside the fibers of the wipe), is permitted. Many families avoid this issue by having pre-dried wipes and using a spray with water and a bit of baby bath/soap, spraying the liquid onto the baby and then using the dry wipes to clean.

Warming bottles

It is forbidden to put liquid on a surface which could cause its temperature to rise above yad soledet bo (the temperature at which you would take your hand away), even if you remove it before it reaches this temperature. If you hold “ein bishul b’kli shlishi” (no cooking in the 3^rd vessel), then it is permitted to put water from the urn into a cup, into another cup, and then to rest the bottle inside the other cup to warm up. We found getting the baby used to cool milk was easier!

Expressing milk on Shabbat

It is forbidden to express milk into a vessel where the milk could be used (unless there are severe extenuating circumstances e.g. a baby that won’t nurse, drink from a bottle or formula from an open cup). If a mother needs to express for comfort, adding some soap or bleach to the vessel or expressing directly into the sink is permitted.

Extending the hood on the stroller

This is permitted as long as the hood is attached to the stroller before Shabbat. Unfolding the stroller is also ok.

Making up powdered cereals

The issue here is lisha (also bishul if the powders are not already cooked). Avoid the problem by adding the liquid to the powder instead of vice versa (or the opposite way to that which you would do during the week).

Toys that make noises (like rattles)

It is permitted to give the child the toy but care should be taken that the adult does not intentionally rattle the toy.

Electronic toys

A child under 3 is permitted to play with electronic toys. I have been advised that trying to explain to a child that these toys are forbidden on Shabbat just confuses them and makes them associate Shabbat with negative behaviours (I CAN’T do X, Y, Z on Shabbat). If the toys bother you, put them away where your child cannot see them to want them on Shabbat.

Meat after milk (and vice versa)

A child under 3 is permitted to have milk after meat and the opposite. It is advisable to not offer both meat and milk at the same meal. After 3 a child that is still drinking milk to nap or go to bed is permitted, despite having meat before, but they should be gradually weaned off the milk. Some families have a 3 hour wait time with their children even though the adults hold 6 hours after meat. It is worthwhile to ask your Rav to avoid problems (and toddler tantrums!).

Other

There are issues of davening near a child with a dirty diaper (permitted if the child is exclusively breastfed unless the smell is disgusting to you), saying divrei Torah in front of a naked child, changing a diaper near seforim, etc. For all these questions consult your Rav.

Educational issues

Many parents start washing their infants hands negel vasser from a very early age. Indeed, it is considered a segulah to get rid of jaundice (a condition that sometimes causes a brit to be delayed). Ask your Rav to find out what is usual in your community.

Saying Shema with your child from an age where they will start to remember it and become accustomed to it is praiseworthy. It is permitted to use Hashem’s name when reciting p’sukim.

Most nurseries start learning brachot with young children from the age of 2.5-3. In the meantime, saying your brachot aloud will accustom your child to the sound of them and make them more receptive to them when they start learning them themselves.

When initially teaching brachot to your children, I have heard differing opinions as to whether to use Hashem’s name or not, and whether to say Amen or not. Ask your Rav for advice!!