How do mummies make milk?

Milk is a white liquid, made inside an animal’s body. It contains lots of nutrients that are important for growing and being healthy, so milk is an important food/drink for babies and young animals. But not all animals can make milk: those that do belong to a group called ‘mammals’.

Human beings (like you and me) are mammals, and human babies drink milk as their only food for the first few months of their lives. My children are amazed to think that they drank milk that I made with my body and they want to know: how do mummies make milk?

So, let’s find out more about how mammals work…!

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What do sea animals drink?

All living things need water – it is needed for lots of important things that help to keep plants, animals, fungi and bacteria alive. Where my family lives, we are lucky to have clean water to drink from the taps in our house and at the places we go to school and work. But some people and animals have to travel long distances to find water that is safe to drink.

My children were drinking water with their lunch: “What do sea creatures drink?” asked my 5-year-old. “Whales eat krill but they spit all the water out. So what do they drink?”

My 9-year-old suggested that perhaps sea creatures don’t need to drink because their food is already wet. “Maybe the krill is moist enough?” she wondered.

It got us thinking about why water is so important for life and how living creatures get the water they need.

Why does the cat like Marmite?

Marmite is a yeast extract that can be eaten, spread on hot buttered toast. It is a typically British product, made from the leftover yeasty paste you get after brewing beer. Because Marmite has a very salty taste, people tend to have a strong reaction to its smell and flavour, and the idea that you either “love it or hate it”.

In our house, we LOVE Marmite! It is a regular topping for our breakfast toast, a tasty addition to cheese sandwiches, and an ingredient to flavour gravy. And it’s not just the humans in our house who like Marmite – the cat is a big fan too! Whenver we open the Marmite jar, he comes sniffing around to find out if he can have a lick.

And my 5-year-old wants to know why does FishFingers like the smell of Marmite?