At what age do you feed babies cereal
When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods | Nutrition
For more information about how to know if your baby is ready to starting eating foods, what first foods to offer, and what to expect, watch these videos from 1,000 Days.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How do you know if your child is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? You can look for these signs that your child is developmentally ready.
Your child:
- Sits up alone or with support.
- Is able to control head and neck.
- Opens the mouth when food is offered.
- Swallows food rather than pushes it back out onto the chin.
- Brings objects to the mouth.
- Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
- Transfers food from the front to the back of the tongue to swallow.
What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you do not need to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months old. By the time he or she is 7 or 8 months old, your child can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. These foods include infant cereals, meat or other proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, yogurts and cheeses, and more.
If your child is eating infant cereals, it is important to offer a variety of fortifiedalert icon infant cereals such as oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing infant rice cereal is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration because there is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administrationexternal icon to learn more.
How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?
Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.
Now that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that give your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.
Click here to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.
Let your child try one single-ingredient food at a time at first. This helps you see if your child has any problems with that food, such as food allergies. Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods.
Introduce potentially allergenic foods when other foods are introduced.
Potentially allergenic foods include cow’s milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages is not recommended until your child is older than 12 months, but other cow’s milk products, such as yogurt, can be introduced before 12 months. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.
How Should I Prepare Food for My Child to Eat?
At first, it’s easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby’s oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods can be introduced.
Some foods are potential choking hazards, so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating.
Here are some tips for preparing foods:
- Mix cereals and mashed cooked grains with breast milk, formula, or water to make it smooth and easy for your baby to swallow.
- Mash or puree vegetables, fruits and other foods until they are smooth.
- Hard fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, usually need to be cooked so they can be easily mashed or pureed.
- Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork.
- Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking.
- Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces.
- Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.
- Cut cylindrical foods like hot dogs, sausage and string cheese into short thin strips instead of round pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
- Cut small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
- Cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.
Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.
Top of Page
When Can My Baby Start Eating Solid Foods? (for Parents)
A friend just started giving her 3-month-old applesauce and rice cereal.
My son is just 2 weeks younger than hers, and I am wondering if I should be introducing solids soon too. When should I start?
– Taylor
Doctors recommend waiting until a baby is about 6 months old to start solid foods. Starting before 4 months is not recommended.
At about 6 months, babies need the added nutrition — such as iron and zinc — that solid foods provide. It’s also the right time to introduce your infant to new tastes and textures.
Some babies may be ready for solids sooner than 6 months, but don't start until your baby is at least 4 months old.
How do you know it’s the right time to start solid foods? Here are some signs that babies are ready:
- They have good head and neck control and sit up in a high chair.
- They're interested in foods. For example, they may watch others eat, reach for food, and open their mouths when food approaches.
- They don’t push food out of their mouths, which is a natural tongue reflex that disappears when they’re between 4–6 months old.
- They weigh twice their birth weight, or close to it.
Talk to your doctor about the right time to start solid foods.
How Should I Start Solids?
When the time is right, you can start with a single-grain, iron-fortified baby cereal. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cereal mixed with breast milk, formula, or water. Feed your baby with a small baby spoon. Don’t add cereal or other food to a baby's bottle because it can lead to too much weight gain. Let your baby practice eating from a spoon and learn to stop when full.
When your baby gets the hang of eating the first food, introduce others, such as puréed meat, fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, or yogurt. Try one food at a time and wait a few days before trying something else new to make sure your baby doesn't have an allergic reaction.
Foods that are more likely to cause allergies can be among the foods you introduce to your baby. These include peanuts, eggs, cow’s milk, seafood, nuts, wheat, and soy.
Waiting to start these foods does not prevent food allergies. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about food allergies, especially if any close family members have allergies, food allergies, or allergy-related conditions, like eczema or asthma.
Infants with severe eczema or egg allergies are more likely to have allergies to peanuts. Talk to your doctor about how and when to introduce these foods to your child.
When starting your baby on solids, avoid:
- foods with added sugars and no-calorie sweeteners
- high-sodium foods
- honey, until after the first birthday. It can cause botulism in babies.
- unpasteurized juice, milk, yogurt, or cheese
- regular cow's milk or soy drinks before 12 months instead of breast milk or formula. It’s OK to offer pasteurized yogurt and cheese.
- foods that may cause choking, such as hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes, popcorn, and nuts
Also, do not give fruit juices to infants younger than 12 months old.
Over the next few months, introduce a variety of foods from all the food groups. If your baby doesn't seem to like something, don’t give up. It can take 8 to 10 tries or more before babies learn to like new foods.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: February 2021
Porridge for children: is it possible to give porridge to children and from what age? Recipes with water and milk
Everyone knows about the benefits of cereals for a growing organism. It is cereals for children that are one of the first complementary foods and food during illnesses and during periods of rehabilitation. They are nutritious, contain a large number of essential microelements, are well absorbed, and promote digestion.
However, the usefulness factor of the dish depends on the preparation method . For example, buckwheat porridge is a storehouse of iron. Children who consume it frequently are less likely to become anemic.
But if you cook buckwheat porridge in milk (as many do), then the benefits of this cereal are minimized. The thing is that calcium from milk prevents the absorption of iron from buckwheat.
Not everything is so simple with semolina. Modern nutritionists have proven its uselessness for healthy children. In addition to the usual carbohydrates that give a feeling of satiety, there is nothing useful for the child in it. However, it is still quite popular.
So, let's figure out which cereals are the most useful for children, how to cook porridge from them and when to introduce the dish into the diet.
Contents:
- Is it possible to give porridge to children and from what age?
- Benefits of porridge for children
- What kind of porridge should I give my child? Which are the most useful?
- With milk or water?
- How to cook porridge for a child: recipes and instructions
- A few tips for cooking porridge
- Preparation examples
- How much porridge to give a child and when?
- The child does not eat porridge - what to do?
Is it possible to give porridge to children and from what age?
WHO recommends introducing complementary foods at 4–6 months of age.
During this period, the baby's activity increases, he gains weight, and breast milk or formula may no longer be enough. The enzyme system of the gastrointestinal tract is ready to start taking adult food. Delayed introduction of complementary foods can lead to beriberi and developmental delay.
The scheme for introducing cereals into the diet of a child under one year old is as follows:
6-7 months
The first cereals should be introduced 3-4 weeks after getting used to vegetables. But if the child does not eat up, is not gaining weight well, there are problems with the gastrointestinal tract or a tendency to “liquid” stools, then the pediatrician may prescribe porridge as the first complementary food.
The first cereals should be dairy-free, gluten-free (rice, buckwheat, corn) and monocomponent. Also, the first porridges are cooked without the use of salt, sugar, honey, dried fruits, etc. It is not recommended to cook porridges for children under the first year of life on whole cow's milk.
7-8 months
You can add oatmeal to your diet. Already familiar cereals to try to combine. But only if the child's body is used to them. Porridges can be diluted with additives, such as applesauce.
9-10 months
Introduce barley and wheat groats.
12 months
From this age, you can start cooking porridge with whole cow's milk. But provided that the child is not allergic to it . You can also start giving semolina.
The benefits of porridge for children
Cereal products contain a large amount of carbohydrates, vitamins (group B, iron, zinc, copper, PP, etc.), minerals and vegetable proteins. Cereals are a great source of energy that kids of all ages need so much, especially schoolchildren.
Cereals improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and can help with disorders. So, buckwheat and oatmeal help with constipation, and rice - with diarrhea. The fiber found in cereals helps to remove unnecessary substances from the body, normalizes metabolic processes in the body.
What kind of porridge should I give my child? Which are the most useful?
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
According to the results of numerous studies, the TOP-7 healthy cereals for children were determined: and stimulates the digestive tract. But remember that by cooking cereals in milk, we deprive it of its beneficial properties.
Oatmeal
The benefits of oats are legendary. Even in the old days, seriously ill patients were raised to their feet with decoctions from this amazing cereal and drank the water in which it was boiled to prevent many diseases.
Oatmeal is rich in vitamins B, C, E, fiber. However, it should be understood that instant cereals on the principle of “filled and ready” are of little use. After the processing that they have undergone, and in the presence of flavorings, such cereals are harmful to children. Healthy oatmeal is a porridge cooked from whole grains or flakes, the cooking time of which starts from 3 minutes.
Barley porridge
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Barley porridge. Barley contains iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, vitamins of groups B, PP, D, A, E, zinc, boron, silicon, fluorine. This cereal is very useful for brain activity and restoring metabolism. But its disadvantage is the duration of preparation. Do not be tempted by store offers and buy instant porridge. It will be of little use.
Millet porridge
This cereal contains iodine, iron, chromium, magnesium and other useful substances. Millet is recommended for children with anemia. It improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, helps to accelerate the process of hematopoiesis, helps to remove antibiotics from the body.
Corn porridge (maize)
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Due to its vitamin and mineral composition, it is indicated for children with bad teeth. Strengthens bone tissue and immunity, normalizes the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Also, corn stimulates a decrease in the level of fermentation and decay of food residues in the intestines.
Rice porridge
The benefits of the dish will depend on the type of grain and how it is processed. The most useful type of rice is brown, not polished. Rice is rich in potassium and phosphorus. With 7 amino acids, rice is an excellent source of energy. Rice porridge improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, removes toxins from the body, and helps strengthen the cardiovascular system.
Flaxseed porridge
Originally a Russian dish, this amazing porridge is a source of omega-3 and omega-6. Flaxseeds contain three times more of these fatty acids than fish. It is also distinguished by a high protein content - 34 g of protein per 100 g of porridge.
Milk or water?
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
For children older than a year, it will be more useful to cook porridge with milk, as the fats in it contribute to a better absorption of vitamins from porridge.
Milk porridge is more nutritious and high in calories, it is an additional source of calcium, which is very important for the development of the child's skeleton and teeth.
But when adding milk, you need to take into account several nuances:
- cereals rich in iron will lose their superpower in the prevention and treatment of anemia;
- when preparing cereals for children under one year old, it is not recommended to use whole cow's milk;
- when preparing milk porridge, you need to be sure that the child's body absorbs this product, he is not allergic to lactose;
- milk is added after or at the end of cooking, otherwise it becomes unhealthy.
If you are allergic to lactose, milk can be replaced with a lactose-free formula, milk from plant ingredients (oatmeal, almond, rice, for example).
How to cook porridge for a child: recipes and instructions
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Cereals must be free of husks and other debris.
You need to cook well-washed cereals, since in warehouses it is often processed from rodents.
It is advisable to use a pan with a thick bottom for cooking porridge. This will prevent it from burning.
If porridge is prepared for babies, then the cereal can be pre-grinded with a blender or coffee grinder. So the porridge will boil faster and will have a uniform consistency.
A few tips for cooking porridge
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Viscous porridge
To cook a viscous porridge, it must be prepared from crushed cereals and added to boiling water. To prepare a viscous porridge, you need to take 1.5–2 times more water than cereals.
Loose porridge
To obtain loose porridge from buckwheat, pearl barley or millet, cereals and water are taken in a ratio of ½, respectively. Groats are added to boiling water and boiled until water is absorbed. You don't need to stir the porridge.
How to speed up the process?
To make the porridge cook faster, it is pre-soaked.
Buckwheat is soaked in cold water 3-4 hours before cooking. It will be possible to have time to cook porridge for children from millet or oats for breakfast if you soak the cereal in hot water overnight. In the morning, swollen porridge will cook very quickly.
Cooking examples
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
The food examples below are common for adults and children.
When preparing porridge for a child under one year old, one should take into account the recommendations of pediatricians and do not add spices and cow's milk. Cow's milk can be substituted for breast milk, goat's milk, vegetable milk, powdered infant formula, water, etc. and ease of preparation. You can use semolina porridge not only in its pure form, but also use it for making desserts and creams.
Ingredients:
- 200 ml milk;
- 1 pinch of salt;
- 1 tsp Sahara;
- 1 st. l. semolina with a slide;
- berries, jam, egg yolk, butter to taste.
Cooking method:
- When the milk boils, add salt and sugar.
- Stirring constantly, add semolina. It is important to pour the cereal in very small portions. Then there will be no lumps.
- Do not stop stirring until the cereal is completely swollen, usually this process lasts no more than 5 minutes.
- Add oil and mix well.
- To make semolina fluffy, you can beat it with a blender, so it will become like a cream.
- Ready porridge can be diluted with fillers to taste.
Baby rice porridge
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
If you and your child don't like rice porridge, you can make crumbly rice with this recipe.
What you need:
- 1 st. rice
- 1 st. water;
- oil and spices to taste;
Recipe:
- To make rice fluffy, put it in cold water.
- Under the lid and over high heat, rice porridge is brought to a boil.
- After that, the fire is reduced to medium, and the porridge is cooked for another 10 minutes.
- After this time, the fire is set to minimum, and the porridge is cooked for about 5 minutes.
- The saucepan is removed from the heat.
- Pot lid replaces with a cloth towel.
After that, rice porridge will need to stand for another 10 minutes.
Buckwheat porridge for children
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Grains can be ground in a coffee grinder and boiled for 15 minutes. Such a porridge will turn out liquid and it will be convenient to use it from a bottle. If it turned out a little thick, it doesn't matter. The porridge can be diluted with breast milk or prepared formula.
For an older child and schoolchildren, you can cook buckwheat with cheese, because everyone loves it. This dish is perfect for both breakfast and dinner.
Ingredients :
- 200 gr. buckwheat;
- 500 ml water;
- 50 g hard cheese;
- 30 g oil;
- 1 pinch of salt.
Cooking method:
- Boil buckwheat in salted water until tender. The process usually takes 15-20 minutes.
- While buckwheat is cooking, three large cheese.
- Add butter, cheese to the finished porridge and stir quickly.
The dish is served hot so that the cheese stretches. You can decorate with greenery if the child likes.
Corn porridge
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Corn porridge is perfect for both babies and older children. It's filling, healthy, and gluten-free. You can cook with both milk and water.
Very tasty when combined with pumpkin.
Ingredients :
- 200 g pumpkin pulp;
- 100 g grits;
- 250 ml milk;
- 25 g oil;
- steamed dried fruits, jam, honey to taste.
Cooking method:
- Pour boiling water over grits and leave to swell.
- While the corn grits swell, cut the pumpkin pulp into small slices and simmer with sugar.
- Pour grits into boiling milk and cook for 15 minutes on minimum heat, stirring constantly.
- A few minutes before cooking, add butter and pumpkin.
- If desired, add honey, steamed dried fruits, etc.
Millet porridge
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Whole grain millet porridge for children is prepared from 1–1.5 years old. Until this age, it is recommended to use cereals of varying degrees of grinding or grind yourself.
Since now we have a pumpkin season, and this is a very healthy vegetable that can be introduced into complementary foods for babies from 6 months old, we will consider a recipe for making porridge with it.
Ingredients :
- 130 g pulp;
- 200 ml milk;
- 200 ml. water;
- 0.5 st. cereals;
- oil and spices to taste.
Preparation:
- Cut pumpkin into cubes.
- Place the grits and pumpkin in a saucepan and cover with hot water.
- Boil and remove the film.
- Salt.
- Let the water boil, preferably the millet remains firm.
- Boil the milk and add it to the porridge.
- Cover and bring to readiness over low heat.
When serving, add butter and dried fruits to taste.
Milk porridge for children
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
One of the most common breakfast cereals is oatmeal with milk. Delicious, healthy, fast.
It can be diluted with various toppings, frozen berries, made sweet and savory, and even served as a side dish for meat.
For a child over one year old, oatmeal porridge is cooked from unground flakes.
Ingredients :
- 2 tbsp. l. flakes;
- 200 ml milk / water;
- spices, oil, toppings to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Bring the used milk or water to a boil.
- Reduce heat and add cereal.
- Cook the porridge for about 7 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes.
Water porridge for children
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
Children's cereals can be cooked from several cereals at the same time. This is useful and expands the range of trace elements obtained. However, it should be understood that can only be mixed with cereals that the child has previously consumed.
For example, rice and millet porridge “Druzhba”.
What you need:
- 0.5 tbsp. millet;
- 0.5 st. rice
- 1 l water;
- spices to taste.
Cooking method:
- Mix cereals with water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for another 20-30 minutes, making sure that it does not burn.
- Add oil and spices to the finished porridge.
How much porridge to give a child and when?
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.
com
New foods are introduced into the diet of babies from 1-2 tsp. in the morning or afternoon to observe the reaction. With a positive result, the amount of a new product increases proportionally and in a few days the volume is brought to the age norm.
| Product in g or ml. | 4-6 months | 7 months | 8 months | 9-12 months |
| Vegetable puree | 10-150 | 170 | 180 | 200 |
| Milk porridge | 10-150 | 150 | 180 | 200 |
| Fruit puree | 5-60 | 70 | 80 | 90-100 |
| Fruit juice | 5-60 | 70 | 80 | 90-100 |
| Meat puree | 5-30 | 30 | 50 | 60-70 |
| Curd | 10-40 | 40 | 40 | 50 |
Fermented milk drinks (kefir, etc. ) | – | – | 200 | 200 |
| Fish puree | – | – | 5-30 | 30-60 |
| Yolk | – | 1/4 pcs. | 1/2 pcs. | 1/2 pcs. |
| Biscuits | – | 3-5 | 5 | 10-15 |
| Wheat bread | – | – | 5 | 10 |
| Butter | 1-4 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Vegetable oil | 1-3 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
⠀
Porridge is better to give the baby for breakfast. It will provide him with energy and a feeling of satiety for the whole day. However, if the baby sleeps restlessly and often wakes up hungry at night, then evening feeding can be replaced with it.
The child does not eat porridge - what should I do?
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com
If the child refuses to eat porridge, the reason should be investigated to correct the situation.
These may include:
- consistency;
- temperature;
- bad experience;
- don't like the taste;
- feeling unwell.
After identifying the cause, you can correct the situation as follows:
- Dilute the porridge with breast milk or formula so that it becomes liquid. With a positive result, gradually reduce the amount of liquid.
- Make sure that the porridge offered to the child is appropriate for his age group. If the porridge is cooked on its own, then you should try to grind it even more until smooth.
- Change additives. For example, a child refuses to eat porridge with pumpkin. Offer him porridge with an apple.
- Change of scenery. If during the last feeding of the baby something was very disturbing, he was frightened, then it is worth moving the highchair to another room.
- Change porridge. Children, like adults, have the right to choose their taste preferences. If you don't like corn porridge, offer him buckwheat.
- Shift feeding time. Eating through force is not useful. If the child is not hungry, then nothing terrible will happen if you shift the meal time by 30–40 minutes.
Porridge is a versatile dish. It can be cooked with the addition of vegetables, fruits, natural sweets and even meat. It is boiled in water, milk and broth. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of eating porridge, because it is a source of a huge amount of trace elements necessary for the life of the body. It fills with energy, has a positive effect on the health and development of children, starting from infancy.
Please rate the article
This is very important to us
Article rating: 3.2 / 5. Votes count: 5
There are no ratings yet. Rate first!
Receive a school preparation checklist to your mail
Letter sent!
Check e-mail
Diet for a 4-6 month old baby
Your baby is already 4 months old.
He has noticeably grown up, become more active, is interested in objects that fall into his field of vision, carefully examines and reaches for them. The emotional reactions of the child have become much richer: he joyfully smiles at all the people whom he often sees more and more often, makes various sounds.
You are still breastfeeding or have had to switch to formula or formula feeding. The child is actively growing, and only with breast milk or infant formula, he can no longer always get all the necessary nutrients. And that means it's time to think about complementary foods.
The optimal time to start its introduction is between 4 and 6 months, regardless of whether the baby is receiving breast milk or formula. This is the time when children respond best to new foods. Up to 4 months, the child is not yet ready to perceive and digest any other food. And with the late introduction of complementary foods - after 6 months, children already have significant deficiencies of individual nutrients and, first of all, micronutrients (minerals, vitamins, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, etc.
). In addition, toddlers at this age often refuse new foods, they have delayed development of chewing skills for thick foods, and inadequate eating habits are formed. It is important to know that, no matter how strange it may seem at first glance, with a delayed appointment of complementary foods, allergic reactions more often occur on them.
When is it advisable to introduce complementary foods as early as 4 months, and when can you wait until 5.5 or even 6 months? To resolve this issue, be sure to consult a pediatrician.
As a rule, at an earlier age (4 - 4.5 months), complementary foods are introduced to children at risk of developing iron deficiency anemia, as well as children with insufficient weight gain and with functional digestive disorders.
The optimal time to start complementary foods for a healthy baby is between 5 and 5.5 months of age.
The World Health Organization recommends that breastfed babies should be introduced to complementary foods from 6 months of age.
From the point of view of domestic pediatricians, which is based on extensive practical experience and scientific research, this is possible only in cases where the child was born on time, without malnutrition (since in these cases the mineral reserves are very small), he is healthy, grows well and develops. In addition, the mother should also be healthy, eat well and use either specialized enriched foods for pregnant and lactating women, or vitamin and mineral complexes in courses. Such restrictions are associated with the depletion of iron stores even in a completely healthy child by 5-5.5 months of age and a significant increase in the risk of anemia in the absence of complementary foods rich or fortified with iron. There are other deficits as well.
The first complementary food can be vegetable puree or porridge, fruit puree is better to give the baby later - after tasty sweet fruits, children usually eat vegetable puree and cereals worse, often refuse them altogether.
Where is the best place to start? In cases where the child has a tendency to constipation or he puts on weight too quickly, preference should be given to vegetables.
With a high probability of developing anemia, unstable stools and small weight gains - from baby cereals enriched with micronutrients. And if you started introducing complementary foods with cereals, then the second product will be vegetables and vice versa.
If the first complementary food is introduced at 6 months, it must be baby porridge enriched with iron and other minerals and vitamins, the intake of which with breast milk is no longer enough.
Another important complementary food product is mashed meat. It contains iron, which is easily absorbed. And adding meat to vegetables improves the absorption of iron from them. It is advisable to introduce meat puree to a child at the age of 6 months. Only the daily use of children's enriched porridge and meat puree can satisfy the needs of babies in iron, zinc and other micronutrients.
But it is better to introduce juices later, when the child already receives the main complementary foods - vegetables, cereals, meat and fruits.
After all, complementary foods are needed so that the baby receives all the substances necessary for growth and development, and there are very few in their juices, including vitamins and minerals.
Juices should not be given between feedings, but after the child has eaten porridge or vegetables with meat puree, as well as for an afternoon snack. The habit of drinking juice between meals leads to frequent snacking in the future, a love of sweets is instilled, children have more tooth decay and an increased risk of obesity.
With the start of the introduction of complementary foods, the child is gradually transferred to a 5-time feeding regimen.
Rules for the introduction of complementary foods:
- preference should be given to baby products of industrial production, they are made from environmentally friendly raw materials, have a guaranteed composition and degree of grinding
- Complementary foods should be offered to the baby by spoon at the start of feeding, before breastfeeding (formula feeding)
- the volume of the product increases gradually, starting with ½ - 1 spoon, and in 7 - 10 days we bring it to the age norm, subsequent products within the same group (cereals from other cereals or new vegetables)
- can be entered faster, in 5 - 7 days
- start introduction with monocomponent products
- it is undesirable to give a new product in the afternoon, it is important to follow how the child reacts to it
- new products are not introduced in the event of acute illnesses, as well as before and immediately after prophylactic vaccination (should be abstained for several days)
When introducing a new type of complementary food, first try one product, gradually increasing its amount, and then gradually "dilute" this product with a new one.
For example, vegetable complementary foods can be started with a teaspoon of zucchini puree. During the week, give the baby only this product, gradually increasing its volume. After a week, add a teaspoon of mashed broccoli or cauliflower to the zucchini puree and continue to increase the total volume every day. Vegetable puree from three types of vegetables will be optimal. The portion should correspond to the age norm. Over time, you can replace the introduced vegetables with others faster.
After the introduction of one vegetable (bringing its volume to the required amount), you can proceed to the intake of porridge, and diversify the vegetable diet later.
If the child did not like the dish, for example, broccoli, do not give up and continue to offer this vegetable in a small amount - 1-2 spoons daily, you can not even once, but 2-3 times before meals, and after 7 - 10, and sometimes 15 days, the baby will get used to the new taste. This diversifies the diet, will help to form the right taste habits in the baby.
Spoon-feeding should be done with patience and care. Forced feeding is unacceptable!
In the diet of healthy children, porridge is usually introduced after vegetables (with the exception of healthy breastfed children, when complementary foods are introduced from 6 months). It is better to start with dairy-free gluten-free cereals - buckwheat, corn, rice. At the same time, it is important to use porridge for baby food of industrial production, which contains a complex of vitamins and minerals. In addition, it is already ready for use, you just need to dilute it with breast milk or the mixture that the baby receives.
Children suffering from food allergies are introduced complementary foods at 5-5.5 months. The rules for the introduction of products are the same as for healthy children, in all cases it is introduced slowly and begins with hypoallergenic products. Be sure to take into account individual tolerance. The difference is only in the correction of the diet, taking into account the identified allergens.
From meat products, preference should first be given to mashed turkey and rabbit.
Diets for different age periods
Explain how you can make a diet, it is better to use a few examples that will help you navigate in compiling a menu specifically for your child.
From 5 months, the volume of one feeding is on average 200 ml.
Option 1.
If your baby started receiving complementary foods from 4-5 months, then at 6 months his diet should look like this:
| Breast milk or VHI* | 200 ml | |
| II feeding 10 hours | Dairy-free porridge** Supplementation with breast milk or VHI* | 150 g 50 ml |
| III feeding 14 hours | Vegetable puree Meat puree Vegetable oil Supplementing breast milk or VHI* | 150 g 5 - 30 g 1 tsp 30 ml |
| IV feeding 18 hours | Fruit puree Breast milk or VHI* | 60 g 140 ml |
| V feeding 22 hours | Breast milk or VHI* | 200 ml |
* - infant formula
** - diluted with breast milk or VHI
Option 2.
* - infant formula Option 3. ** - diluted with breast milk Up to 7 months, increase the volume of porridge and vegetable puree to 150 g and introduce fruit puree. I feeding
6 hours Breast milk or VHI* 200 ml II feeding
10 hours Dairy-free porridge**
Fruit puree 150 g
20 g III feeding
14 hours Vegetable puree
Meat puree Vegetable oil
Fruit juice 150 g
5 - 30 g
1 tsp
60 ml IV feeding
18 hours Fruit puree
Breast milk or VHI* 40 g
140 ml V feeding
22 hours Breast milk or VHI* 200 ml
** - diluted with breast milk or VHI 
:
I feeding
6 hours Breast milk II feeding
10 hours Dairy-free porridge**
Breast milk supplement 100 g III feeding
14 hours Vegetable puree
Meat puree Vegetable oil
Breast milk supplement 100 g
5 - 30 g
1 tsp IV feeding
18 hours Breast milk V feeding
22 hours Breast milk 
