Baby like foods

Best Early Finger Foods for Baby (With Tips, Visuals, and Recipes)

Use this list of safe, nutritious, and easy to eat finger foods for baby to help you know exactly what (and how) to offer at meals and snacks. Plus, find the best first finger foods, troubleshooting tips, and visuals of foods broken down by food group to keep things easy!

Finger Foods for Baby

After baby starts solids and is ready to move onto finger foods, you may feel a little confused by exactly what to serve and how to serve it. Which is totally normal because it can be scary to let baby feed themselves this way and we may not have any experience doing this—or we may have totally forgotten from our last kiddo!

This list of finger foods for baby will cover some great first finger foods to start with, then set you up with plenty of healthy options from each food group.

TIP: Find more info on starting solids here and the best foods to start with if doing baby led weaning or purees with baby.

Healthy Baby Food

I love sharing these ideas for baby food since they are easy to prepare and serve and because I know how hard it can be to continue to come up with flavorful and healthy meals and snacks for our little ones. Let me tell you, I’m on my third kiddo and it can be such a challenge to feed him during the chaos of parenting the rest of my crew! These foods are wholesome and nutritious—perfect for your baby.

TIP: I’m a big fan of SpoonfulONE, a company that offers the most complete way to introduce food allergens to our kids. They make mix-ins, puffs, and crackers that are yummy and easy for babies and toddlers to eat. Learn more about their pediatrician-approved baby foods here. (sponsored link)

Best First Finger Foods

When baby is around 9 months, you’ll notice that they’re able to pick up smaller pieces of food with two fingers. This is known as the “pincer grasp” and is a sign that they’re ready to start finger foods. To be clear, when I say “finger foods” I mean small pieces of food that a baby (or toddler) can feed themselves.

Here are some of my favorite ones to start with that are all super soft, safe to eat, and easy to pick up.

Scrambled egg, broken up into small pieces
Roasted sweet potato mashed and broken up into small pieces
Fresh raspberries, broken up into smaller pieces
Oatmeal, cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool
Tofu, diced and sauteed lightly or steamed
Ground beef, chicken, or turkey, broken up into small pieces or lightly mashed meatballs
Shredded cheese or crumbled goat cheese
Mashed sweet potato, in little pieces
Peanut butter puffs

TIP: You can serve the tofu, ground meat, or meatballs in veggie puree from a pouch or a simple marinara sauce for extra moisture and flavor. Learn more about how and why to introduce peanut butter.

Finger Foods for Baby: Fruits and Veggies

Some of my favorite early fruits and veggies to serve babies are:

Mashed roasted sweet potato, broken up into small pieces
Warmed frozen peas, slightly mashed if desired
Roasted Zucchini
Diced Roasted Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash
Fresh blueberries, cut in half or quarters
Fresh raspberries, broken into small pieces
Banana, broken into small segments (they are less slippery this way versus slicing them)
Avocado, diced and mashed slightly (be sure it’s ripe and very soft)

TIP: A good rule of thumb is to serve pieces of food that are about the size of a pea to start and soft enough that they are easy to squish between your fingers. This will be easy for baby to pick up and eat and will also reduce chances of choking.

Finger Food Ideas: Carbohydrates

Offering complex carbohydrates can provide fiber, a variety of textures, B vitamins, and more. Try these with your baby.

Spinach pancakes (moisten with applesauce or plain yogurt if needed; this recipe is particularly moist and great for babies)
Oatmeal, cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool
Baby Puffs
Peanut Butter Puffs
Rice (it’s easiest if it’s in little clumps so baby can pick it up; this Coconut Rice or this Cheesy Rice are both good options)
Baby Banana Muffin
O cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
Baked Oatmeal, diced

Finger Food Ideas: Proteins

Offering proteins will continue to expose baby to a range of nutrients. These are my go-tos for babies newer to finger foods—and toddlers too.

Shredded cheese (thicker cuts are a little easier to pick up)
Tofu, diced and sauteed lightly or steamed
Flaked cooked wild salmon
Lightly mashed meatballs
Shredded chicken, cut up finely (we love this Butter Chicken to share with baby)
Ground beef, turkey, or chicken, broken into smaller pieces
Lightly mashed beans
Scrambled eggs, broken up into small pieces
Diced egg muffins

I’d love to hear any questions you may have, or if you have foods that your babies enjoy that I didn’t include here.

Chime in below in the comments!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Author Amy Palanjian

Cuisine American

Course Baby Food

Calories 124kcal

Servings 1

First Finger Foods (choose 1-3 per meal)

▢ 1 Scrambled egg (broken up into small pieces)
▢ 1/4 cup Roasted sweet potato, mashed and broken up into small pieces
▢ 1/4 cup Fresh raspberries (broken up into smaller pieces)
▢ 1/4 cup Oatmeal (cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool)
▢ 2 tbsp Tofu (diced and sauteed lightly or steamed)
▢ 2 tbsp ground beef, chicken, or turkey, broken up into small pieces or lightly mashed meatballs
▢ 2 tbsp shredded cheese or crumbled goat cheese
▢ 1/4 cup Mashed sweet potato (broken into little pieces)
▢ 1/4 cup Peanut butter puffs

Fruits and Veggies

▢ 1/4 cup mashed roasted sweet potato (broken up into small pieces)
▢ 1/4 cup warmed frozen peas
▢ 1/4 cup Roasted Zucchini
▢ 1/4 cup diced Roasted Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash
▢ 1/4 cup blueberries (cut in half or quarters)
▢ 1/4 cup raspberries (broken into small pieces)
▢ 1/4 cup banana slices (broken into small segments—they are less slippery this way versus slicing them)
▢ 2 tbsp avocado (diced and mashed slightly—be sure it's ripe and very soft)

Whole Grains and Carbohydrates

▢ 1 Spinach pancakes (moisten with applesauce or plain yogurt if needed; this recipe is particularly moist and great for babies)
▢ 1/4 cup Oatmeal (cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool)
▢ 1/4 cup Baby Puffs
▢ 1/4 cup Peanut Butter Puffs
▢ 1/4 cup fully cooked rice (it's easiest if it's in little clumps so baby can pick it up; this Coconut Rice or this Cheesy Rice are both good options)
▢ 1 Baby Banana Muffin
▢ 1/4 cup O cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
▢ 1/4 cup Baked Oatmeal (diced or regular oatmeal broken into little pieces)

Dairy

▢ 2 tbsp Shredded cheese (such as mozzarella)
▢ 2 tbsp Tofu (diced and sauteed lightly or steamed)
▢ 2 tbsp flaked cooked wild salmon
▢ 1 lightly mashed meatballs
▢ 2 tbsp finely shredded chicken (we love this Butter Chicken to share with baby)
▢ 2 tbsp ground beef, turkey, or chicken (broken into smaller pieces)
▢ 2 tbsp lightly mashed beans
▢ 1 Scrambled egg (broken up into small pieces)
▢ 1 Diced Egg muffins

For each meal or snack, choose 2-3 foods from a mix of food groups. Aim to include some fat in most meals and protein in many too.
Prepare the food, cutting into small pieces and/or mashing as needed to make the food easy to eat.
Start with small portions and allow more as baby indicates according to their hunger.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge.
Many foods you cook for your family will work as baby finger foods—just be sure they are easy to squish between your fingers and the pieces are small and easy to chew.
Babies very normally make a lot of faces when they eat, so don't assume they don't like something just because they scrunch their nose!
Flavors and textures can take time to learn to eat, so continue offering foods in small portions even if baby hasn't liked them in the past—and make sure they taste good to you!

Calories: 124kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 164mg, Sodium: 81mg, Potassium: 344mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 9857IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Rate in the comments and tag @yummytoddlerfood on IG!

Baby's first foods: The 10 best foods for babies

These 10 first foods are ideal for your baby because they're full of essential nutrients, reasonably priced, easy to prepare, and delicious. Avocados contain healthy fats, while bananas are loaded with potassium. Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants, whereas broccoli offers fiber and folate. Both lentils and meat are packed with protein. Prunes can help with constipation, and yogurt helps form healthy bones and teeth. Sweet potatoes and winter squash are great sources of beta-carotene and vitamin C.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it's important to offer your baby a variety of healthy foods. There are lots of healthy, baby-friendly foods out there, but these 10 recommended by doctors and dietitians alike stand out from the pack. From vitamin-rich fruits and veggies to meats and beans loaded with protein, these superfoods are full of essential nutrients, reasonably priced, easy to prepare, and delicious.

Many are also favorite first foods. Before introducing solids, talk to the doctor about your baby's readiness for solids, and which foods to introduce and when. Then introduce foods one at a time, waiting at least three days after each new food to watch for any allergic reaction.

Avocados

BabyCenter parents are all about avocado as a first food. This buttery fruit-vegetable is rich in healthy unsaturated fats that help boost brain development. In fact, the fat composition of avocados is somewhat similar to that of breast milk.

Serving ideas: Mash avocado with a fork, or make baby guacamole.

Bananas

Known as a good source of potassium, this grab-and-go fruit also contains vitamins B6 and C, fiber, and magnesium.

Serving ideas: Make banana and mango puree. Or, for your little one's first smoothie, puree banana and peach chunks with whole-milk yogurt.

Blueberries

Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants. The deep, brilliant blue of these berries comes from flavonoids that benefit your baby's eyes, brain, and even urinary tract.

Serving ideas: Blend or mash blueberries well and swirl a spoonful of the juicy purple puree into yogurt, or top silky coconut milk rice pudding with blueberry compote.

Broccoli

This cruciferous vegetable is a rich source of essential nutrients, including fiber, folate, and calcium. Introduce your baby to broccoli's bold flavor early, and you'll be expanding their tastes and encouraging a lifelong love of green vegetables.

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Serving idea: Steam until soft, cut into pieces small enough for your child to eat safely, and then chill. Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli, and some babies prefer the texture and taste when it's cold.

Lentils

Beans and other legumes pack lots of lean protein and fiber. But unlike larger beans, little lentils simmer into a pleasing mush just right for baby bites. They're also one of the cheapest healthy foods you can buy.

Serving ideas: Cook finely diced carrots along with the lentils. As your baby gets older, double up on nutrient-rich foods by making lentil and spinach stew.

Meat

Lack of iron can cause anemia. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends meat as a first food because it's such a great source of protein, zinc, and iron, especially red meat and dark poultry meat. Plus, babies absorb iron more easily from meat than from iron-fortified cereals, another common first food.

Serving ideas: If your baby is new to solids, try our easy turkey or chicken puree recipe. As they get older, introduce new flavors with chicken curry with green beans and zucchini or shepherd's pie.

Prunes

Whether you call them "prunes" or "dried plums," these humble fruits don't sound glamorous – but they're soft, sweet, and full of fiber. Your baby may suffer from constipation when switching to solids, as it's a big change for their system. Add pureed prunes to your baby's diet to aid digestion and keep things moving.

Serving ideas: Serve pureed prunes alone or mixed with other foods, such as oatmeal, cereal, or applesauce, for a naturally sweet treat.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the more popular first foods for babies, who tend to like both their sweetness and texture. These colorful root vegetables are packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, and minerals, including iron and copper.

Serving ideas: Serve sweet potato puree alone or swirled into pureed chicken or turkey.

Winter squash

Orange- or yellow-fleshed hard winter squashes such as butternut, acorn, and pumpkin boast many benefits, one of which is they're exceptionally rich in beta-carotene, recognized for being great for eyes. Squash is also an excellent source of vitamin C. Natural sweetness and a creamy texture add to the appeal of winter varieties.

Serving ideas: Roast a winter squash like butternut, scoop out the flesh, and puree it for an easy first food. As your baby gets older, introduce new flavors and textures with dishes like smashed chickpea and butternut chili.

Yogurt

Creamy yogurt is rich in calcium and vitamin D, necessary for healthy bones and teeth. Your baby can have it at 4 to 6 months, long before they'll be ready for cow's milk.

Opt for plain yogurt with no added sugar. Also look for a brand with the most live cultures, which help regulate the good bacteria in your baby's digestive tract. Make sure you pick up whole-milk yogurt – babies need the calories from fat.

Serving ideas: Yogurt is fine on its own, or swirl in pureed berries or other fresh fruit, applesauce, or mashed avocado.

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How food helps to grow a happy child

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RG-Nedel

Rodina

thematic Applications

Union

Society

01.10.2015 01:33

Share as food helps to grow to grow. happy child?

Natalya Lebedeva

Lunch time. The child sits at the table and picks with a spoon in the soup. After eating a couple of spoons, he categorically declares: "I don't want to eat anymore!" At this moment, everything turns upside down inside every mother, and she faces a difficult dilemma: finish lunch and not feed anything to her beloved child until dinner, or spend half an hour persuading and dancing with a spoon around the child's mouth.

To be honest, I act according to circumstances. If in the morning I gather my youngest son to the garden (he goes to the short stay group), I will definitely feed him breakfast - I will feed him with a spoon and promise sweets, because there are no snacks in the garden, and more than 5 hours before lunch. But if my boys went on a hunger strike on the weekend because they didn't like the cauliflower in their soup, I mustered up the will to clear the plates and try not to give them anything to eat before dinner. Dad argues more simply: if you don’t want to eat, you are free. Perhaps that is why when mom is not around, children eat everything.

Is the child full? This question worries the mother from the moment the baby is born. At first, she torments herself and those around her with talk about whether there is enough milk and whether it is necessary to supplement. I remember how at first I weighed my firstborn before and after feeding to make sure that he sucked out the grams of milk he was supposed to. Then she weighed mashed zucchini, goat milk porridge and measured 50 grams of steamed fish or turkey cutlets. Relatives laughed, but I was so calmer - I knew for sure that my baby was full. Moreover, the elder Vanya is by nature a small-minded gourmet, who with pleasure eats only what he considers tasty, and in those quantities that he considers necessary. The youngest son is the complete opposite. He eats his portion, looks at what's left on his dad's plate, and asks for "another piece", and then he can steal something else from his older brother, who will gladly share that he does not want to finish eating. But with age, he becomes more picky about food. Therefore, the second important question for every mother is what to cook?

A kid who loves oatmeal can refuse to eat it at the age of five. Many children refuse meat. We have to mask it in cutlets, stewed vegetables and dumplings. The same with cottage cheese and kefir. Sugar, fruits, cocktail tubes and cheesecakes are used, in the preparation of which the child must take part. By the way, this is how we taught Vanya to eat vegetable salad. He himself, under our supervision, cuts cucumbers and tomatoes, salts, pours oil. Such a salad, of course, turns out tastier.

But what if one child likes rice porridge and another likes semolina? When one eats melons, peaches and apricots for both cheeks, while the other prefers only apples and grapes. And when it comes to eating healthy veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, or green beans, the answer is often, “Better pasta.” You understand with your mind that the children's menu should be balanced and filled with all the necessary vitamins and minerals, but how difficult it is to do when children require only pasta, cheese and cookies. And now mothers are conjuring at the stove, inventing how to cook chicken so cunningly so that the child does not turn his nose. It takes a lot of time, which is so lacking for working mothers. This requires patience, because the child walks around you and in every possible way shows a desire to take part in the process. And, finally, it requires creativity to turn an ordinary cutlet into a hedgehog with eyes and legs, and boiled vegetables into a ship or a bear cub. Check it out, it tastes better.

And of course, don't forget that a worthy example before your eyes is the best motivation. Just the other day, five-year-old Vanya asked me: "Mom, why should I eat soup, and adults eat what they want?" I had to put down the hastily made sandwich and pour myself a bowl of soup.

Expert opinion

Olga Makhovskaya, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, author of the book "How to calmly talk to your child about life, so that later he will let you live in peace"

In the book "American children play with pleasure, French - by the rules, and Russians - until victory" I identified three strategies for feeding a child. The French approach the process from an aesthetic point of view. Everything that a person, including a child, does should be judged as beautiful or ugly. At the same time, by beauty they understand, first of all, a certain feature. In food, they pay great attention to how it looks and enjoy anticipation. In the morning, they tell you what dish they will cook and how delicious and beautiful it will be. This is unusual for us, because we usually announce lunch 2 minutes before it starts.

French children take part in the table setting: napkins, plates, glasses, bows on spoons, a bouquet of flowers. According to the French, food is the quintessence of life. If you do not have enough time for food, then why do you live at all? For them, life is not a series of white and black stripes, but rather a bouquet or salad bowl filled with different colors and textures. Therefore, they have a lot of all kinds of sauces and a variety of dishes.

A good family dinner usually lasts an hour and a half. It is not customary to talk about politics and problems at the table, but everyone shares common pleasant impressions. With this approach, the family spends at least an hour and a half together in a good mood and on the same wavelength. Everyone will strive for such a feast.

By the way, when psychologists ask what is happiness? Many people start talking about a big family sitting at the table, when everyone is smiling and joking. We do this mostly only on big holidays. Although, in my opinion, every family can make it a regular tradition. For the child, the benefits are clear.

In Russia, rather a status approach to food prevails. Usually the head of the table is the father. It is not customary to talk at the table. Remember the saying: when I eat, I am deaf and dumb. You can’t interrupt the elders, that is, the children are actually deprived of the opportunity to express their delight, for example. The child is forced to constantly control himself.

We treat food like work. Who works more, that and the portion is more. Children rarely take part in setting the table, but they almost certainly wash the dishes. So they are "indicated" by their place in the family hierarchy.

For us, feeding a child is more of an ideological norm. Parents get nervous if their children don't eat well, hence the practice of force feeding. Imagine how the baby feels at the same time: a loved one shoves another spoon into you, and you sit with your mouth stuffed. This leads not only to the fact that food ceases to bring pleasure, but also to more serious psychological problems in adulthood.

French children are as stubborn as we are, but they use the three-trial rule and invite the child to the table several times. Our parents usually give out a reaction of brutality at the first attempt. Therefore, for us, the ideal of obedience is just raised an eyebrow, and the child has already done it. As a result, children grow up with a tremendous sense of guilt. They understand that mom-dad is angry, but the reason is not obvious to them. The child does not want to eat because he does not like it - this is reasonable childish behavior. We ourselves do this, but for some reason we don’t leave a choice to the child.

Finally, Americans with their pragmatic approach to food. They count everything: calories, portions, money. At the table, everything is divided equally. And snacking is an American phenomenon, they are guided by the principle: if you want to eat, take it and eat it. That is why they have such a branched fast food system and hence so many overweight people.

Food is a common thing. But it is precisely from such simple things as the process of eating, playing with dad and mom, whether you were scolded or not, beaten or not, that a person’s biography is formed.

Therefore, I advise mothers to follow the example of the French and shape their child's taste. This is an opportunity to stop, think and not immediately give up on things that at first glance seem ugly. Let the child choose the cup and plate. Put fresh berries in the porridge, let him delve into it. And he will eat it with pleasure and will not even notice. Then food will be associated with joy and something extraordinary.

By the way

How not to feed a baby

Do not force your child to eat. So he would rather begin to hate food than eat an extra spoon.
Do not use threats: "mother will be offended," "until you eat, you won't go for a walk and you won't watch cartoons." The child may eat, but the process of eating will begin to be associated with something negative.
Do not scold your child if he spills food on the table or spills something. For the baby, cutlets and pasta turn into toys, and jam into paints. But he doesn't do it out of malice. So better prepare an apron and plenty of napkins and towels.
Do not teach your child to eat in front of the TV. Experts warn that the simultaneous feeding and watching cartoons and especially advertising is detrimental to the child's digestion.
Don't bring up a greedy man: "If you don't eat, dad will come and eat!"
Don't play "Who will eat first?" often. It works, especially if mom gives in and the plate empties quickly. But, as a rule, the child is in a hurry, puts too large pieces in his mouth and does not have time to fully chew food.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta - Nedelya - Federal issue: No. 221(6792)

Family and children "RG" tips

Eat, it's healthy! How to teach a child a healthy relationship with food?

Does the child eat a limited set of foods and flatly refuse to try new things? Or, on the contrary, does he overeat, but his food is mostly sweet and fast food? What a healthy attitude to food looks like in a family, why you can’t force a child to eat, and sweets shouldn’t be a reward, says psychologist Anna Skavitina.

Anna Skavitina, psychologist, analyst, member of the IAAP (International Association of Analytical Psychology), supervisor of the ROAP and the Jung Institute (Zurich), expert of the Psychology journal

What is a healthy diet?

There are two serious issues that parents regularly turn to me for help with. What to do when my child eats very little, and only certain foods - I'm just afraid of not feeding him, and my child eats a lot, I'm afraid that his health will suffer from overeating.

Of course, each situation and each child is unique, but there are a few general points worth discussing. These two questions are asked by parents who have the opportunity to feed their child enough, and ideas about what healthy eating is. Statistics show that 90% of children in developing countries still do not have such a choice, and their parents are concerned about simply feeding the child. Malnutrition is a serious problem that starts at an early age. Low birth weight occurs in approximately 25% of children in some countries in Asia and Africa. It causes the death of almost 10 million children every year. More than 200 million children under the age of 5 in developing countries do not develop fully, mainly due to chronic malnutrition. The parents of these children do not think about the usefulness of nutrition, their children usually do not suffer from selectivity in food, and few people think about food allergies when deciding questions of survival.

Our children in developed countries are the first or second generation of people who do not starve and have a fairly large food choice. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that people who have survived with a shortage of food, and have always been looking for ways to get food to feed their children, will not have adequate skills to cope with a situation where food is now always in abundance. Rather, they will either suffer that they cannot feed their children in any way (just like their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers during times of famine), or worry that children eat too much - compared to mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers in their childhood. That is why the skills of parents regarding the nutrition of children often have to be artificially regulated, coping with off-scale anxiety and not hoping that in parents these skills are automatically activated immediately upon the birth of a child.

How do I deal with anxiety?

Parental anxiety related to overeating/overeating children usually leads to compulsive eating. “Be sure to eat THIS (meat, fish, vegetables, fruits)” or “Never eat THIS (fast food, sweets, sodas”, “You can’t leave anything on your plate, if you don’t eat, you won’t get out”, “Put the second piece of pie back. ” Bottom line: parents' anxiety, inherited as a baton from their ancestors, is transmitted to children and colors their relationship with food with intense anxiety and guilt. When you worry, you do not hear your body signals well and either overeat or undereat. Thus, a vicious circle is formed that , of course, does not contribute to a healthy diet.

So, the first rule of normalization of relations with food in the family: no coercion of children.

It is very difficult for many parents to fulfill because it is scary to trust their children and the idea that their bodies know how much food they need.

Our children are lucky: there is really a lot of food around, their chance of starving to death is minimal if they can reach the refrigerator. If food is available and children are not forcibly restricted, after a while they will adjust the amount necessary for their normal development. If you're really, really scared and you don't believe the situation will change, or you're worried that when it does, "it might be too late," start keeping your child's food diary to record everything he actually ate during the day.

It is better to keep a diary for at least one or two weeks, because children eat unevenly, just like adults. Today they want and eat more, tomorrow - less. You will be surprised, but little ones actually eat not so little, and those who overeat not so much.

If anxiety does not leave you, go with a food diary to a pediatrician or nutritionist, let him assess the nutritional value of the child and help you create a varied menu if there are really difficulties with nutrition.

Rule #2: organize the conditions for a healthy diet in the family. Let the child have the opportunity to eat what he needs for development. Your task is to ensure the purchase and preparation of tasty and healthy food. Yes, healthy food must be delicious! For some reason, few people like unleavened rice and meat without salt and sauces. Unpalatable food can easily turn into compulsion (see rule 1). One of the reasons for overeating is the belief that healthy food always tastes bad and unhealthy food always tastes good. What to do if the child does not like the taste of vegetables or fruits, meat or fish? Suggest other options or forms. It is normal if the child does not eat fruits, but eats vegetables, or vice versa, does not eat boiled, but eats raw, does not eat any yet, but is ready for mashed potatoes in jars or fresh juices. He does not eat meat - we offer vegetable protein: beans, lentils. Your task is to provide the child with the necessary chemicals in the form that the child will like now. If your child is very selective in nutrition, then there is good news - he definitely has enough food. There is also bad news: if a child prefers to eat only sweets, he ... is malnourished and tries to “grab” fast carbohydrates for life instead of those substances that his body really needs.

Rule No. 3 : Do not rigidly divide food into permitted and prohibited. Forbidden fruit is known to be sweeter. Children will find an opportunity to get themselves a “forbidden thing” bypassing their parents: stealing from kitchen cabinets with holiday stash, from the refrigerator, buying sweets and fast food with all their pocket money, friends, grandparents, in the end. We organize the possibility of a normal full-fledged diet, and show how to deal with not very healthy food. The problem is not the food itself, the problem is that you should not eat only such food, or eat too much of it. We understand that there will be no drama if the child eats normal food and eats some sweets for dessert: a cake, 2-3 sweets or fruit. There will be no drama if sometimes you eat fast food along the way if you are hungry.

Rule #4 : Family breakfasts, lunches, or dinners at a well-laid table contribute to the transmission of good eating habits to children and good family relationships. Family meals become a place where you can provide "pedagogical complementary foods" - try food from your parents' plate and thereby expand your understanding of various foods and their forms, expand your food repertoire. Personal example is contagious. It is important not to panic and not tear out of the hands of the child what he decides to try, even if it seems to you that this is not the most useful or the child will not be able to cope with it due to age. Allow me to experiment with food! If you don't like it or can't chew it - it's okay, it will spit it out. If a child has tried food and has a slight reddening, this does not mean that the child is allergic to it, and now you should never give this product for anything and ever. Let's take a little at a time to let the child's body adjust. You can start eating together from the moment when the child already receives the first complementary foods and can sit for some time, that is, from about 6 months. It is better to agree that the family eats without gadgets in their hands. Firstly, they interfere with communication, and secondly, they do not allow you to feel the signals of your body and stop in time when you are full.

Rule #5: Take your child to shops and markets when you plan to shop for groceries. Show and tell what you buy and why, what criteria you are guided by so that the family has good nutrition. Offer your child to help put food in the cart, choose vegetables and fruits himself, ask what he would like to try and cook.