How to feed your baby cereal

Feeding Your 4- to 7-Month-Old (for Parents)

Most babies this age are ready to try solid foods. Experts recommend starting solid foods when a baby is about 6 months old, depending on the baby's readiness and nutritional needs.

Be sure to check with your doctor before giving any solid foods.

Is My Baby Ready to Eat Solid Foods?

How can you tell if your baby is ready for solids? Here are a few hints:

Does your baby swallow food or push it out of their mouth? Babies have a natural tongue-thrust reflex that pushes food back out. Wait until this reflex disappears (typically when babies are 4–6 months old).
Can your baby support their own head? To eat solid food, an infant needs good head and neck control and should be able to sit up.
Is your baby interested in food? Babies who stare, reach and grab, and open their mouths for food are ready to try solid foods.

If your doctor gives the go-ahead but your baby seems frustrated or uninterested in solid foods, try waiting a few days before trying again. Breast milk and formula will still meet nutritional needs as your baby learns to eat solid foods. But after 6 months, babies need the added nutrition — like iron and zinc — that solid foods provide.

Do not add cereal or other food to your baby's bottle because it can lead to too much weight gain.

Watch for signs that your child is hungry or full. Respond to these cues and let your child stop when full. A child who is full may suck with less enthusiasm, stop, or turn away from the breast or the bottle. With solid foods, they may turn away, refuse to open their mouth, or spit the food out.

How Should I Start Feeding My Baby Solid Foods?

When your baby is ready and the doctor says it’s OK to try solid foods, pick a time of day when your baby is not tired or cranky. You want your baby to be a little hungry, but not so hungry that they’re upset. So you might want to give your baby a little breast milk or formula first.

Have your baby sit supported in your lap or in a high chair with a safety strap.

Most babies' first food is iron-fortified infant single-grain cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. Place the spoon near your baby's lips, and let the baby smell and taste it. Don't be surprised if this first spoonful is rejected. Wait a minute and try again. Most food offered to your baby at this age will end up on the baby's chin, bib, or high-chair tray. Again, this is just an introduction.

When your little one gets the hang of eating cereal off a spoon, it may be time to try single-ingredient puréed meat, vegetables, or fruit. The order in which you give them doesn't matter, but go slow. Offer foods that are high in iron and zinc — such as meat, poultry, eggs, and beans — especially if your baby is breastfeeding. Try one food at a time and wait several days before trying something else new. This will let you identify any foods that your baby may be allergic to.

Which Foods Should I Avoid?

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’re 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.

Possible signs of food allergy or allergic reactions include:

rash
bloating or an increase in gassiness
diarrhea
vomiting

Get medical care right away if your baby has a more severe allergic reaction, like hives, drooling, wheezing, or trouble breathing.

If your child has any type of reaction to a food, don't offer that food again until you talk with your doctor.

Babies shouldn't have:

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 beverages 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

Tips for Feeding Your Baby Solid Foods

With the hectic pace of family life, most parents try commercially prepared baby foods at first. They come in small, convenient containers, and manufacturers must meet strict safety and nutrition guidelines.

If you prepare your own baby foods at home, here are some things to keep in mind:

Follow the rules for food safety, including washing your hands well and often.
To preserve the nutrients in your baby's food, cook it in ways that keep the most vitamins and minerals. Try steaming or baking fruits and vegetables instead of boiling, which washes away the nutrients.
Freeze portions that you aren't going to use right away.
Whether you buy the baby food or make it yourself, texture and consistency are important. At first, babies should have finely puréed single-ingredient foods. (Just applesauce, for example, not apples and pears mixed together.)
After your baby is eating individual foods, it's OK to offer a puréed mix of two foods. As babies get older, they will learn to eat a greater variety of tastes and textures.
If you use prepared baby food in jars, spoon some of the food into a bowl to feed your baby. Do not feed your baby right from the jar — bacteria from the baby's mouth can contaminate the remaining food. If you refrigerate opened jars of baby food, it's best to throw away anything not eaten within a day or two.
Around 6 months of age is a good time for your baby to try a cup. You might need to try a few cups to find one that works for your child. Use water at first to avoid messy clean-ups. Do not give juice to infants younger than 12 months.

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.

Your Baby's Growth: 4 Months (for Parents)

Babies this age continue to grow — in size, physical skills, and their ability to interact with the world.

Many of the new skills they're learning will come in handy for eating solid food. In fact, some time over the next few months, your baby may get that first taste of food beyond breast milk or formula. Although breast milk or formula will continue to be the main source of nourishment, your baby can start to explore different tastes and textures.

As long as your baby continues to grow steadily, eating habits shouldn't be a cause for concern. Your baby will be ready to start eating puréed foods when she can sit well without need for support and has lost the tongue-thrust reflex (pushing solids out of the mouth with the tongue).

How Much Will My Baby Grow?

By 4 months, many babies have doubled their birth weight. This month, babies gain about 1 to 1¼ pounds (560 grams) and about 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) in length.

Since your child's birth, the doctor has been recording growth in weight, length, and head size (circumference) during your regular well-baby visits. The doctor tracks these numbers on standard growth charts. Ask your doctor to show you your baby's growth record. By now, you should begin to see a personal growth curve emerging — expect your child to continue growing along this curve.

Should I Be Concerned?

Is my baby big enough? Is my child destined to be tall or short? Parents often worry about growth and may compare a baby with siblings and peers. It's important to remember that kids come in a wide range of shapes and sizes.

Growth depends on many factors, including:

genes passed on by the parents (kids tend to resemble their parents in height)
the amount and quality of food a child eats
overall health
the functioning of the hormones that control growth

Based on the growth chart, the doctor can determine whether your child is growing as expected. If at any time you're concerned about your baby's weight or growth in general, discuss your worries with your doctor.

In response to your concerns, the doctor may ask you these questions:

How many feedings a day does your baby get?
How much does your baby eat at each feeding?
How long does a breastfeeding baby nurse at each feeding?
What else are you feeding your baby?
How frequent are your baby's bowel movements? What do they look like?
How often does your baby pee?

The doctor also may ask questions about your baby's health and development. All these things together will help the doctor decide if your baby is growing at an appropriate rate. The doctor may recommend tests if he or she thinks there may be a problem that needs to be addressed.

Premature babies may still be behind in size compared with their full-term peers, but they should also be growing steadily at their own rate.

What About the Chubby Baby?

With all the concern about childhood obesity, parents may worry that their baby is getting too fat. A few babies and toddlers are overweight. For these children, advice from the baby's doctor can be useful.

Never withhold food from a baby in an attempt to cause weight loss. To grow and develop as they should, babies need proper nutrition, including fat, in their diet. For the first year, breast milk or formula should continue to be their main source of nourishment.

It's safe to introduce solid foods at around 6 months for breastfed and formula-fed babies. When the time is right, start with a single-grain cereal for babies (rice cereal has traditionally been the first food for babies). Then introduce other foods, such as puréed fruits and vegetables. Your doctor can advise you on how much of each food to give, but pay close attention to your baby's cues that he or she has had enough.

What's Next?

Your baby's rapid growth will start to slow down during the second half of the first year. But expect big changes in the coming months as your baby becomes more mobile.

Reviewed by: Cristy A. Wong, MD

Date reviewed: January 2019

How to properly feed your baby

Elena Gvozdetskaya

Pediatrician GMS Clinic

Ask two mothers how to properly feed their baby and you will get two different answers. This is indeed a delicate and difficult issue. But let's look into it together with expert pediatrician GMS Clinic Elena Gvozdetskaya. The doctor spoke about the principles of nutrition for babies, gave recommendations on the choice of products, the method of preparation, and much more.

What are the 3 main principles of feeding children

Safety.
Variety.
Regularity.

Does the number of feeds depend on the child's age?

Yes, it depends. The younger the child, the more meals should be. After all, the small stomachs of children cannot digest a lot of food at a time. For example, babies are fed every 3-4 hours, and preschoolers - 3 to 5 times a day.

A young child's serving size can be measured with their fists. He should eat 12 such "cams" of food, of which 2-3 are main meals, 1-2 are snacks. Plus, there should be 2-3 servings of dairy products per day.

Why do you need breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Food is a source of energy and nutrients. It must be done regularly so that the baby is active, grows and develops properly. Complete breakfasts, lunches and dinners are the key to children's health.

Also, thanks to the diet, you can think over the diet for the day so that the child gets the required amount of calories from healthy food. Parents often plan in advance what meals to cook as main meals.

Is it okay to have snacks between main meals?

Yes, it is necessary. Long breaks between meals can lead to fatigue, fatigue, low blood sugar and concentration, memory.

It is important that snacks include healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains or protein. For example, you can make dried fruit bars, sandwiches with bread and eggs.

Is it necessary to give porridge for breakfast? Which are the best to choose?

No, not required. Porridge can be replaced with sugar-free cereal or a sandwich made from whole grain bread. During the day, the child should eat 5-6 "cams" of cereals.

You can choose any porridge for breakfast: oatmeal, rice, buckwheat, corn, millet. Be sure to cut out sugar. Instead, fruits, dried fruits are added to some dishes, and honey can be given to children over 1 year old.

How to replace cereals for breakfast to diversify the diet?

Any healthy product will do. The main thing is that the first meal gives satiety for at least 2.5 hours - before a snack. Breakfast usually includes:

cereals: porridge, cereals, muesli, granola, healthy pastries;
protein: scrambled eggs, meat, fish;
dairy products: yoghurt, milk, cheese, syrniki;
vegetables or fruits.

These products can be combined in various ways. For example, this morning offer your child cheesecakes with strawberries, and tomorrow - an omelet with whole grain bread and cheese.

Remember that according to statistics, children who do not eat breakfast eat sweets more often and drink carbonated drinks. Because of this, they have an increased risk of obesity, the development of cardiovascular diseases and caries.

Does the child really need soups?

Actually, no. Some parents often prepare soup for their children because it is easier for babies to chew and it passes through the esophagus to the stomach faster. After all, there is already liquid in the dish. This is more convenient than chewing dry food for a long time and carefully so that the required amount of saliva is released.

Soup is water, vegetables and meat. It will be just as helpful if the child eats them simply sliced, chewed thoroughly, and drinks enough liquid throughout the day. The main thing is to make sure that the meal includes different food groups. It doesn't matter if it's borscht or vinaigrette.

What is the ideal dinner for a child?

The main thing is that the child does not experience hunger at night. So choose foods that saturate well. For example:

cereals: buckwheat, rice, bulgur;
proteins: chicken, turkey;
vegetables.

For example, buckwheat with boiled turkey and broccoli is a great dinner option. Or bulgur with steamed chicken cutlets and cucumber and tomato salad.

Toddlers can have a second dinner 20-30 minutes before bedtime. Choose foods such as kefir, yogurt or some kind of fruit. Just don't forget to brush your child's teeth afterwards.

Do kids only need freshly prepared food, or is yesterday's soup okay too?

Food that has been stored for more than two hours at 6 to 8 °C is no longer safe for the baby. We do not recommend giving it, because pathogenic bacteria begin to multiply there and toxins are released. If you want to store the dish for about two days, you need rapid cooling to 6 degrees and below.

How to prepare food?

The best methods are steaming or boiling. The latter is considered the best option for killing harmful bacteria because the entire surface of the product is in hot water. And steaming preserves the maximum of vitamins.

Food can also be baked and fried, but with a little oil. But the formation of a black crust should not be allowed - the rarer the dishes of this method of preparation in the child's diet, the better.

What kind of meat and fish to choose for children?

Our recommendation:

red meat - 1 portion three times a week: beef, pork, lamb;
white meat - 1 serving per day: chicken, turkey, rabbit;
fish - 2 times a week: hake, cod, perch, red fish.

Please note! Do not give your child the meat of large predatory fish, such as shark, tuna. After all, they can accumulate mercury and other harmful substances.

What is the norm of fruits and vegetables for a child per day?

Recommended for young children: 2-3 "fist" fruits and vegetables per day. Remember that dried fruits and baked foods also count.

Cooked vegetables, fruit purees and some raw fruits such as avocado, mango, peach, banana can be given at the start of complementary foods. After a year, we recommend starting to introduce soft-skinned fruits into the diet - this is good for digestion.

Milk in the diet of children - for or against?

If the child is not lactose intolerant or allergic to cow's milk protein, he can drink it and eat dairy products.

When parents notice that their children are consuming too much of this micronutrient-rich drink, it is important to find the cause. Perhaps the baby is not enough from the diet of any substances. Offer a healthy substitute - you need the child to eat a variety of foods and get the whole set of nutrients from different foods.

What drinks are good for babies and schoolchildren?

Give preference to the following drinks:

pure water;
mors;
compote;
natural juice or smoothie in small quantities;
fermented milk drinks;
milk.

All of these drinks should be free of sugar. When buying in a store, read the ingredients, even if it says "specially for children."

We do not recommend giving children the following:

sugary drinks (packed juices, sodas) up to 3 years;
tea, coffee, other caffeinated drinks up to 5 years;
healing mineral water.

There are special children's teas, often containing sugar and herbal extracts. Therefore, we do not recommend giving them to a baby until he is 2 years old. Keep in mind that herbal drinks can cause an allergic reaction and reduce iron absorption, and are also not recommended for babies under 2 years of age.

At what age can sweets be given to children? What exactly?

Follow these guidelines:

no added sugar until two years of age;
from 2 to 4 years of age, sweets may be limited;
Ages 5 to 7 - 3-4 teaspoons of sugar per day is acceptable, including candies, cookies, sugary cereals, juices.

From the age of 5, all sweets can be given in moderation, such as marshmallows, marmalade, marshmallows, ice cream, cereal bars, chocolate.

What is the effect of dry eating in children?

Poorly chewed dry, dense food moves down the esophagus worse, takes longer to digest, creates discomfort in the stomach and a feeling of "lump". It's not harmful, but it's uncomfortable. To avoid this, it is enough to chew food thoroughly and drink liquids throughout the day.

At what age can children be transferred to a common table?

Usually a year old, the child already eats pieces of most complementary foods, from this age it is possible to eat one meal with everyone.

It is only important to adapt the baby plate:

make meals without salt, salt separately for adults;
cook until completely done or boiled, do not give raw;
lettuce can be cut into small pieces: the baby should chew the pieces one at a time, adults should season with sauces in a separate plate;
the child's meat must be divided into fibers;
meatballs and cutlets - finely chop for children, for adults pour sauce separately (the same with pasta and cereals).

If you are in doubt about whether your baby can take a product, it is best to consult your pediatrician.

What should I do if my child refuses to eat healthy food and asks for sausages and biscuits?

If your child only asks for sausages and cookies, don't buy them. Keep healthy alternatives at home, explain, show by example healthy proper nutrition.

Sausages can be replaced with your baby's favorite type of meat, and biscuits can be replaced with fruit or homemade cakes made from healthy ingredients.

How can I instill healthy eating habits in my child?

You can't explain to a child that "chips are bad" if dad eats them with pleasure. The kid will not understand that broccoli is healthy if mom has fried potatoes in her plate. The family and environment of children should lead a healthy lifestyle, eat a varied and balanced diet, and maintain a sufficient level of physical activity. Only in this way will you set a worthy example and be able to instill the right eating habits.

what not to feed a child on a permanent basis

Vika Vishnyakova

nutritionist

Author profile

Food labels “suitable from 4 months”, “enriched with vitamins”, “promotes growth” make you think that this is the ideal food for children.

And if we want a child to be healthy and develop normally, then it is better to buy products from the shelves of children's stores, and in restaurants and cafes choose food from the children's menu. But in most cases, it's all just marketing.

We understand that it can be difficult to feed a child broccoli and healthy white fish, and if he only asks for corn flakes for breakfast, then it is easier for him to give them and avoid tantrums. This does not make you a bad parent.

I'll tell you why "baby" products can be dangerous.

Go see a doctor

Our articles are written with love for evidence-based medicine. We refer to authoritative sources and go to doctors with a good reputation for comments. But remember: the responsibility for your health lies with you and your doctor. We don't write prescriptions, we make recommendations. Relying on our point of view or not is up to you.

Cereals and corn flakes

Even if cereals contain iron, make the child smart and active, do not overdo it.

Breakfast foods advertised for children contain 3 times more sugar than those advertised for adults: Spanish study

They are actually high in sugar and low in nutrients. This can lead to an unbalanced menu, when there are few macro and microelements important for the development and maintenance of health, and a lot of calories, sugar and salt.

For example, a 30-gram serving of Nestlé breakfast cereal contains about 14 g of sugar. Most often, we do not measure portions with the help of scales, but pour "by eye" - there can be more sugar. For a preschooler, this amount of sugar is the daily norm.

This limit includes all added sugars in any form and with any name. Corn syrup, dextrose, coconut sugar, honey, Jerusalem artichoke syrup and agave nectar are also free sugars that WHO recommends limiting in the diet.

How to calculate sugar in foods: 61 sugars

Allowable amount of free sugars in a child's diet

Age	How much sugar can you have per day
4-6 years	19 g or 5 teaspoons
7-10 years	24 g or 6 teaspoons
over 11 years old	30 g or 7 teaspoons

Age

How much sugar can per day

4-6 years

19 g, or 5 teaspoons

7-10 years

24 g, or 6 teaspoon

older 9000

30 g or 7 teaspoons

WHO and the American Heart Association recommend eliminating all added sugar up to 2 years, and the UK Department of Health up to 4 years.

Breakfast alone can contain a daily amount of sugar, but in addition to breakfast, there are other meals, inconspicuous snacks, desserts and juice. It turns out to be an overkill.

If you regularly exceed the sugar norm, this can lead to unpleasant consequences:

overweight;
type 2 diabetes mellitus;
cardiovascular diseases;
caries;
nutrients will be less absorbed.

And the passion for sugar changes the perception of tastes: the usual kiwi or peach seems not sweet enough, and sugary biscuits are just right. This can force other foods out of the diet.

All the health benefits of breakfast cereals are in the flour from which the balls or pillows are made. That is, ordinary cereals were cleaned of the shell - the most valuable element of the grain, ground into flour, added sugar in several forms, butter, starch and additional ingredients to improve taste and texture. To compensate for the loss of vitamins and trace elements that were removed along with the grain shell, the product can be enriched with vitamins and minerals. But this is not always done.

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The main thing is variety: a ready-made menu for the average Russian

If we gave children ordinary cereals, then there would be more fiber - food for beneficial bacteria in the intestines, the very vitamin B with which the manufacturer promised to increase the ingenuity of consumers, others important trace elements and there would be no added sugar.

Juices

The Union of Pediatricians of Russia notes that juices contain few vitamins and minerals, but a lot of sugar, so they should not be offered before 12 months. The habit of drinking juices can increase the risk of tooth decay and obesity.

The WHO, European and American Societies of Pediatrics do not recommend giving free sugars to children under 2 years of age. And juice is one of their forms. If fiber is removed from the product, but only juice or its concentrate is left, then the product goes into the section of free sugars - “free” from fiber. That is, any juice - even marked "without sugar" - is still a variant of sugar.

Whole fruits should not be limited in the diet: it is almost impossible to get an excess of sugars from them, but from juices it is easy. For example, it takes me four oranges to make a glass of freshly squeezed juice. A child will drink such a glass in one minute and ask for more. But if I cut these four oranges, he will manage two at best. At the same time, the child will receive fiber, vitamins, minerals and a bonus in the form of training the jaw apparatus.

A glass of freshly squeezed juice may be in the diet of a child over 7 years of age. Until this age, pediatric organizations recommend giving juices occasionally and diluting with water in a ratio of 1:1.

Unicef - what to feed a child up to 1 year old

A package of baby juice can contain up to 6 tablespoons of free sugars, absolutely no fiber and a dubious amount of vitamins, because almost all of them are destroyed during the production process. And a whole apple contains 5 g of fiber - that's 20% of the daily value for adults, 9mg magnesium and 0 g free sugars.

The link between juice consumption and excess weight: Harvard Medical School

Dairy products for children

By itself, milk, kefir and fermented baked milk are essential foods in the diet. From them, children get calcium, protein, various microelements, and from fermented milk products they also get beneficial bacteria.

But now, baby dairy products are not always a good option, despite the labels "from 6 months" on the packages. The point here is not in the milk itself and its derivatives, but again in exceeding the safe norms of sugar with the regular use of such products.

Nutrition for 1-3 year olds: guidelines from the Union of Pediatricians of Russia

Dairy guidelines: American Pediatric Association

WHO recommends 2-3 servings of dairy per day: each serving is the size of a child's fist. For example, it can be 100 ml of kefir or a jar of non-drinkable yogurt 120 g.

But if you put 1-3 teaspoons of sugar in each of them, as manufacturers of children's yogurts do, you get a search for the norm of sugars with all the ensuing consequences for health . In addition, we can form the wrong taste preferences: after the “strawberry flavored” option, ordinary fermented baked milk may seem insipid to the child and he will refuse it. Therefore, it will be more useful to give ryazhenka without additives and put a couple of berries in it for taste.

"Children's menu" in restaurants and cafes

Most often, the children's menu offers french fries, sausages, nuggets and dumplings. It seems that this is a variant of a normal lunch for children.

Almost all of these products are ultra-processed. That is, those in which there are almost no nutrients, but there are a large number of flavor enhancers and preservatives: salt, sugar and fats. Yes, they affect our receptors and such food seems tasty, but there is very little nutritional value in it.

This is the children's menu on the website of the family cafe. The paper version also offers sausages with pasta

There is a connection between regular consumption of ultra-processed food and lipid metabolism disorders in children. In the future, this can lead to atherosclerosis and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. And also to an imbalance in nutrition, metabolic disorders and obesity.

Study on the association of frequent consumption of fast food and obesity in children

Scientific review on the impact of fast food on children's health

Ultra-processed foods can be included in the diet of adults and children, but as a supplement to a basic balanced diet, not as a replacement for it.

If you feed this food every day, then the children form the idea that this is a normal food option. Then why eat broccoli and shrimp on another day? Food with an adequate level of nutritional value can be forced out of the diet, and this is fraught with a deficiency of essential substances.

Therefore, when looking at the menu with your child, it is important to draw his attention to the fact that nuggets and french fries are rather an addition to the main course, and if you need to satisfy your hunger, then it is better to choose alternatives with a higher nutritional value. And be prepared for the question "If this is not children's food, then why is it on the children's menu?".

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Going to a cafe with your family and not going broke: 7 places in Moscow with a free children's menu child, because it is sold in a pharmacy. It is also much healthier than candy because it contains iron. The same applies to ascorbic acid in dragee format: vitamin C in a "candy" package is just a godsend for parents who want to strengthen their child's immunity.

A 50 g hematogen bar contains about 5 g of iron and 30-40 g of sugar. For comparison: the same amount of iron in 25 g of stewed liver, 30 g of sesame seeds, 12 tablespoons of boiled lentils or 150 g of beef steak. Moreover, these products do not contain added sugar.

One dragee of ascorbic acid weighing 2.9 g contains 2.8 g of sugar, and ascorbic acid itself is only 25 mg - 112 times less than sugar. The same amount can be obtained from 50 g of bell pepper or half a kiwi.

If you do not live in conditions of total food shortage, then the child does not need either hematogen or ascorbic acid. They may be optional, as a dessert, but not as a necessary means to maintain health.

/list/healthy-eating-myths/

No Sugar or Carbs: 6 Healthy Eating Myths