Solid food introduction to babies

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.

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Introducing solids: why, when, what & how

Solid foods: why babies need them

As babies get older, they need solid food to get enough nutrients for growth and development. These essential nutrients include iron, zinc and others.

For the first 6 months of life, babies use iron stored in their bodies from when they were in the womb. They also get some iron from breastmilk and/or infant formula. But babies’ iron stores go down as they grow. By around 6 months, babies need to start having solid food.

Introducing solids is also important for helping babies learn to eat, giving them experience of new tastes and textures from a range of foods. It develops their teeth and jaws, and it builds other skills that they’ll need later for language development.

Signs that it’s time to introduce solids

Signs your baby is ready for solids include when your baby:

has good head and neck control and can sit upright when supported
shows an interest in food – for example, they look at what’s on your plate
reaches out for your food
opens their mouth when you offer them food on a spoon.

Most babies start to show these signs by around 6 months, although this can vary.

It’s recommended not to introduce solids before 4 months.

If your baby is nearing 7 months of age and hasn’t started solids, you might like to get some advice from your child and family health nurse or GP.

The best times of day to introduce solids

When you’re first introducing solids, it’s good to offer solids when you and your baby are both happy and relaxed.

This is often after a feed of breastmilk or formula. Babies will still have room in their tummies for a taste of new foods after a feed of breastmilk or formula. But if they’re really hungry before a feed, they just want the breastmilk or formula that they know satisfies their hunger.

As time passes, you’ll learn when your baby is hungry or full, not interested or tired.

Signs of hunger include your baby:

getting excited when they see you getting their food ready
leaning towards you while they’re sitting in the highchair
opening their mouth as you’re about to feed them.

Signs your baby is no longer interested include:

turning their head away
losing interest or getting distracted
pushing the spoon away
clamping their mouth shut.

Your baby’s appetite can vary from day to day.

How much food to offer when introducing solids

When you’re first introducing solids, try offering 1-2 teaspoons of food once a day. At first, your baby might have only a small taste and probably won’t swallow much.

As your baby grows, you can increase the amount according to your baby’s appetite and signs.

By 12 months, your baby should be eating around 3 small meals a day, plus breastmilk or infant formula.

The right textures for first foods

When your baby is ready for solids, first foods might be smooth or finely mashed, depending on what baby likes. Over the next weeks and months, your baby can move on to roughly mashed or minced foods and then chopped foods. All foods should be very soft.

Your baby needs a variety of food textures. This helps your baby learn how to chew, and chewing helps with speech development and self-feeding. It also helps to prevent feeding difficulties as your baby develops. Babies can chew even before they get their first teeth.

By the time your baby is 12 months old, they should be eating the same foods that the rest of the family is eating. But you might still need to chop some foods into smaller pieces and cook vegetables until they’re soft.

To prevent choking, always supervise babies and young children while they’re eating solid food. Avoid nuts, take special care with pieces of meat and check fish for small bones, because these are choking hazards. And if your baby can move around, make sure baby is sitting down while they’re eating. If you sit with your baby while they’re eating, baby is less likely to move around.

Types of food to offer when introducing solids

All new foods are exciting for your baby.

The key is to include iron-rich foods of the right texture in your baby’s first foods. Iron-rich foods include:

iron-fortified infant cereal
minced meat, poultry and fish
cooked tofu and legumes
mashed, cooked egg (avoid raw or runny egg).

To these iron-rich foods, you can add other healthy foods of the right texture like:

vegetables – for example, cooked potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli or spinach
fruit – for example, banana, apple, pear, melon or avocado
grains – for example, oats, bread, rice and pasta
dairy foods – for example, yoghurt and full-fat cheese.

You can introduce any number of new foods at a time and in any order. When you offer your baby a variety of foods, they can try plenty of new tastes and get a range of nutrients.

Read our tips for introducing solid foods to learn how to get your baby interested in new foods and manage mealtime mess and play.

Breastmilk and infant formula while introducing solids

You should keep breastfeeding or using infant formula until at least 12 months.

When you start introducing solids, breastmilk or infant formula should still be the main source of your baby’s nutrition. Over the next few months, your baby will start having more solids and less milk or formula. The rate that this happens will vary.

By around 9 months, babies have generally developed enough chewing and swallowing skills to move from having milk before solids to having milk after solids.

Here are some signs that your baby is getting enough nutrition from both solids and breastmilk or formula during this time. Your baby:

has plenty of wet nappies – at least 6-8 wet cloth nappies or 5 very wet disposables in 24 hours
is alert and mostly happy after and between feeds
is gaining weight at about the right rate – your child and family health nurse will weigh your baby at your regular check-ups.

From 12 months onwards, solids should be the main source of your baby’s nutrition. Your baby doesn’t need infant formula after 12 months, but you can keep breastfeeding for as long as you and your baby like.

If solid food replaces breastmilk and/or infant formula too quickly, babies can miss out on important nutrition. If you have any concerns about your baby’s feeds or weight, talk to your midwife, child and family health nurse, lactation consultant or GP.

Introducing water

Once your baby has reached 6 months, you can start to offer baby cooled, boiled water in a cup at mealtimes and at other times during the day. This is so your baby can practise drinking from a cup, but baby still doesn’t really need fluids other than breastmilk or formula at this age.

Once your baby has reached 12 months, you can offer fresh tap water without boiling it.

Foods and drinks to avoid while introducing solids

There are some foods to avoid until your baby is a certain age:

Honey until 12 months – this is to avoid the risk of infant botulism.
Raw or runny eggs and foods containing raw eggs like home-made mayonnaise until 12 months – bacteria in raw eggs can be harmful to babies.
Reduced-fat dairy until 2 years – babies need full-fat dairy for growth.
Whole nuts and similar hard foods until 3 years – these are choking hazards.

There are some drinks to avoid until your baby is a certain age:

pasteurised full-fat cow’s milk as a main drink until 12 months
dairy alternatives like soy, goat’s, sheep’s, rice, oat, almond and coconut milk until 2 years, unless your GP or child and family health nurse has recommended these for a particular reason
unpasteurised milks at all ages
tea, coffee or sugar-sweetened drinks at all ages
fruit juice – this should be limited at all ages (whole fruits are better because they have fibre and help babies develop chewing and feeding skills).

Your baby doesn’t need added salt or sugar. Processed or packaged foods with high levels of fat, sugar and/or salt aren’t good for babies and children. These foods include cakes, biscuits, chips and fried foods.

Food allergy and introducing solids

Introducing allergenic foods early can reduce the risk of your child developing food allergy. Allergenic foods are foods that might cause allergies.

All babies, including babies with a high allergy risk, should try solid foods that might cause allergies from around 6 months of age. These foods include well-cooked egg, peanut butter and other nut butters, wheat (from wheat-based breads, cereals and pasta) and cow’s milk (but not as a main drink).

Once you’ve introduced an allergenic food, it’s a good idea to regularly include it in your baby’s diet.

It’s a good idea to get advice from your GP, child and family health nurse, dietitian, paediatrician or allergy and immunology specialist for the following reasons:

Your baby already has a food allergy.
Your baby has severe eczema.
Your family has a history of food allergy and you’re concerned about starting solids.
You’re worried about reactions to foods.

Introducing Solid Food: Why, When, What and How

Introducing Solid Food: Why Babies Need It

As babies grow older, the need for solid food arises, from which the body will receive enough iron and other nutrients necessary for growth and development.

During the first six months, the baby's body uses the iron stored in the womb. Some iron also comes from breast milk and/or formula. But as the baby grows, the reserves of this substance in the body decrease. And the iron that a child receives from breast milk or formula is already not enough at the age of about six months.

Through the introduction of solid foods, the child also learns to eat, gets to know new tastes and textures of different foods. At the same time, he develops teeth and jaws, and he also acquires skills that will later be needed for language development.

Signs it's time to introduce solid foods

You will know when it's time to introduce solid foods by how your baby develops and behaves.

Your child is ready for solid food if:

holds head and neck well and can sit upright with support
shows interest in food - for example, looking at the contents of your plate
reaching for your food
opens his mouth when you offer him food from a spoon.

Most children show these signs by about six months, but in general everyone is individual.

It is not recommended to introduce solid foods before four months of age.

If your baby is about seven months old and hasn't started solid foods yet, you can talk to a nurse or pediatrician.

The best time to offer solid food to your baby is when you and he are in a good mood for the first time.

He is also more likely to try new foods after breast milk or formula. The fact is that when a child is really hungry, he only wants milk or formula, because he knows that he will be satisfied. At the same time, there will still be room for other food in his tummy.

Over time, you will learn to tell if your baby is hungry or full, wants to try something or is tired.

Your child is hungry, if:

brightens up when he sees you cooking for him
leans towards you while sitting in a highchair
opens its mouth when you are about to feed it.

Your child no longer wants to eat if:

turns away
loses interest or gets distracted
repels spoon
purses his lips.

In what portions should the new food be introduced to the child? Start with 1-2 teaspoons and increase according to your baby's appetite. By 12 months, he should be eating about three small meals a day, plus breast milk or formula.

Consistency of solid food

The first solid food can be smooth, pureed or in soft pieces , depending on your baby's preference. Then the child can quickly move on to finely chopped, and then just to finely chopped foods.

The child needs food of various consistencies. This will help him learn to chew, and chewing, in turn, contributes to the development of speech. It also encourages the child to learn to eat on his own and will prevent eating problems as he develops.

By 12 months, the baby should already be eating the same as the rest of the family. You may have to cut some foods into smaller pieces, and boil the vegetables well.

Do not leave the child unattended while eating, make sure that he does not choke. Be especially careful with foods such as nuts and small-boned meats, as they are easy to choke on. If the child can already move around, try to seat him while eating. If you sit next to each other while the baby is eating, he will most likely sit more quietly.

Types of foods when introducing solid foods

The child will be happy to try any new food, so there is no need to prepare something “special” for him.

You can introduce solid foods in any order, as long as you include iron-rich foods and cook foods of the right consistency.

Foods rich in iron include:

iron-fortified baby cereals
minced meat, poultry and fish
tofu and legumes, cooked
mashed or boiled eggs (do not give raw or soft-boiled eggs).

Iron-rich foods can be supplemented with other healthy foods:

vegetables such as boiled potatoes, carrots or green vegetables such as broccoli
fruit - e.g. banana, apple, melon or avocado
cereals - e.g. oats, bread, rice and pasta
Dairy products such as yogurt and full fat cheese.

These products can be combined as there is no need to administer only one product at a time. By offering your child a variety of foods, you will allow him to try a variety of new tastes and get a lot of nutrients.

With our solid food introduction tips, you can get your child interested in new foods and make the eating process smoother and playful.

Breast milk and formula when introducing solid food

Continue breastfeeding or formula until at least 12 months while introducing solid food.

If you are unsure if your baby is getting the right amount of milk once solids are introduced, pay attention to his behavior.

For example, if a child has eaten a lot of solid food and is not getting enough or is not getting enough milk, the daily milk feeds may need to be made less frequent but longer. If the baby does not want to eat solid food, he may have had too much milk. This may be a signal that portions of milk should be reduced.

By about nine months of age, babies usually develop enough chewing and swallowing skills to eat solid foods before milk, not after.

Solid food does not replace breast milk or formula. If the transition to solid foods instead of milk and/or formula occurs too quickly, a child may miss an important milestone in their diet.

Water administration

At the age of six months, the child may be offered chilled boiled water in a cup during meals or at other times. This is to help your baby learn to drink from a cup, but at this age, he still doesn't need liquids other than breast milk or formula. When the child is one year old, he can be offered fresh tap water without boiling.

Foods and drinks to avoid

Some foods should not be given to children under a certain age:

honey under 12 months to avoid the risk of infant botulism
raw eggs, soft-boiled eggs, and products containing raw eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise, up to 12 months - bacteria in raw eggs may be harmful to infants
skim milk products up to two years
Whole nuts and similar hard foods up to three years - due to risk of choking.

Also, up to a certain age, children should not be given certain drinks :

pasteurized whole cow's milk as a main drink up to 12 months
soy, goat and sheep milk up to two years (fortified soy products may be given up to two years)
rice, oatmeal, almond or coconut milk up to two years of age, unless advised otherwise by a pediatrician or nurse
Unpasteurized milk of all kinds, tea, coffee or sugar-sweetened beverages for all ages
fruit juice - should be limited at any age (fruits contain the nutrients a child needs).

Salt and sugar should not be added to baby food. Infants and young children are not suitable for highly processed foods and packaged foods that are high in fat, sugar and/or salt. These include cakes, cookies, chips and fried foods.

Food allergy and introduction of solid foods

Early introduction of allergenic foods may reduce risk development of food allergy in a child.

All children, including children at high risk of allergies, should try allergenic foods from about six months of age . These foods include hard-boiled eggs, peanut butter, wheat (in wheat bread, cereals, and pasta), and cow's milk (but not as a staple drink).

It is recommended to consult a physician, health visitor, nutritionist, pediatrician, allergist or immunologist if:

the child already has a food allergy
you have a family history of food allergies and are concerned about introducing solid foods to your child
you are worried about his reaction to the products.

Children with severe eczema and children of parents with food allergies are more likely to develop food allergies. But most children with food allergies do not have food allergy parents.

Introduction of solid food into the child's diet. Our child.

Contents:

There is no fixed time limit for introducing solid foods into a child's diet
Before or after milk?
What should a spoon look like
Porridge
Give him time to fall in love with porridge
What kind of porridge?
If your baby doesn't like porridge
Fruit

This chapter explains how it was right to introduce complementary foods 30-40 years ago, but today's recommendations for feeding children under one year old are somewhat different. This also applies to the timing of the introduction of new food, and the methods of its preparation - today it would not occur to anyone to scrape a fried piece of meat for a 6-month-old baby or boil fruit.

There is no fixed time frame for introducing solid food into a child's diet.

Fifty years ago it was only introduced after a year. Then doctors began to try to introduce it earlier and earlier and found that children willingly accept such food and it has a beneficial effect on them. For two reasons, it makes sense to start solid foods in the first half of the first year. At this age, children do not care what they eat, and as they get older, they become more picky. Solid foods contain substances, especially iron, that are rare or non-existent in milk.

Nowadays, doctors usually recommend the introduction of solid foods between the first and fourth month. Introducing solid foods too early does not provide much benefit. In the first 2-3 months, the child gets everything he needs from milk. His digestive system is still imperfect and almost does not absorb starch.

When deciding at what age to introduce solid foods to a child's diet, the doctor takes into account both the child's appetite and his digestive system.

For example, if a baby is not getting enough breastmilk at 6 weeks and is starving, solid foods can be introduced into his diet, thereby avoiding other types of supplemental artificial nutrition. If a formula-fed baby has a slightly loose stool all the time, your doctor will advise you to wait with the introduction of solid foods so as not to irritate the baby's digestive organs. Often mothers are afraid to be even one day behind neighbors and acquaintances who have already introduced solid food, and persuade the doctor to allow them to do the same.

Before or after milk?

Most children who have never tried solid food refuse it, expecting milk as usual. So start with milk at first, and after a month or two try solid food at the beginning or in the middle of feeding, when the baby realizes that solid food satisfies hunger just as well as milk.

How big should a spoon be?

A regular teaspoon is too big for a small child's mouth. And many types of spoons are too deep, making it difficult for a child to remove food from them. It is better to feed your baby with a coffee spoon with a flatter bottom. Some mothers use wooden sticks (the same ones that doctors use when examining a baby's throat).

Porridge

The order in which the different types of solid food are introduced does not matter. Usually, porridge is given first. The only drawback of cereals is their taste, which many children do not like. Different children prefer different cereals. It is better if you teach your child to all kinds of cereals.

Give him time to fall in love with porridge

Usually, doctors recommend starting with 1 teaspoon of porridge, gradually increasing the amount to 2-3 tablespoons if the child likes porridge and does not cause stomach upset. Let him only taste the porridge for a few days. Increase the portion if the child likes the porridge. Take your time!

It is a hilarious sight when a child tastes solid food for the first time. His face is filled with bewilderment and disgust. He wrinkles his nose and forehead. Don't blame him for it. In the end, this is really a completely new taste and texture for him. Besides, he's not used to the spoon yet. When a baby suckles at the breast, the milk automatically goes to the right place. But at first he does not know what to do with solid food when it enters his mouth. He will not immediately learn to grab food with the front of the tongue and move it down the throat. At first, the child makes a sucking movement with his tongue and most of the porridge ends up on his chin. You will have to make more and more attempts, but do not despair - a little porridge still ends up in his stomach. And over time, he will learn to eat solid food. Just be patient.

It doesn't matter which feeding you give him porridge. But do not give it during those hours when the child is not very hungry. Usually porridge is offered at 10 o'clock in the morning feeding or at 6 o'clock in the evening. At first, cook the porridge very thin, not much thicker than milk, then it will be easier for the child to swallow it and it will not seem too strange to him. In addition, children usually do not like sticky foods. If you are formula feeding your baby, you can use part of his daily milk to make porridge. But, as a rule, children prefer to drink their usual portion of milk, in addition to porridge. So, you may have to use regular pasteurized or powdered milk to make porridge. Of course, you can cook porridge with water. But it is unlikely that the child will like it.

What cereals?

Mothers usually give powdered cereals to their children. There are several varieties of these cereals.

If there is a hereditary allergy in the family, the doctor will advise you to wait to give porridge, and later start with rice, oatmeal or barley. Semolina porridge should be introduced only after a few months, since wheat more often than other cereals causes diathesis.

You can give your child those cereals that the whole family eats. Start with semolina porridge - it has the least fiber. By 5-6 months, you can give him pearl barley, oatmeal, rice porridge and hominy. In very young children, the fiber in pearl barley and oatmeal can cause loose stools. According to the content of vitamins and protein, semolina, oatmeal and barley porridge are the most useful. Add salt to taste.

If the child does not like porridge

Two days after you start giving porridge, it will become clear to you how your child feels about it. Some children seem to decide to themselves like this: "This is something strange in taste, but nutritious and I will eat it." After a few more days, they get completely used to the porridge and stretch their mouths to each spoon, like chicks in a nest. And other children the very next day firmly decide that they will not eat it. On the third day, they like porridge even less. Dont be upset! If you try to force a child to eat porridge against his will, he will resist even more desperately. This struggle will lead to despair and you. And after a week or two, the child may become so suspicious that he will not even want to drink milk. Porridge should be given only once a day. First, give him quite a bit of porridge, just for testing. Add sugar - maybe he will like sweet porridge more. If after 2-3 days, despite all the precautions, he still does not want to eat porridge, then wait two weeks, and then try to offer him porridge again. If he does not like it again, then consult a doctor.

It would be a huge mistake to force a child to eat his first cereal. Sometimes this is how the problem of poor appetite in a child arises. Even if this does not lead to a deterioration in appetite, unnecessary strife between mother and child should still be avoided.

If you do not have the opportunity to consult a doctor, and your child categorically refuses to eat porridge, then offer him mashed fruit. At first, the taste of fruits will also seem strange to him, but after 2-3 days, almost all children like fruits. And in another two weeks, the child will probably consider that everything that comes across on a spoon is very tasty. That's when you give him porridge.

Fruit

Fruit is usually introduced into the menu a few weeks after cereals. But some doctors recommend introducing them first, as children tend to like fruits.

In the first 6-8 months, all fruits, except bananas, are given boiled to children (fruits should be boiled in a small amount of water). Usually, children are given apples, peaches, pears, apricots, prunes, pineapples, etc. You can buy canned pureed fruits from baby food stores or give your child the same fruits as the rest of the family. Separate a portion of the fruit for the child, strain it through a sieve, and add just enough sugar to offset the sour taste. If you are giving canned fruit to your child, discard the syrup as it is too sweet for small children.

You can give fruit at any of the feedings or even twice a day, depending on your child's appetite and how they absorb fruit. Usually fruits are given in the 14-hour or 18-hour feeding.

Give your child time to get used to each type of fruit. Most children have enough 50-60 g of fruit at a time. Cooked fruit (or canned food) can be stored for 3 days in the refrigerator. Bananas that you give to your child must be completely ripe, i.e. with black spots on the skin and light brown inside. Mash the banana well with a fork and add a little milk if the mixture is too thick.

Fruit is said to soften stools. But for most children, including newborns, the mentioned fruits, except for prunes, do not have such an effect. Prunes are a mild laxative and therefore doubly valuable for children suffering from chronic constipation. Such children can be given mashed prunes every day in one feeding and any other fruit in another.

If your child, on the contrary, easily upsets the stomach, then it is better to give him fruits once a day, and exclude prunes from the menu altogether.

In the second half of the first year, you can give your child raw fruits: apples and pears, peeled (pitted berries and grapes are usually given no earlier than 2 years).

Vegetables

Pureed boiled vegetables are introduced into the child's menu 2-4 weeks after cereals or fruits, or after both.

The most popular vegetables are beans, peas, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, beets, potatoes, celery, zucchini, pumpkin. You can give other vegetables (cauliflower and white cabbage, onions, turnips). Most children do not like the taste of these vegetables. But if your family loves any of these vegetables, then offer them to your child too (the too sharp taste of these vegetables can be softened by boiling them in two waters). Corn is not given to small children because of the tough husk.

You can give your child both fresh and frozen vegetables, boiled and pureed. You can give special canned vegetable purees.

Children are often very picky about vegetables. You may soon discover that your child does not like one or two types of vegetables. Don't push, but offer them every month. It makes no sense to force a child to eat those vegetables that he does not like when there are many other equally valuable vegetables. Many children like vegetables to be lightly salted. There is no harm in this.

At first, there will be many undigested pieces of vegetables in the baby's stool. This is normal if the stool is not liquid and there is no mucus in it. But do not rush to increase the serving of vegetables until the child's stomach adapts to them. If vegetables cause loose stools, stop giving them, and after a month start again in small portions.

Beets will turn a child's feces and urine red. We must remember that you gave the child beets, so as not to worry in vain and not to think that it was blood.

Spinach in children sometimes cracks the lips, and in some cases the mucous membrane of the anus. In this case, eliminate spinach from the child's diet for several months and then try again.

Vegetables are usually given at the 14-hour meal or at lunchtime for an older child. Gradually increase the serving of vegetables to a few tablespoons. Cooked vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days. If you don't have a refrigerator, then don't leave cooked vegetables for the next day, as they spoil quickly.

Eggs

Egg yolk is a very valuable product because it contains iron. Approximately in the middle of the year, the red blood cells of the child require more and more iron due to the rapid growth of the child, who no longer has enough iron present in his blood at birth (there is practically no iron in milk, there is very little in other products).

Eggs are the most common cause of allergies, especially if everyone in the family suffers from it. The most common form of allergy is eczema (diathesis), when the skin, most commonly on the face and behind the ears, turns red, flaky, and feels hard and rough to the touch. The skin may then begin to become wet and crusty. Eczema causes itching.

To prevent allergies, try the following: Only give the yolk for up to a year, as iron is found in the yolk, and diathesis is usually caused by protein. Give a hard-boiled yolk (boil an egg for 20 minutes), as the longer any product is boiled, the less likely it is to be allergic.

Some children do not like the taste of egg yolk. You can salt it a little or mix it with porridge or vegetable puree. But, if because of this the child will not eat vegetables or porridge, do not insist.

Egg yolk is usually given between the 4th and 6th month, but some doctors advise waiting up to 7-8 months, especially if there is a family history of allergies.

Soft-boiled eggs and scrambled eggs are given no earlier than 9 months (mainly due to protein) and little by little, like every new kind of food.

Eggs can be given at any feeding. When you enter meat into the child’s menu, eggs can be given for breakfast or dinner, and meat for lunch.

Meat

Studies have shown that meat is very useful for children even in the first year of life. Many doctors now recommend giving meat starting at 2-6 months of age. Meat for a small child is either turned in a meat grinder several times, or rubbed through a sieve, or rubbed on a grater. Therefore, it is easy for a child to eat it, even while he has no teeth. Here is the easiest way to cook meat for a baby: scrape up the right amount of raw meat with the blunt edge of a knife or spoon and put it in a cup, which should be placed in a pot of boiling water. The meat is ready when the red color completely disappears. Milk or water can be added to the pulp, then the mass will turn out to be more juicy. Another method is to quickly fry a piece of meat to kill the bacteria on its surface, and then, holding it firmly in your hand, scrape it with a spoon. The red soft meat will be scraped off, but the veins will remain. The liver can be boiled until its color changes, and then rubbed through a sieve. Salt the meat to taste.

When the child gets used to pureed or scraped meat, he can be given meat that has been fried and minced. It is better not to use ready-made minced meat, as it contains pieces of meat that were in contact with the meat grinder and with the hands of the butchers. In addition, there is usually a lot of fat and sinew in the finished minced meat.

After the child gets used to beef, give him other types of meat: chicken, lamb, veal, liver, pork.

Pork should be cooked very carefully.

Six-month-old baby's meals

By 6 months, your baby's diet may include cereals, egg yolk, fruits, vegetables, and meats. Usually these products are distributed as follows: porridge and an egg for breakfast, meat and vegetables for lunch, porridge and fruits for dinner. However, there are no strict rules in this regard. Feed your baby in a way that is comfortable for both you and him. For example, if he is not hungry in the morning, you can give fruit and an egg for breakfast, vegetables and meat for lunch, and one porridge for dinner. If he has a strong stool, then you can give him prunes with porridge at every dinner, and additionally other fruits for breakfast.

Plain puddings

Puddings are less valuable food for a child than other meals. They add nothing new to the diet and take a long time to prepare. Fruit is in many ways a more valuable dessert. But, if you make puddings for the whole family, then you can give them to a small child after 6 months.

Sometimes puddings can do a good job. For example, a one-year-old child may suddenly completely refuse to drink milk. And with pudding, he can get about 200-250 g of milk. It happens that a child eats very little of each dish at dinner, then in addition to fruit, you can give him pudding. Puddings are also good substitutes for cereals if the child has fallen out of love with them (then for dinner you give him fruit and pudding or vegetables and pudding). Desserts that include gelatin are beneficial because of the fruits they contain. Gelatin itself is of no value for the nutrition of the child.

If your child loves fruit, digests it well, and drinks enough milk, you don't need to make regular puddings for him. The child must eat raw and boiled fruits at least every other day.

Potatoes and starch

Potatoes are good for lunch for a child with a good appetite or for dinner instead of porridge. In addition to starch, potatoes contain a significant amount of iron, mineral salts and vitamin C.

Boiled or baked potatoes are introduced into the child's diet in the second half of the first year. When you transfer the child to three meals a day, the potatoes will make his lunch more satisfying.

But often children choke on potatoes. Therefore, first dilute the boiled potatoes with plenty of milk to make a semi-liquid mass, and give it in small quantities until the child gets used to it. Salt to taste. If the child does choke, forget about potatoes for at least a month, and then try again.

If your child is rather fat and full of a meal of vegetables, meat, milk and fruit, do not give him potatoes, which will not add anything new to his diet.

Pasta and noodles can be substituted for potatoes from time to time. At first, they must be wiped through a sieve or thoroughly kneaded with a fork.

Fish

At 10-12 months, you can introduce white lean fish, such as perch, cod, flounder, into your baby's menu. If the child does not like fish, do not insist. Fish can be simmered or put into a bowl, pour milk over it and put in a pot of boiling water. Cook until done. You can give your child baked, boiled or fried fish prepared for the rest of the family. In any case, crumble the fish with your fingers and take out all the bones.

Sometimes you can have fish for lunch instead of meat. Unfortunately, many children do not like fish. Don't try to force feed them. Fatty varieties of fish are more difficult to digest and are less popular with children.

Food that can be eaten in the hand

By 6-7 months the baby is able to hold food in the hand. At this age, he wants to chew. In addition, it is a good preparation for independent eating later, for about a year. If a child has never been allowed to eat with his hands, then he is unlikely to have a desire to eat with a spoon.

Children are usually given a crust of dry bread, crackers or biscuits first. The child chews with his gums and sucks (perhaps his gums are itching due to the growth of teeth, then biting will give him more pleasure). Gradually, the bread dissolves in his saliva and some goes into his mouth, so that the child feels that he is achieving something. Of course, most of the bread ends up on the face, hair, furniture and clothes.

After 9 months, your baby's food will be mashed with a fork instead of mashed. Leave a few pieces whole (for example, carrots, beans). The child will take these pieces with his hands and chew them. He may also chew raw apple or pear slices.

Usually the first teeth appear around 7 months of age, and by the age of 1 year a child may have 4 to 6 sharp front teeth. But until he has molars, don't expect him to chew effectively.

Between 9 and 12 months, start giving your baby chunks of food.

If you continue to feed your baby only pureed food in the second year of life, it will become more and more difficult for you to make this change. Many people think that a child is not able to cope with bits of food until he has enough teeth. This is not true. In fact, he can chew pieces of boiled vegetables, fruits, or cookies with his gums and tongue.

Occasionally a child chokes on pieces of food, because that is how his larynx is arranged. But more often than not, it's because either he was moved from puree to chunks too abruptly and too late, or his mother forced him to eat when he didn't feel like it.

There are two important things to remember when moving from pureed food to chunks: First, the change must be gradual. First, knead the food thoroughly with a fork and put it in the child's mouth in very small portions. As the child gets used to the new texture of the food, make the pieces bigger and bigger. Another way to teach a child to eat in pieces is as follows: have him take a piece of food with his fingers, such as a cube of carrots, and put it in his mouth. If you try to put a full spoonful of pieces in his mouth, then this may instill in him an aversion to such a consistency of food.

It is not necessary to give all food in the form of pieces. To get the child used to this innovation, it is enough to give him only part of the food in the form of pieces every day.