How Old Should You Be to Start Eating Baby Food

For more information about how to know if your infant is ready to starting eating foods, what get-go foods to offer, and what to expect, picket these videos from 1,000 Days.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children exist introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are nearly half dozen months old.  Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How practise you know if your kid is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? Y'all tin look for these signs that your child is developmentally fix.

Your child:

• Sits up alone or with back up.
• Is able to control head and cervix.
• Opens the mouth when food is offered.
• Swallows food rather than pushes information technology back out onto the mentum.
• Brings objects to the rima oris.
• Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
• Transfers nutrient from the front to the back of the natural language to swallow.

What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you exercise non demand to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at well-nigh 6 months old. By the time he or she is seven or 8 months old, your child can swallow a diversity 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 diversity of fortifiedwarning icon infant cereals such equally oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing babe rice cereal is not recommended past the Food and Drug Assistants because in that location is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Assistantsexternal icon to learn more than.

How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?

Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow good for you and stiff.

At present that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that requite your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Click hither to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.

Allow your child endeavour one single-ingredient nutrient at a time at first. This helps you lot see if your child has whatever problems with that food, such as nutrient allergies. Wait 3 to v days betwixt each new nutrient. Before you know it, your kid 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 moo-cow's milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow's milk or fortified soy beverages is non recommended until your child is older than 12 months, merely other moo-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 virtually when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.

How Should I Set Nutrient for My Child to Eat?

At first, it'due south easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take fourth dimension for your child to suit to new food textures. Your kid might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby's oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods tin be introduced.

Some foods are potential choking hazards, so information technology is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help forbid choking, set up foods that tin can be easily dissolved with saliva and do non crave chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to swallow 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 h2o to make information technology polish and easy for your infant to eat.
• 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 and so they can be hands 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, earlier cooking.
• Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and so 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 circular pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
• Cutting small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
• Melt and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.

Learn more than nigh potential choking hazards and how to forbid your kid from choking.

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Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-to-introduce-solid-foods.html

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