You don’t need to introduce solids until your baby is at least six months. Breast milk is always best, and if possible, continued till baby’s first birthday. Young babies don’t need water, juice, or tea between feeds.
Babies learn to eat what the family eats. When plates are loaded with empty calories and fried fast foods, children grow up looking like their parents. Early parenthood comes with learning to ditch bad habits.
• By six months, babies are able to control their heads, sit and chew so they won’t choke.
• Their maturing immune system means that you don’t have to sterilise eating utensils. Just make sure they’re clean
• Their little stomachs can stretch and digest soft solids
• Intestines are making enzymes to break down solids and absorb nutrients
• Allergies are less likely after six months
• Older babies need protein for brain development
• They enjoy experimenting with new tastes and textures.
First soft solids can be fruit (mashed banana or paw-paw) instant rice cereal or cooked porridge. After a few weeks, lunch can be a cooked, pureed/mashed vegetable e.g. squash, butternut or pumpkin (add a bit of milk to soften – but not salt, butter or sugar). Other soft vegetables like baby marrow or mashed potato can be added after another few weeks. When baby is tolerating a vegetarian diet, introduce proteins – soft chicken breast, fine mince or flaked fish.
Don’t rush introducing new tastes, flavours and textures. Let it take six months so that by baby’s first Birthday, food can come from the family pot.
Pre-toddlers (age 1 – 2) still need milk – breast milk or formula can be weaned to full cream cow’s milk. Water, fresh fruit juice or unsweetened tea is preferable to sugar-loaded soda’s. Your baby’s growth will slow down; he will need less sleep during the day and healthy finger and snack food can be introduced. Don’t use food to bribe. Remember that pre-toddlers have an instinct to kill their food so don’t be disheartened when he demolishes what looked like an appetising meal into mush before eating it! He is still using all his senses – touch, taste, smell, sight and sound when learning about food and eating. Put newspaper on the floor.
Finger-foods also help tots to practice their fine motor skills – grasping, using their thumbs and transferring. Try frozen vegetable mixes like peas and carrots, fresh banana or toast fingers. Avoid pop-corn, peanuts, raisons, grapes and hard-boiled sweets – they’re a choking hazard. 