The recommendation to introduce solid foods or weaning, as it’s more commonly known, to babies is around 6 months of age. This is because they can no longer get all the nutrients they need from their breast or formula milk alone and need the introduction of solid foods to have a nutritionally balanced and varied diet. Before 6 months babies’ digestive systems are not ready for food.
It can be difficult to know if a baby is ready for solid foods so there are some key signs to look for. See image taken from the Start4Life website to see the 3 signs babies show when they are ready for food:
No rush to mush
3 signs your baby is ready for their first food. Every baby is an individual, but there are clear signs which, together, show your baby is ready for these types of first solid foods alongside mum’s milk or infant formula. YOUR BABY IS READY IF THEY CAN:
Stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
Co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth all by themselves.
Swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.
It’s rare for these signs to appear together before 6 months.
Breast milk and formula milk continue to be offered until babies are 12 months old. The quantity of breast or formula milk reduces between 6-12 months as the quantity of solid food babies eat increases.
Initially babies only need a small amount of food once a day increasing to 3 meals a day by 12 months.
As well as food, babies also need vitamin supplements until they are 5 years old. Some families on certain benefits can get free vitamins through the national Healthy Start scheme if their child is under 4 years old. In Birmingham all children under the age of 4 registered with a Birmingham GP can get free vitamins. These can be obtained from your local children’s centre or health centre.
Suzy Startwell says… “Under 12 months of age should avoid added sugar and salt, cows milk to drink, and honey.“
For weaning recipes visit the Better Health, Start for Life webite:- https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/recipes-and-meal-ideas/
What is the difference between baby-led weaning and ‘traditional’ weaning?
- Baby-led weaning lets the baby feed themselves from the very beginning by offering pre-loaded spoons, family meals to explore and lots of finger foods.
- ‘Traditional’ weaning spoon feeds the baby and moves through a progression of textures such as mashed chopped.
There isn’t a right or wrong method and many people combine a bit of both. If the ‘traditional’ style method is used, it is important that the texture is progressed and babies are eating chopped family foods by 12 months of age.
It is also important to think about food safety during this time. To avoid the risk of choking it is important that chopped food is cut into finger shapes like the image below and not disc shapes. For small and round foods e.g. grapes and cherry tomatoes, cut these into quarters up until the child is 5 years old. It is important the children are sitting up right and supervised at all times. For more information on how to prevent choking visit our food safety page.
If you think your child is ready for solid foods before the recommended 6 months please speak to your health visitor as there are further dietary restrictions to be aware of.
There is lots of useful information on the Start4Life website including types of foods to start with, great recipes to make and what equipment is needed to start.
Early Years Settings need to make sure that they have specific weaning menus for babies. The Public Health England Early Years Guidelines have example weaning menus to look at.
Startwell deliver a specific training on ‘Weaning’ which covers weaning in more detail. See CPD in the support for professional section for more details.
Weaning Presentation
Startwell have created a Weaning Presentation to use with parents. This can be used in a group or 1:1. Click here to download.
Allergenic Foods
When families start introducing solid foods from around 6 months old they should introduce foods that can trigger allergic reactions one at a time and in very small amounts so that parents can spot any reaction.
If their baby already has an allergy, such as a diagnosed food allergy or eczema, or if their parents have a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever, they may need to be particularly careful when introducing foods. They should talk to their GP or health visitor first.
Foods that can trigger an allergic reaction are:
- Cows’ milk
- Eggs (eggs without a red lion stamp should not be eaten raw or lightly cooked)
- Foods that contain gluten, including wheat, barley and rye
- Nuts & peanuts (serve them crushed or ground)
- Seeds (serve them crushed or ground)
- Soya
- Fish & shellfish (do not serve raw or lightly cooked)
Once introduced and if tolerated, these foods should become part of their baby’s usual diet to minimise the risk of allergy. Evidence has shown that delaying the introduction of peanut and hen’s eggs beyond 6 to 12 months may increase the risk of developing an allergy to these foods. Lots of children outgrow their allergies to milk or eggs, but a peanut allergy is generally lifelong.
How to Tell if your Child has a Food Allergy
Allergic reactions usually happen quickly within a few minutes of exposure to an allergen. They can cause:
- Sneezing
- A runny or blocked nose
- Red, itchy, watery eyes
- Wheezing and coughing
- A red, itchy rash
- Worsening of asthma or eczema symptoms
Most allergic reactions are mild, but occasionally a severe reaction called anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock can occur. This is a medical emergency and needs urgent treatment. Call 999 immediately. Do not be tempted to experiment by cutting out a major food, such as milk, because this could lead to your child not getting the nutrients they need. Talk to your health visitor or GP, who may refer you to a registered dietitian.
Nuts
From 6 Months
Children can have crushed nuts if there is no family history of asthma, eczema, hayfever or food allergies
If a child already has a known allergy, or there is a family history of allergy, talk to a GP, health visitor or medical allergy specialist before giving peanuts or foods containing peanuts to a child for the first time.
Avoid Whole Nuts Until 5 Years
All children should avoid whole nuts of any kind to reduce the risk of choking
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Hallfield First Nursery have been learning about Smiley Shen and tooth cleaning. They used blocks and laminated cards to practise brushing teeth, using brushing movements to clean away the “plaque” and “food build-up”. To make the activity a little trickier, they used ribbons to practise flossing between the teeth and talked about why it is important to brush and clean our teeth and linked this to making healthy food and drink choices to help keep our teeth healthy.
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