Mothers and fathers should also pay attention to the following points when adding complementary foods.
1. Some babies may be allergic or intolerant to certain foods. An easier way to tell is to add only one new food at a time and try the same new food for 3 days in a row to observe your baby's reaction, and try another new food when there is no problem.
2. Mothers and fathers should try different kinds of food for their babies as soon as possible, as this will reduce the problem of partial eating and also reduce the health risks caused by food contamination.
3. The same portion of meat and vegetables is more nutritious than cereals and fruit.
4. Some babies may need some time to adapt to the new taste of food and may show dry heaving or spitting up food. Mum and dad should be patient and take it slowly, and can try again after some days.
5. Unless mum, dad or older siblings have a history of food allergies, generally speaking most babies do not need to deliberately delay the introduction of foods that are likely to cause allergies, such as eggs, fish and shrimps, nuts, etc., after 4 to 6 months. There is no scientific evidence for the time being that waiting until they are older to be exposed to certain foods can reduce the chance of allergies.
6. Do not add rice paste to bottles and use bottles to feed complementary foods as this is not good for your baby's development.
7. Some foods are prone to foreign body obstruction and choking. Mothers and fathers should adapt the texture of food to their baby's own developmental progress, prepare foods that are easily dissolved by saliva and do not require chewing, encourage your baby to eat slowly, and always keep an eye on what your baby is eating, which can effectively prevent the risk of choking.
8. Do not add salt or sugar to your baby's complementary food and minimise additional sodium intake.
9. Do not feed fruit juices to babies under 1 year old and try to limit the amount of fruit juices for children over 1 year old, as they are high in sugar and lack substances such as fibre found in whole fruits and are not healthy.
10. Do not feed honey to babies under 1 year old as the botulism bacterium spores contained in honey may cause botulism in infants.
Image from aboutkidshealth.ca, copyright of the original author
