| RECOMMENDED | TO BE AVOIDED | |
| 1 | Home-made foods | Commercial/ Packaged foods |
| 2 | Thick consistency of food | Soups/juices/daal ka pani/chawal ka paani |
| 3 | Minimal salt to be used in cooking. | High Salt foods like chips |
| 4 | Minimal sugar, preferably use fruits to sweeten. | Biscuits, mithais etc |
| 5 | If using animal milk , use full fat version | Toned/ skimmed milk |
| 6 | Not forcing /coaxing the child | Insisting that baby finishes the given amount. |
| 7 | Keep offering healthy food choices | |
| 8 | Meal times should be “Screen Free” times to ensure mindful eating. | Distracting or Tricking the child into eating can lead to faulty eating habits |
| 9 | Breastfeeding to continue for as long as the baby and mum are comfortable.(A minimum of 2 years of breastfeeding is good for optimal health of baby and mother.) | Bottles can cause numerous issues related to oral health, overfeeding , airway development and malnutrition. |
| 10 | Baby led eating | Parent led spoon feeding |
Introduction of Semisolids : What to give?
- The older concept of trying less allergenic foods first and more allergenic foods later is not recommended now. The child can be offered anything and everything.
- There are 2 popular ideologies, 1) Baby Led feeding and 2 )Parent led (spoon) feeding.
- More and more researches indicate that baby led weaning / feeding leads to better nourished kids who are healthy eaters.
Following are just few examples, recipes would be made differently in different families but the basic concepts should remain the same as mentioned above
1. Fruits (All fruits can be offered)
- Pulpy, soft fruits like banana, cheeku, papaya , melons can be given mashed or as big chip size pieces which the baby can grasp and self feed.
- Eg: potato, pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, bottlegourd, broccoli etc…
- Boiled and mashed and given as such or added into dals/ khichris
- Add butter or ghee
- Add curd to smoothen
2. Vegetables (All vegetables can be given)
- Eg: potato, pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, bottlegourd, broccoli etc…
- >> boiled and mashed and given as such or added into dals/ khichris
- >> add butter or ghee
- >> add curd to smoothen
3. Pulses..
- Start with less roughage (dehusked / धुली) ones and slowly move on to more roughage ones ie whole dals. You can make dough of roti / paratha with pureed dal too .
- Add ghee or any cold pressed oil (eg coconut oil)
- Or mix curd
4 Cereals (try to flavour with natural sweeteners like banana, khajoor, raisins etc)
> Wheat as in Suji, Rava, Dhalia, Halwa
> Rice as in khichdi, Kheer, Phirni, Upma
> Ragi flour cooked in milK, Ragi Dosa
5 Eggs/ Chicken / fish/meat – Can be introduced after age 9 months
Starting semisolids for your baby is a very significant event in their lives. The way babies are offered food has a big impact on their health status as well as their future relationship with food.
Most of the times, the way we were raised , has an impact on how we parent our kids
Same applies to offering food/feeding. Many times when as parents we struggle with making our children eat/ eat healthy, we need to pause and reflect on the way we have been offering food to our kids , whether it’s a pleasant experience for us (and the kids) or is it too stressful and whatever rules / ideologies we are following are they actually helping?
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To know more about how to offer food so that you can raise a healthy eater, Join Dr Shacchee Baweja, Paediatrician , IBCLC, Infant and young child feeding (IYCF)Specialist for Online Sessions on Infant and toddler feeding on www.drbaweja.com
Dr Shacchee Baweja & Dr Vipul Baweja 