Healthy Eating Habits For Your Baby

Once your baby starts eating table foods, a whole new journey begins. For some moms it’s an exciting time to introduce their baby to tasty foods that the entire family enjoys. For others, it’s a little nerve wracking. Jar food is easy, but once they graduate to table foods moms may wonder which are appropriate and safe. This concern is justified – one child in the U.S. dies from choking every five days according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. But, with a little thoughtful planning, your baby’s mealtime can be a delicious experience.

Many parents overestimate their child’s ability to manage solid food. It’s easy to fall into the trap of offering your baby the same food that her siblings or even you are eating. But the reality is that for children under the age of four the following foods should be avoided:

• Nuts and seeds
• Sticky foods such as peanut butter, taffy, marshmallows, and jelly beans
• Raw carrots and celery
• Unpeeled fruits and fruits with pits
• Hard candy and popcorn
• Chunks of meat and cheese
• Whole grapes and cherry tomatoes
• Food that is round and hard

Food that is given to a baby should be cooked until it is soft and cut into very small pieces – about the size of a pea. 

Despite these guidelines, there are still many tasty and nutritious foods you can offer your baby, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t show interest in some of them at first. Provide some of her favorite foods with a milder flavor and introduce one or two new items every week. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. It can take up to twenty times of tasting a particular food before your baby will eat it. Timing is everything! Make sure that she’s not tired or over hungry when you’re offering a new food or beginning solid foods. And above all, never leave her unattended.

Good eating habits should be established right away. Children should be taught to only eat sitting upright at a table or in a high chair. Never allow your child to run, walk, or lie down with food in her mouth. Thoroughly chewing her food, not putting too much food in her mouth at once, and taking small bites are also important factors for preventing choking.