You Don’t Need Baby Cereal to Get Your Baby to Eat Solid Foods.
Many parents, grandparents, and baby food manufacturers adhere to the idea that babies should start with cereals. Pediatricians once insisted on this, and some even encouraged it for two-day-olds . Today, many still recommend it, but only as a convenient source of iron. In truth, this is just one of many options.
As long as babies get iron from food, formula, or supplements, cereals are not necessary. “Traditionally, whole grains are usually introduced first,” says the American Academy of Pediatrics on its infant feeding page. “However, there is no medical evidence that introducing solid foods in any particular order is beneficial for your child.”
Why do we feed our children with cereal
The historical roots of baby porridge go back hundreds of years : in 1600s Europe, according to books of the time, it was sometimes given thin porridge if their mother could not give milk, or in some cases as an adjunct to breastfeeding. This soup made from boiled bread or grains had a coarse milk consistency, and babies too young to chew could drink it.
A branch of this trend began in the twentieth century when formula feeding was considered a scientific advancement in breastfeeding, but modern formulas did not contain all the nutrients that babies need. Iron, in particular, was in short supply, but iron-fortified cereals could provide it. Iron deficiency is still a concern because babies have enough iron in their bodies for about six months or so. One surprising thing that may be partially responsible for iron deficiency is how quickly the umbilical cord was pinched and cut after birth. If a baby experiences the umbilical cord in the first minute, he loses some of the blood and therefore some of the iron that he would receive if he remained attached for a few more minutes.
Formula is currently fortified with iron, but breast milk contains only small amounts , so breastfed babies are at greater risk of iron deficiency anemia . The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends iron supplements or iron-containing foods such as cereals after four months, but their official guidelines also include a list of other iron-containing foods such as meat, tofu, and beans.
This pasty food is best known as rice flakes, which companies like Gerber sell in boxes on the top shelf in the baby food aisle. Similar products are made from oats, wheat, or other grains. (Since rice-based grains can contain significant amounts of arsenic , it’s best not to limit yourself to rice.) All of these grains are finely ground – think flour over rice crisps. You mix them with water to make soup or porridge.
While baby cereals are the traditional first food staple, there has also been a backlash in recent years from people who justifiably claim that they are net carbs and that we can improve our nutrition . In fact, you can skip the cereal (I did it) if you are adding iron as a supplement or feeding other iron-rich foods.
Babies can really eat a lot of things.
If you don’t start with cereals, then what do you feed your baby first? Pretty much anything. I bombarded my son’s doctor with questions: when will he be able to eat rice? Beans? Bread? She gave me a very short list of basic rules, repeated here by the AAP :
- No honey until the baby is one year old, due to the (very low) risk of botulism .
- Nothing of the sort: grapes, hot dogs, hard chunks of fruits and vegetables, large balls of peanut butter.
That’s all. Anything he could crush with his gums and swallow was honest. With the doctor’s blessing, my son ate rice and beans and crumbled a burger while his peers ate cereals and fruit purees.
In favor of rice flakes, it is sometimes pointed out that children are rarely allergic to rice. If you suspect that your child has an allergy (for example, based on a family history), be sure to discuss this with your doctor. But generally, you don’t need to put aside peanuts, wheat, or other common allergens. In fact, putting them off can increase a child’s chances of developing allergies. Soaking a few days between meals is a good rule of thumb if you want to be sure you are picking up any potential reactions.
Infinite rules also mean that you are not limited in the way that baby food packaging is meant. For example, the smallest Gerber packages contain individual fruits and vegetables, and their website positions them as a prerequisite for “2 products” and “3 products”, which are still mostly fruit and vegetable purees. This is a shame, because some products are completely absent from this scheme. Meat appears only sporadically, like at a turkey vegetable dinner. But meat is a really good option as an early meal: as we’ve seen, it is high in iron and also high in protein.
This is not the only food that is rarely found on baby food shelves, but it is a great option. For example, avocado is not a typical option in the baby food range, but it is simple and nutritious: just mash a fresh avocado with a fork. (Confession: when my first child was young, I took him with me to Chipotla and gave him a spoonful of guacamole and a spoon.)
In fact, whatever you eat – as long as it’s part of a complete diet and not pure junk food – is a good starting point for feeding your baby. A hand-powered food grinder can help turn part of your lunch into spoonable baby food, or you can use a regular blender or food processor . Even without special preparation, many foods are baby dishes in disguise, such as mashed potatoes, applesauce, soup, and yogurt.
Sharing food at the table with your child is also a great way to introduce them to new flavors, which is a key part of nutritional education. Culinary writer Bee Wilson notes that babies learn to love what they encounter during a “taste window” of four to seven months, which can take them away from becoming very picky eaters later. So shaping your baby’s future taste is another benefit that you may not want to use with soft grains now.
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