At what age can babies eat?

When it comes to adding complementary foods to babies, many young parents don’t know what to do, so they should learn about this knowledge in a timely manner after having a baby. When adding complementary foods to babies, many principles need to be followed, such as the principle of starting from less to more, paying attention to mixed feeding at the beginning, and also paying attention to the preparation method of baby complementary foods. Never make it like adults. So how old should the baby be before he can eat?

At what age can babies eat?

Generally speaking, newborn babies need to be exclusively breastfed for at least 4 to 6 months. After 4 to 6 months, complementary foods can be added appropriately. The addition of complementary foods should follow the principles of from thin to thick, from fine to coarse, from one type to multiple types, and from little to more. Generally speaking, babies aged seven or eight months can eat small amounts of noodles and rice. However, the staple food is still milk. If you want to completely replace milk with rice, flour, etc. as the staple food, it is generally necessary to do so after the child is one year old.

Many mothers think that their baby's chewing ability is innate, but this idea is actually wrong. The baby's chewing ability needs to be cultivated from an early age. As the baby grows older, the food should gradually become coarser and harder. Chewing ability is the key to whether a child can eat adult food. If the chewing ability is not enough, the food will be swallowed without being chewed thoroughly. This will increase the burden on the baby's stomach and intestines, leading to indigestion.

Before 4 or 5 months, babies can eat some pureed or paste-like foods. At 6 or 7 months old, the baby can eat some soft porridge, soft noodles and other foods with residue. You can also add some finely chopped or fried vegetables with low fiber content to the porridge and noodles. When they are first added, the stool may contain some vegetable residue or be slightly green in color. As long as it is not fishy diarrhea, it is not pathological. At 8 or 12 months, you can give your baby some steamed bread slices, bread slices and other foods with a certain hardness. This can not only enhance the chewing function, but also stimulate the gums and promote the eruption of deciduous teeth. At around 1 year old, vegetables, meat and other side dishes can be chopped into fine pieces, and at around 2 years old, they can be cut into thin strips, slices, or small cubes.

Adults often add a lot of seasonings, such as salt, to their meals. However, doctors do not recommend giving salt to children under one year old. Even after one year old, if babies eat too much salt, it will increase the burden on the kidneys and heart. Therefore, when the baby can eat adult food depends on the family’s recipes and the food itself.

Of course, most babies’ deciduous teeth will be fully grown by the time they are 2-3 years old, but there is no need to wait until this time to change their diet. Even though their teeth haven't grown in yet, your baby can use his gums to help digest food. Parents just need to slightly process the dishes given to the baby to help the baby eat more easily. At the same time, it is important to understand that preventing the risk of choking is important, but this requires being careful not to give your baby large pieces or large particles of hard ingredients (peanuts, nuts, etc.), rather than pureeing all foods.