Diversification of food: An essential guide to feeding your baby safely

Because babies' nutritional needs change as they grow, it is important, from the age of six months, to offer them something other than the milk that has completely satisfied them until now . To know if your little one is ready to take this big step, these three criteria must generally be met:

• He is about six months old.
• He sits in his high chair without support.
• He has good control over his head, and can therefore clearly show his refusal by turning his head.

Which method to choose?

How you introduce foods to your baby, whether through purees or BLW (baby-led weaning), is up to you; choose the method that best suits your family reality as well as your child's temperament.

Is there a specific order to follow?

Although the order of food introduction varies from country to country and culture, it is recommended to introduce foods rich in iron first (fortified baby cereals, meat, poultry, fish, tofu, legumes and eggs, for example), which plays an important role in a child's development.

Furthermore, it is no longer recommended to wait a few days between introducing two new foods. You can therefore add new things to your child's menu every day, while continuing to offer him the foods he already knows.

What about food allergies?

Although parents have long been advised to wait until their child is a certain age before offering them highly allergenic foods (eggs, peanuts, nuts, fish and seafood, for example), it is now suggested that these types of foods be introduced at the same time as the others, while taking the time to observe your baby carefully and react appropriately in the event of an allergic reaction.

Important rules

Although it is up to you to choose in which order you wish to integrate the foods, these few rules must be respected in order to ensure the safety of the child:

• To avoid the risk of choking, certain foods require special preparation or should be avoided until the age of four (go here to learn more).
• Honey, whether pasteurized or not, should never be given to a child under one year old, as it could cause serious food poisoning.

Ready to get started?

To make sure you don't forget to include any food during this wonderful stage of discovery, download this list that you can display in plain sight on your fridge or store carefully in your family organization binder ! Would you like to have free access to it, and also benefit from all of our downloads for free? Subscribe now to the + plan of our Belles Combines Magazine!

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