Here - Health Promotion Agency

5 Feeding
your child
Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures and yet it’s also a source of worry for
most parents. What should children eat? Can I afford to give it to them?
Will they eat it? The next few pages will give you some basic guidelines
on how to get your baby through the stage of weaning and on to family foods.
S TARTING SOLID FOOD
WHEN TO START
Breast milk or infant formula milk
provides all the nourishment your
baby needs for the first six months.
Experts recommend that babies
should start solid foods from the age
of six months. At this stage he or she
needs more iron and nutrients than
milk alone can provide. You should
aim to gradually increase the variety
and amount of solid foods so that by
12 months they have become the
main part of the diet, with breast or
formula milk to drink alongside.
It is recommended that you do not
wean before six months. From six
months of age weaning will be easier
and your baby will be able to
progress more quickly to finger
foods, etc. Before six months most
babies’ digestive systems and kidneys
are not fully developed. Weaning too
soon may cause problems, such as
food allergies. If you choose not to
follow this advice, you should never
wean before four months (make sure
you follow the separate weaning
advice on page 68).
If your baby was born prematurely,
ask your paediatrician for advice
about what is best for your baby.
‘With your first baby, you
worry about what you give
them, and how much, and
whether they’ll like it. But
with your second, it’s much
more like they have to fit in
with the rest of the family, and
you don’t think about it so
much. They take what’s going
and they do it for themselves
really.’
‘I think there’s a lot of pressure
on you to stop breastfeeding
and, you know, get on to
something a bit more
substantial. People are always
sort of pushing you on to the
next stage. It’s hard to know
what’s best when people are
saying to you “Isn’t she weaned
yet?” and “Have you tried this,
have you tried that?”.
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