Here - Health Promotion Agency

Feeding your child
72
BOTTLE, BEAKER
OR CUP?
How you give drinks is
important. A free-flow
lidded beaker is better than
a bottle with a teat. Drinks
flow very slowly through a
teat and drinking can take
a long time. This means
your child spends a lot of
time with a teat in the
mouth, which may delay
speech development and
damage teeth, especially if
drinking a sweetened drink.
Move on from a free-flow
lidded beaker to drinking
from a cup as soon as your
child is ready. Non spill
(valved) cups are not
recommended as they
encourage longer drinking
times. Use free-flow lidded
cups instead so that your
baby learns to sip. If you
give a bedtime drink in a
bottle, make sure it is only
water or milk and remember
to clean teeth afterwards.
D RINKS
Not all drinks are suitable for babies
and young children. Here is some
advice about different types of
drinks.
•
Breast milk is the ideal drink for
babies in the first few months,
and ideally up to their first
birthday. You can go on
breastfeeding as long as you want.
•
Infant formula is based on cow’s
milk and is the only alternative to
breast milk in the first 12 months
of your baby’s life. Once your
baby is six months old you can
give follow-on milks, but this
change is not necessary.
•
Hydrolysed protein infant
formulas are recommended for
babies who are allergic to cow’s
milk. If you are planning to feed
your baby a vegan (strict
vegetarian) diet, discuss this with
your health visitor and/or GP.
Vegan diets are not recommended
for young babies.
•
Whole cow’s milk is not suitable
as a main drink until your baby is
one year old as it doesn't contain
sufficient iron and other nutrients
to meet your baby’s needs. Semiskimmed
milk is not suitable as a
drink for children under two, but
can be introduced from two years
if the child is a good eater and has
a varied diet. Skimmed milk is not
suitable for children under five.
•
Goat’s and sheep’s milk are not
suitable as drinks for babies under
one year old as they do not
contain sufficient iron and other
nutrients to keep your baby
healthy. Providing they are
pasteurised, they can be used
once a baby is one year old.
•
Soya-based infrant formula.
Only use soya-based infant
formulas on the advice of your
GP. Babies who are allergic to
cow’s milk may also be allergic to
soya.
•
Water. Fully breastfed babies
don’t need any water until after
they have started eating solid
food. Babies fed on formula milk
may need some extra water in
very hot weather. Take the water
from the mains tap in the kitchen
and boil and then cool it for
babies under six months (it
doesn’t need boiling once your
baby is six months old). Bottled
mineral waters have mineral
contents unsuitable for babies.
However, there are other bottled
waters that are suitable for infant
feeding and you might see
‘suitable for infant feeding’
on their labels. Remember
that bottled water is not sterile,
so, like tap water, make sure
you boil and cool it if you
need to give it to babies
under six months old.
•
Citrus fruit juices, such as
orange juice or grapefruit juice,
are a good source of vitamin C,
but also contain naturally present
sugars which can cause tooth
decay. They’re acidic too. Fruit
juices should not be given before
your baby is six months old.
However, vitamin C helps to
absorb any iron in a meal, and if
your baby has a vegetarian diet
you may be advised to give
diluted fruit juice with your
child’s meals after six months.
Give very dilute juice (1 part fruit
juice with 10 parts cooled, boiled
water) in a feeding cup at
mealtimes only.