Food and Nutrition Guidelines - Barnsley Council Online

4. Babies 0-12 months
Top Tips for Weaning
• Do not rush or ‘force feed’. Most babies know when they have had enough to eat. Do not
spend a lot of time trying to persuade baby to take food.
• Eating together as a ‘family’ encourages children to adopt good habits from an early age.
It is important to give attention when baby is eating, such as chatting and enjoying food
together.
• Sit babies in high chairs at the table. Strap babies in and never leave unattended.
• When baby shows an interest in food you can encourage them by giving the baby a
spoon and you can help by putting food on the spoon while feeding them with another
spoon. Babies will take some time to develop the skills to feed themselves but can start
to try finger foods.
• When heating up weaning foods, only heat up enough food to be eaten, rather than
heating a large amount that may go to waste. Heat food thoroughly and allow to cool,
stirring well. Check the temperature before offering it to baby. It is not recommended
that food is heated in a microwave as there could be hot spots.
• The main drinks should be breast milk or infant formula milk up to 1 year of age. Followon
formula is not necessary and is unsuitable for babies less than 6 months.
• Do not add food to bottles of milk.
• Allow babies to experiment and make a mess.
• Avoid adding sugar or add artificial sweeteners to foods for babies.
• Avoid adding salt or stock cubes, packet sauces and soups to baby’s food, as the salt
content is very high.
• Eggs should be well cooked so that the yolk is hard.
• From the age of 6 months it is recommended that you should give vitamin drops to
children until they are 4 years old. You can buy suitable drops at any pharmacy. Ask your
midwife or health visitor where you can get vitamin drops.
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