11 food mistakes to avoid when weaning your baby

These foods should not be on your baby's list of weaning foods.

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Weaning is a very crucial period in your baby s developmental phase. What you feed now and how you do it is going to impact her eating habits and diet principles later in life. While it is advisable to try all kinds of food to develop a taste and liking for foods from all groups, there are certain foods that you should avoid or at the least feed less to your baby during the initial days. Remember, your baby s immature digestive system isn t ready to take all kinds of foods. Some could lead to allergies and digestive problems. Here Sonali Shivlani, an Internationally Certified Pregnancy, Lactation and Child Nutrition Counsellor and our panel expert lists some foods you should keep away from your child during weaning. Here goes the list:

1. Sugar: This is a complete no-no till at least one year of age. Best if you can avoid it till two years of age. Too much sugar during the initial years can increase the risk of tooth decay, lead to excessive intake of calories and be a reason for childhood obesity and other complications too. Here are nine hidden sources of sugar that are making your child fat.

2. Salt: Your baby s kidneys are immature and not ready to process salt and it could lead to bloating and dehydration too. Avoid salt till the first year of her life and then add very little salt to her food. Remember bland is healthy for your baby. Here are nine dangerous of excess salt that you should know.

3. Soy products: Soy and soy products have always been little controversial. So it is better to avoid it till your baby s system is fully mature to digest this protein rich food. Try it after one year of age.

4. Cow s milk: Contrary to popular belief, cow s milk is not suitable for your child till 12 months of age. It is because it lacks the nutrients and vitamins of breast milk and has certain enzymes that are not compatible with your child s immature stomach. At times, the lactose in the milk can also cause diarrhoea and colic. Here is why you should not feed your child cow s milk during a stomach infection.

5. Honey: While most people in India believe that giving honey to your newborn is auspicious, know that this could cause a rare type of food poisoning in kids.

6. Nuts: First, they could lead to choking hazards, even if you are chopping it into small pieces. Avoid it at least for the first two years till your child is able to chew and swallow food properly. Even when you offer nuts, be careful to watch for any symptoms of allergies. If nut allergy runs in the family there are high chances that your child too suffers from the same.

7. Citrus fruits and berries: These aren t bad foods at all, but it is better you keep citrus foods away from your child when you just started weaning. These fruits could lead to allergies or irritation in some children. Other fruits that you can try during weaning are bananas, apple, chikoo, pear etc. Here is an interesting weaning recipe for you to try apple badam kheer.

8. Seafood: It is best to avoid sea foods at least till nine months of age and avoid giving it right during weaning. Fish has the potential threat of food poisoning and could also lead to stomach upset in babies who have just started to eat semi-solid foods.

9. Eggs: Hard boiled eggs can be given from six months of age when you start to wean. But it is better to stay away from poached, half-boiled and scrambled eggs for the risk of allergies raw egg preparations could lead too. Here are seven tips to start your baby on non-vegetarian foods.

10. Meat: Meat could be little hard to digest during the initial days of weaning. They are also strongly flavoured and can cause stomach upsets too. Try it after one year of age.

11. Gassy vegetables: Vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower garlic can cause colic and gas in very small babies. Better to introduce these vegetables once your child gets used to eating solid foods and is comfortable.

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