Healthy Eating

Introducing Solid Foods

In addition to breastfeeding, you can start to offer your toddler other food at six months of age. Your toddler is ready for solid food when he or she can:

• Hold up his or her head
• Watch and open his or her mouth for a spoon
• Avoid pushing food out with his or her tongue

Getting Started

Choose a time when your baby is content, interested and alert. Offer solid foods after breastfeeding and begin by offering solids two to three times per day and increase to 3‑ 4 times per day. As your baby eats more solid foods, he or she will gradually drink less breast milk or formula. Important things to remember:

• Offer one new food at a time
• Wait a few days before adding another new food
• Do not put cereal or other solids in a bottle

Choosing a First Food

The best “first‑foods” are meat or an infant cereal that is single‑grain and iron fortified. Rice cereal is an example of a single‑grain cereal. Iron‑rich foods are important to prevent iron deficiency anemia. This is because a baby's iron stores begin to diminish around six months of age. Solid foods can help to meet your baby's increased need for iron at that time.

Iron‑rich foods include:

• Beef, pork, lamb, veal
• Iron‑fortified infant cereal
• Chicken, turkey
• Fish
• Tofu
• Beans and other legumes
• Eggs

For daily food suggestions for ages 6‑12 months, click here.

Getting Started with Meat

Mix water, breast milk, or mashed vegetables with meat to make sure that it is moist enough for your toddler to chew. Shredding or grinding the meat into very small pieces also makes it easier to chew. If you are serving chicken, mince some of the dark meat, which is moister than the white meat. Fish is another good choice because it is tender and easy to chew.

To reduce the risk for food poisoning, cook meat well. When you cut into well‑cooked meat or poultry, the juices should be clear, with no traces of pink. Meat, fish, and poultry are well cooked when they reach the following safe temperatures. Use a thermometer to check the temperature.

• Beef (roast, steaks): 63°C (145°F)
• Ground beef: 71°C (160°F)
• Poultry (chicken, turkey): 74°C (165°F)
• Pork: 71°C (160°F)
• Or, safe and easy to remember: cook all meats to 74°C (165°F)

Gagging

When toddlers try foods with more texture, they sometimes gag. Gagging is normal and healthy; your toddler is learning how to eat without choking. If your toddler gags, don’t panic because it could startle your toddler and make him or her afraid to try new foods. Stay calm and reassure your toddler.

Identify and Reduce Choking Hazards

The greatest risk for choking is in children under four years old. Their mouth muscles are not developed enough to control hard or slippery foods. The airway of a small child is about the same diameter as a pencil. You can help prevent choking by staying with your toddler while she or he eats. Also, to help prevent choking, do not let your toddler eat while walking, riding in a stroller, or riding in a vehicle. Be careful that you do not give children younger than four years of age foods that they could choke on. These foods are very likely to cause choking.