When teaching a mother about introducing solid food to her child which of the following indicates the earliest age at which this should be done?

Watching your baby explore new tastes and textures can be fun for you both.

So it’s time to start feeding your baby food. By now you and your baby have learned all about nappy changing, playing, sleeping (or not sleeping), bathing and fitting tiny limbs into tiny clothes. Introducing family foods, sometimes called ‘solids’, ‘complementary feeding’ or ‘first foods’, to your baby is another learning process you and your baby will embark on.

Starting family foods doesn’t need to be stressful. Follow these simple tips for introducing food to your baby.

Follow your baby’s cues

Your baby will give you signs when they are ready to start eating food. It’s time to start introducing foods when:

• your baby has good head and neck control and can sit upright when supported by you or furniture
• your baby shows an interest in food when you are eating it: looking at your plate when you are eating or reaching for your food
• your baby opens their mouth when you offer them food on a spoon.

Every baby is different and develops at their own rate. Babies need only breast milk or formula until they are around 6 months of age. It is then recommended to introduce foods to meet your baby’s increased nutritional and developmental needs.

Most babies will start showing signs that they are ready to eat foods at around 6 months of age. Food should not be introduced to your baby before they are 4 months old.

Don’t force it

Introducing new foods will go best when you and your baby are both relaxed and happy. Your baby will be more receptive to trying new foods when they’re not really hungry, so try giving them some food after breastfeeding or formula.

Remember that this is a new learning process for your baby. If they begin to get grizzly or refuse to eat one day, don’t force them. Just try again the next day or when they are happy and relaxed.

Be prepared for mess when your baby is learning to eat food: it is natural for them to use their hands and fingers. Over time mealtimes will become less messy.

Texture is key

Introducing food helps your baby learn how to eat. It gives them experience with new tastes and textures, helps their teeth and jaws to develop, and teaches them how to chew. They will also practise skills that they will later use for language development.

Texture is important when first introducing foods. Because your baby is new to eating, start with pureed foods that are easy to move in their mouth and swallow. Next move on to mashed foods, then minced and chopped foods, over the following months. You can also give them ‘finger foods’ which they can hold in their hands, like pieces of cooked vegetables or bread crusts.

It’s important that your baby learns to chew food by moving from soft foods to foods with a lumpy texture and finger foods so by the time they are around 12 months of age they are able to eat a wide variety of nutritious, family foods.

Focus on iron first

Babies receive iron from their mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy. Your baby is born with iron stored in their body, which helps them grow and develop; iron is particularly necessary for healthy brain development.

As babies grow older, their stored iron levels deplete. At around six months of age, they can’t get enough iron from breast milk or formula alone, so babies need to get iron and other nutrients that are essential for their growing bodies by eating other foods.

When beginning to feed your baby foods, start with iron-rich foods like iron-fortified infant rice cereal, mashed or pureed meats, mashed beans or lentils.

Think family foods

As long as they are nutritious and the right texture, it doesn’t really matter what your baby’s first foods are. After baby cereals and purees, move on to mashed foods and finger foods. Try offering a variety of foods from different food groups.

Home-cooked family meals are fine for your baby, as long as they are nutritious and you’ve made the texture suitable. You can try:

• mashed vegetables
• mashed cooked eggs (not raw or runny)
• cooked fish
• minced or pureed meat
• tofu
• mashed beans and lentils
• smooth nut pastes
• bread crusts or toast
• or dairy foods like yoghurt or cheese.

Read this post on Raising Children about how to prepare food for your baby.

Start small and work with their appetite

Your baby doesn’t need to eat a lot of food when starting out. At first, start with about 1-2 teaspoons of food, then increase the amount according to their appetite.

Babies should eat around 3 times a day by the time they are 12 months of age, as well as continuing to be fed breast milk or formula.

Foods to avoid

There are some foods you shouldn’t give to your baby. Avoid:

• honey until they are 12 months of age
• cow’s milk until they are 12 months of age
• reduced fat dairy food until they are 2 years of age
• whole nuts and other hard foods like raw carrot which are a choking hazard until they are three years of age
• unpasteurised milk
• added salt and sugar to homemade food
• and juices, cordials, sugar-sweetened drinks, tea or coffee.

Discretionary foods - foods that are high in salt, saturated fat or sugar, but low in fibre and nutrients - are not suitable for your baby and should be avoided. These are often called ‘sometimes food’. Examples of these foods are chips, cakes, biscuits, lollies and pastries.

Be aware of choking hazards

Babies should always be watched when they are eating or drinking. Their small windpipes can make it easy for them to choke on foods, particularly if the pieces are large or hard.

Sit your baby up while they are eating and prevent choking by cooking and grating, finely slicing or mashing hard fruits and vegetables like carrots, celery and apple. Cut food into pieces that are smaller than a pea that your baby can easily chew and swallow.

According to the Australian Government Department of Health, common foods that cause choking in children include:

• small round and oval foods, like grapes, berries and cherry tomatoes – these foods should always be cut up lengthways
• nuts and seeds
• popcorn
• hard foods that can break up into smaller pieces
• and hard fruits and vegetables.

You can read more about choking hazards and first aid here.

More information

You can find further reading about introducing family foods to your baby at the links below:

Last updated: 30 July 2019

Breastfeeding is a natural thing to do, but it still comes with its fair share of questions. Here's what you need to know about about introducing formula, solids, and more.

Is it OK to Give My Baby Breast Milk and Formula?

Breast milk is the best nutritional choice for babies. But in some cases, breastfeeding (or exclusive breastfeeding) isn’t possible or an option. What’s best for your baby's health and happiness is, in large part, whatever works for your family. So if you need to supplement, your baby will be fine and healthy, especially if it means less stress for you.

Babies who need supplementation may do well with a supplemental nursing system. This is when moms place a small tube by their nipple that delivers pumped milk or formula while a baby is breastfeeding.

Babies also can get pumped milk or formula by bottle. But it’s a good idea to wait until your baby has gotten used to and is good at breastfeeding. Lactation professionals recommend waiting until a baby is about 3-4 weeks old before offering artificial nipples of any kind (including pacifiers).

If I Give My Baby Formula, How Do I Start?

If you're using formula because you're not producing the amount of milk your baby needs, nurse first. Then, give any pumped milk you have and make up the difference with formula as needed.

If you're stopping a breastfeeding session or are weaning from breastfeeding altogether, begin to replace breastfeeding with bottle feeds. As you do this, pump to reduce uncomfortable engorgement. Engorgement is when your breasts overfill with milk and other fluids and get painful, swollen, warm, or hard. This can lead to problems with plugged ducts (when the ducts won’t drain well or at all) or a breast condition called mastitis.

When you reduce the number of nursing sessions, your milk supply will decrease. Your body will adapt to produce just enough milk to fit your new feeding schedule.

How Might a Diet With Formula Affect My Baby?

Starting your breastfed baby on formula can cause some change in the frequency, color, and consistency of your baby’s poop. Be sure to talk your doctor, though, if your baby has trouble pooping.

If your baby refuses formula alone, you can try mixing some of your pumped breast milk with it to help the baby get used to the new taste.

Is it OK for Me to Give My Baby the First Bottle?

If possible, have someone else give the first bottle. This is because babies can smell their mothers and they're used to receiving breast milk from mom, not a bottle. So try to have someone else — like a caregiver or partner — give the first bottle.

Also consider being out of the house or out of sight when your baby takes that first bottle, since your little one will wonder why you're not doing the feeding as usual. Depending on how your baby takes to the bottle, you might need to keep doing this until your baby gets used to bottle feeding.

If your baby has a hard time adjusting to this new form of feeding, be patient and keep trying. Talk to your doctor if you have questions.

Does My Breastfed Baby Need Supplements?

Breast milk contains many vitamins and minerals. But it’s a good idea to give a daily supplement for some nutrients that may be lacking. It all depends on your baby’s age. 

Here are some guidelines: 

• Vitamin D. Breastfed babies need to take a daily vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D is added to infant formulas. Vitamin D is made by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight, but it is not safe for infants under 6 months to be in direct sunlight. (After 6 months, use sunscreen when in the sun to protect your baby’s sensitive skin).
• Iron. Iron is a mineral found in breastmilk during the first 4 months of life. After that, babies need an iron supplement until they begin eating enough iron-rich foods (such as cereals or meats) when they’re around 6 months old. If your baby gets a mix of breast milk and iron-fortified formula, talk to your doctor about whether your little one needs a supplement. After they start on solids, some babies still need iron supplements if they don’t eat enough iron-rich foods. You doctor can tell you if your baby is getting enough iron.
• Fluoride. Babies younger than 6 months do not need a fluoride supplement. After your baby is 6 months old, you can start supplementing with fluoride if your water supply lacks fluoride. Well water, bottled water, tap water in some communities, and ready-to-feed formulas do not have fluoride.

  It’s important to find out if your water supply has fluoride in it. You can ask your doctor, dentist, or local water utility agency if the water in your community is fluoridated. Giving a child too much fluoride can cause white marks on the teeth, so there is no need to give a fluoride supplement if your child gets enough fluoride from water.

When Should I Introduce Solid Foods?

The best time to introduce solid foods is when your baby has the skills needed to eat, usually between 4 and 6 months of age. This is when your baby:

• has good head and neck control
• can sit up
• has lost the tongue-thrust reflex (which causes babies to push food out of the mouth) 
• has the motor skills needed to transfer food to the back of the mouth to swallow
• shows an interest in food (by watching others eat, reaching for food, or opening the mouth as food approaches)

By this age, babies usually weigh twice their birth weight, or close to it.

Wait until your baby is at least 4 months old and shows these signs of readiness before starting solids. Many babies exclusively breastfeed until 6 months of age, which is perfectly healthy.

Babies who start solid foods before 4 months are at a higher risk for obesity and other problems later on. They also aren't coordinated enough to safely swallow solid foods and may choke on the food or inhale it into their lungs. 

How Should I Start Solids?

When the time is right, start with a single-grain, iron-fortified baby cereal. Rice cereal has traditionally been the first food for babies, but you can start with any you prefer. Start with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cereal mixed with breast milk, formula, or water. Never add cereal to a baby's bottle unless your doctor recommends it.

Another good first option is an iron-rich puréed meat. Feed your baby with a small baby spoon.

At this stage, solids should be fed after a nursing session, not before. That way, your baby fills up on breast milk, which should be your baby's main source of nutrition until age 1.

When your baby gets the hang of eating the first food, introduce others, such as puréed fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, or yogurt. Wait a few days between introducing new foods to make sure your baby doesn't have an allergic reaction.

Experts recommend introducing common food allergens to babies when they're 4–6 months old. This includes babies with a family history of food allergies. In the past, they thought that babies should not get such foods (like eggs, peanuts, and fish) until after the first birthday. But recent studies suggest that waiting that long could make a baby more likely to develop food allergies.

Offer these foods to your baby as soon as your little one starts eating solids. Make sure they're served in forms that your baby can easily swallow. You can try a small amount of peanut butter mixed into fruit purée or yogurt, for example, or soft scrambled eggs.

When Can I Give My Baby Water?

In their first few months, babies usually don't need extra water. Breast milk and formula supply all the fluids that your baby needs. On very hot days, most babies do well with extra feedings.

When your baby starts eating solid foods, you can offer a few ounces of water between feedings, but don't force it.

What About Juice?

Fruit juices are not recommended for babies. Juice offers no health benefits, even to older children. Juice can fill them up (leaving little room for more nutritious foods), promote obesity, cause diarrhea, and even put a baby at risk for cavities when teeth start coming in.