How To Wean A Child To Normal Food
July 1, 2009
Every mother feels happy once her child is four to six months old because her child would soon be introduced to normal food. However, every mother is faced with the question of how should she wean her child to normal food. There are certain important factors that determine it. Some of them are a stable neck and whether the child has learned the art of swallowing. Introducing solid foods or weaning is very important because solid food helps to give more calories to a child to help development of the body.
One has to be very gradual in the process when a baby is to be weaned to normal food. The first few feeds could be a cereal mixed in breast milk or formula milk. Milk forms an ideal medium to introduce the normal foods gradually because of the child being familiar to the taste and smell of milk.
Rice cereal, being easily digestible and being less prone to be allergic, is the most preferred and ideal food to start with. Oats could also be an ideal cereal to start with; mix these first with milk and introduce variations like with banana, apples, pulses, black currant and mixed vegetables as the child grows older.This would help a child to enjoy a variety of cereal combination and feel excited at every meal.
However, be observant to find out the child’s tastes and give a food which is appreciated and loved. Introduce cereal food in the process to wean a child to normal food by offering the cereal in the consistency of milk. Gradually increase the thickness, helping the child to accept the normal food, as the food they should eat in the long run. Make sure the normal food being introduced in steps is smooth and does not contain lumps, which a baby may find difficult to swallow.
It is first good to make sure that a baby does not have any allergies before introducing a child to a variety of other foods. Be careful to introduce more solid foods only after the child get it’s teeth. It would be good to introduce it as a thick soup or run the food through a blender or masher before being given to the child. One good and favorite fruit for a child could be a banana which can be easily mashed, swallowed and is also a delight of most children. Introduce one single food at a time and give the child time to settle to it’s taste and smell.
One can be sure of being successful to wean a child to normal food gradually if one takes care of all these aspects which go to make weaning to solid and normal food a good pleasant experience.
that’s great article. yeah, of course that every mother are very happy when they reach the age that they need to eat heavy foods, not just milk.