Start solids at 4-6 months
Is a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Children’s Center for Digestive Health Care / GI Care for Kids, whose books on nutrition for parents led him to start Nutrition4Kids with his co-founders.
40% of mothers start feeding baby solid foods before 4 months of age according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( 2013). Healthcare professionals recommend waiting until 4-6 months.
Why 4-6 months of age?
- A baby's physical readiness to eat, they can sit up and hold their heads up.
- Preventing food allergies
- Making sure that the baby gets enough breast milk or formula.
Food allergies have been increasing rapidly around the globe, especially to peanuts. But not in Israel and China, where babies are fed peanut products at around 4-6 months. That's triggered the new recommendations to begin baby foods by 4-6 months and then soft solids shortly afterwards (when they learn to chew) to try to prevent food allergies from developing.
It's also important that the baby gets most of their nutrition from breast milk or infant formula. Both breast milk and infant formula provides almost everything that babies need until 6 months of age.
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