Description
This baby food checklist is a great tool for keeping track of the foods you have offered and how you have offered them.
“Complementary feeding is the slow and steady introduction of solid foods to a baby of 4 – 6 months in age, when developmentally ready. Milk remains the main source of nutrition for the first year of life while food is simply complementary. The goal is to gain acceptance of nutrient-dense family foods and family food practices by the time a child turns 2 years old. Studies show that a child who is a picky eater at 2 years of age is likely to remain a picky eater throughout childhood. The first 1000 days of life (conception – 2 years) provides a window of opportunity for maximum nutrition manipulation. It is the time during which all the nutrient-dense foods a parent wishes for a child to eat growing up should be introduced.
It is however important to remember that a food may need to be offered, tasted and explored up to 15 times to gain acceptance. Teaching a child to eat requires much patience but the rewards will be reaped later on with less fussy meal times. The A-Z baby food checklist below can be used to keep track of the number of times a food is introduced and will provide inspiration for encouraging adventurous eaters. While baby food should not be seasoned with salt or sweetened with sugar, there is room for creativity. After introducing a food on its own a couple of times, adding ingredients to increase exposure to a variety of flavour combinations will prime babies for family-prepared meals. After the age of 1 year, there should be little need to prepare separate meals. The texture may need adjusting and feeding assistance may be necessary but preparing special “kids food” should be avoided as far as possible.”
This baby food checklist has been designed to help you and inspire you on this journey of introducing solids and family foods to your precious bundle of joy.
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