Opinions vary on what age is appropriate to begin the transition into solid foods. The best advice is to do your due diligence and learn what the varying opinions are. Study the research available that will aid you through the volatile process. No one opinion is absolute, so it is critical to trust your instincts. New parents often lack the confidence in making these types of decisions when the child is so young. If you are not sure, consult your local pediatrician to obtain his or hers qualified medical advice.
Milk, albeit mother's milk or formula, provides all the essential nutrients a newborn needs. Therefore, providing milk is a long-term commitment for a parent. Milk should not only be offered prior to solid foods, but should continue to be offered throughout the child's life. Take care to choose milk over sugary soft drinks as the child gets older. Even children are susceptible to childhood obesity that can lead to diabetes at a surprisingly early age. When a young person is diagnosed with diabetes it will be an obstacle for the rest of their life. Diabetes can be controlled often times with diet and exercise. However, medication is at times necessary for those who choose not to control it well enough.
Words of Wisdom
In the fast paced world we live in convenience that can take precedence over other values. All parents strive to provide and encourage a healthy lifestyle for their offspring. Unfortunately, as the standard is now both parents thriving in the workforce time is of the essence. It also does not help with fast food restaurants popping up on every street corner tempting you to go through the drive through and pick up a hot meal for the family. The convenience lies in no food prep time for the parent and limited clean up. The problem with this convenience is the lack of nutritional value. Often times the options have a high fat and calorie content. Even something as healthy as a salad can be destroyed by a high calorie creamy salad dressing. It is no surprise that the most popular ordered item from a popular fast food restaurant is the infamous happy meal. One might think there is an addictive quality with this food. The illustrious chicken nuggets breaded and fried compressed chicken bits rank at the top of the list. These chicken nuggets are generally served with fried French fries and a sugary soda pop. Surprisingly parents are purchasing the happy meals before the child is very old at all. You may be interested in knowing that numerous children's first completely solid food are French fries from the parent's meal.
Creating Healthy Habits
Choose wisely as you invest in a child's food choices as this will have a lifelong impact. It is never an easy decision to understand when to transition into solid foods, but educating yourself on the numerous options will lessen the stress. Start slowly with adding cereal to the milk bottle. Move on to small bites of cereals and then move into pureed products. Before you know it, the child will be eating off your plate.