When+should+I+advise+parents+to+start+weaning%3F
Weaning
onto pureed foods should start when the infant is between 4 to 6 months of age;
and definitely no later than 6 months, ideally whilst breastfeeding1,2.
Weaning food should be given when the infant shows signs of readiness, this will probably be because he or she has reached a stage where appetite is no longer satisfied by milk (breast or formula) alone, and there is an interest in imitating other’s eating.
Signs of readiness might be:
- chewing fists
- waking at night when they had previously slept through
- crying between feeds
Although for most babies, breast milk is nutritionally sufficient up to the age of 6 months, it would seem that there is a “window of opportunity” or sensitive period for the introduction of the taste of foods prior to this age. Infants between 4 to 6 months need fewer exposures of a taste to acquire a preference4 – and exposure to a food taste is crucial in establishing a preference in all foods apart from those with a sweet taste4,5. The infant is born with a preference for a sweet taste, but needs to learn to like all other tastes4,5. Relatively early exposure, therefore, is crucial in establishing a preference for the taste of foods with more complex or quite bitter tastes, such as fruit and vegetables.
Lumpy solid foods are best introduced as soon after 6 months as possible. The delay in introducing lumpy textures seems to lead to difficulty in coping with more solid textures than that of puree and bite and dissolve (see Factsheet 2.2), and a compromised acceptance of foods in later childhood3,4,6,7.
References
- Iversson A, Hernell O, Stenlund H, Persson LA. Breast-feeding protects against celiac disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 75(5):914-21.
- Agostoni C, Decsi T, Fewtrell M. et al. Medical Position Paper; Complementary Feeding: A Commentary by the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition. J Pediatr Gast Nutr 2008; 46:99-110.
- Harris, G. Determinants of the introduction of solid food. J Reprod Infant Psychol 1988; 6:241-249.
- Harris, G. Introducing the infant’s first solid food. Br Food J 1993; 95(9):7-11.
- Birch LL, Marlin DW. I don’t like it; I never tried it: effects of exposure on two-year-old children’s food preferences. Appetite 1987; 9(3):171-8.
- Northstone K, Emmett P, Nethersole F. The effect of age of introduction to lumpy solids on foods eaten and reported feeding difficulties at 6 and 15 months. J Hum Nutr Diet 2001; 14(1):43-54.
- Coulthard H, Harris G, Emmett P. and the ALSPAC team. Delayed introduction of lumpy foods to children during the complementary feeding period affects child’s food acceptance and feeding at 7 years of age. Maternal and Child Nutrition 2009; 5:75-85.