Younger than six months
Should your baby be younger than six months and not eating well, he or she might not be ready to start solids.
No need to worry, there is no urgency. Only when your bottle-fed baby is having more than a liter of milk in 24 hours, would you cut back on the milk and encourage solids.
Six to seven months
At this stage solid foods play a more important role in providing your baby's nutritional needs.
Depending on when your baby started solids he could be eating a half to one cup of food per meal. If he or she isn't, offer less milk or juice after meals.
Should cereal be a favourite, offer it for supper rather than for breakfast. Do not force-feed and offer small frequent meals.
- Offer finger foods, even if very little is in fact eaten.
- Nothing sweeter than teething biscuits or rice cakes.
- Try pieces of fresh fruit like banana, sweet melon or watermelon.
- Allow your baby to eat with you, should he or she want to eat your food let them.
- Whenever giving a new food type, be aware of any possible allergic reaction.
- Never leave your baby unattended while he or she is eating.
- Should your baby eat little or nothing for a meal, offer the next healthy snack sooner.
- Babies will eat nothing at some meal times but do not be tempted to make up for it by offering pudding or biscuits.
Eight months to one year
Continue with the guidelines mentioned above. Some added ideas:
- When offering soft food that needs to be given on a spoon, allow your baby to play with a toy to distract him or her when the novelty wears off
- Give him or her their own plate and spoon - when the novelty wears off
- Put a small quantity of food in the plate, always ensuring you feed the odd spoon in between the practice/play ones.
Offer a greater variety of finger foods for example:
- Any fruit in season, but some, grapes for example, need to be seedless and peeled.
- Pieces of avocado pear.
- Sandwiches with perhaps cottage cheese could be cut into bite size pieces
- Grated cheese
One year and older
Follow the same guidelines already mentioned.
- Encourage self-feeding with a spoon and fingers, it might be messy but it is a lot less trying.
- Offer small helpings only.
- Many babies will now eat less than before.
- Frequently eating problems at this stage are of a behavioural nature.
- Avoid showing emotion about his or her eating, negative or positive.
- Ensure that meal times are a low-key event not an emotional one.