Porridge is a useful and safe complementary food; you can start feeding a child with them from six to seven months of age. Children's cereals are available in two versions: dairy and dairy-free. The choice of the type of porridge depends on the individual characteristics of your child.
Instructions
Step 1
If you are breastfeeding your baby only, complementary foods should be introduced no earlier than six months. If the child is artificially or mixed feeding, it is possible to give him complementary foods earlier: from about four months, especially with a lack of weight. Please note that regular packaged milk should not be given to a child under one year old, and in some cases it is worth waiting up to three years, since cow protein intolerance is quite common in children.
Step 2
Pediatricians recommend using industrial cereals as complementary foods, since they are better processed and sterilized. Almost all "factory" cereals contain various vitamins and mineral salts, while they do not contain preservatives, stabilizers and dyes. Thanks to ready-made cereals, you can supplement the baby's diet with cereals that are difficult to digest at home, such as corn, barley or rye.
Step 3
It is better to start introducing complementary foods with dairy-free cereals. To prepare them, you only need water, you can use boiled or a special nursery, which can be bought in specialized stores. Dairy-free cereals contain milk protein hydrolyzate or soy isolate. They are safe milk base substitutes.
Step 4
Unfortunately, if your child is prone to allergies, it is better to choose dairy-free cereals with milk protein hydrolyzate for him, since sensitivity to milk protein is often accompanied by an allergy to soy protein. Soy protein porridge is good for children who have problems with lactose absorption.
Step 5
In milk porridges, whole milk powder most often acts as a basis, in this case its components are preserved in their original form. In some cases, skimmed milk powder can be used; in such cereals, milk fat is replaced with vegetable fat to provide babies with a sufficient amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Milk porridge, in the absence of contraindications, is best given to a child after a year; from about this age, problems with the assimilation of cow's milk protein disappear in children.
Step 6
Please note that it is best to start complementary foods with gluten-free cereals, that is, rice, corn and buckwheat, since young children may have allergic reactions to gluten, which is a vegetable protein found in some cereals. Unfortunately, gluten-containing cereals can cause some serious illnesses in very young children. Gluten-free cereals are marked with a crossed-out spikelet on the packaging.
