Oatmeal is one of the healthiest dishes made from cereals. She is good even in childhood, but here it is necessary to remember that there are certain limitations to get to know her.
The benefits of oatmeal
It is a source of fiber and protein to aid digestion and weight gain. That is why complementary foods with cereals are recommended to start for babies who have a lack of mass. Oatmeal also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, among which there are potassium, phosphorus, iron and more. You can cook for a child both ordinary oatmeal and use cereals for baby food. The latter allow mom to save her time, prepare porridge of a uniform consistency and are no less useful than those cooked from whole cereals.
Children's oatmeal can be additionally enriched with vitamins and microelements, and also include milk mixture in its composition, which should be taken into account when purchasing.
When to start giving oatmeal to your child
Despite the fact that oatmeal gently envelops the gastrointestinal tract, it is difficult enough to digest, therefore it is not worth introducing it earlier than 5 or 6 months. Also in oatmeal, as in other cereals, gluten is present, which is often the cause of allergic rashes. Therefore, rice, buckwheat or corn grits are usually chosen as the first complementary food and only then they proceed to cooking oatmeal. So in many ways the question of at what age you can give oatmeal to a child depends on the individual tolerance of this component.
If gluten does not cause allergies, then from 6 months oatmeal can be regularly present in the children's menu. Subsequently, it can be diversified with various fruit additives.
How to cook oatmeal
Oatmeal is cooked for a child in the same way as for an adult. But here it should be borne in mind that the younger the age, the more tender in consistency the porridge should be. Usually, complementary foods begin with special children's cereals, in which the cereals are ground into powder, therefore, for the porridge to be ready, it is enough to stir it in hot water or heated milk in the proportions indicated on the box. Cooking porridge from ordinary Hercules flakes takes longer, since they are boiled no earlier than 5 minutes after boiling water or milk. Boil porridge over low heat, stirring occasionally. As for the proportions, a lot depends on how dense the child prefers. The porridge will be thicker if you take more cereals and less liquid. At an early age, they start with a tablespoon of cereal boiled in 100 ml of water.
