Exciting Right food supplementation for children – After 6 months

Last Updated on March 14, 2025 by monalishamund1987@gmail.com

Stage-1 (At 6 months)

Food should first be pureed, which means that after cooking, they should be ground and then strained using a strainer to create a very fine, creamy paste or liquid.Pumpkin puree, turnip puree, and spinach puree can all be made. A puree is a smooth cream made from cooked and liquidized fruits or vegetables.
You can start introducing fruit puree after two weeks, up until the start of seven months. Try mashed banana puree, apple puree, and carrot puree, then dal and rice.

Stage-2 (At 7-9 months)

Make a lumpy dish of khichri by combining green veggies and mashed potatoes. Provide foods from every dietary group, such as fruit, vegetables, cereals, legumes, pulses, dairy products like cheese and yogurt, meat, fish, and eggs, as well as fat and oil.

Stage-3 (At 9 months onwards)

Foods should be coarsely minced so the infant may pick them up with her thumb and finger.

During the fetal stage, the newborn is first exposed to taste. Avoid promoting too much salty or sugary food, as well as packaged foods like cookies, chips, and biscuits. Serve a range of dishes with varying flavors.

Right Consistency :

When introducing complementary feeding, adopt the appropriate consistency to guarantee optimal nutrition. The dish shouldn’t be overly thick or too runny.

Use caution when handling pea nuts, raisins, and small beans. Choking may result from these. Don’t leave little toddlers unattended.

Solid foods should be introduced gradually. To watch for any allergic reactions, simply introduce one new food at a time and keep it that way for three to four days. Stop eating right away and wait a month or two before beginning if you get any rashes, vomiting, or loose motion.

Give the infant no more than a teaspoon of the food at first, then a tablespoon, and finally two to three teaspoons.

Take the baby’s lead at all times. Never make a baby finish what you’ve made. The baby may simply throw up everything if you force-feed her, so pause and try again the following day for a better chance.

Make mealtime enjoyable for the infant rather than a chore. Don’t worry if she just eats a spoonful of the meal and then loses interest; breast milk will provide her with all the nutrition she needs.

Equal amounts of food are required for boys and girls.
Before and after feeding, always wash your hands with soap and water, as well as your child’s.

When the youngster is eating, sit with them.

Select complimentary foods that are suitable for your culture, readily available in your area, and simple to cook at home while adhering to the principles of proper consistency, texture, and flavor.

Up until the age of one year, youngsters are open to trying various flavors and textures. After the first year, however, youngsters go through a phase where they become suspicious of new meals and may even reject items they have already eaten. This might persist until the child turns three. The fact that this is a typical stage of a child’s development and that attempting to force feed a child can result in lifelong food refusal should be understood by parents. Do not forget to remove any uneaten food without making a comment.

Self-feeding should be encouraged from an early age.

When eating, let the child make a mess. A child should look forward to mealtimes.

During mealtimes, pay attention positively.

Provide a variety of meal options and honor their preferences.
In front of your child, eat the meal you want them to consume.
To ensure your toddler eats enough, serve her food in a different bowl.

One by one, the foods that are most likely to trigger an allergic reaction should be introduced so that it is simple to determine whether a particular item has triggered a reaction. You can begin introducing these meals as soon as your infant is eating fruit, veggies, and cereals.

Foods made from cow’s milk or formula are among them; foods based on

Eggs, fish, almonds, soybeans, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, celery, wheat—bread, pasta, and some breakfast cereals—and other meals that contain sulfur, including packaged goods. Cow’s milk shouldn’t be provided before the first birthday, though.

Step -1 :

At six months, it’s time to introduce your baby to vegetables. It may be difficult and they won’t likely fall in love right away, but if you persevere, they will develop a lifelong passion for them. Try to stay away from sweeter vegetables by sticking to broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower, and start with just one savory flavor.

Green veggies are my lifelong favorite :

According to research, introducing your infant to more vegetable flavors instead of sweet ones will help mold their tastes and instill a lifelong appreciation of green veggies. Even though kids have a natural preference for sweet foods, exposing them to single-vegetable, basic flavors now can help them develop a liking for these foods later in life. In the first step, don’t forget to start with one vegetable and then go on to other single veggies.

Bacteria and germs won’t be present in infant meals if the kitchen is kept clean. Here are some pointers for maintaining a clean kitchen.

Use soap and water to thoroughly cleanse your hands before beginning to prepare the baby’s food.
Even organic vegetables and produce that you intend to peel should be well cleaned.

For raw meat, poultry, and fish, use different work surfaces and equipment.

Step – 2 :

Fruit Puree: just after two to three weeks of consuming just vegetable puree. The third week following the introduction of supplemental meals

Around six to seven months: You can introduce lumpier foods at this age, such as soft, mashed foods, thicker purées, or soft finger foods. It helps your child develop the speech-related muscles and encourages them to be more adventurous with eating. In the same dinner, serve two or three family vegetables. They will learn to appreciate the distinct flavors if the purées aren’t mixed together.

Before nine months, stay away from items that are most likely to trigger an allergic reaction, such as fish, eggs, cow’s milk, ground nuts, and wheat. However, before the first birthday, cow’s milk shouldn’t be administered.

After pureed food, go on to mashed food, and finally solid food. This enhances their ability to chew until at least the second birthday.

Step -3:

At 8 to 9 months, the following should be on the food plate:

1) fruits,

2) vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables,

3) grains, including ragi, rice, and wheat,

4) Protein-containing foods like fish, fully cooked eggs, or pulses (dal),

5) Dairy products, including cheese, curd, and butter;

6) Fats and oils.

Along with finger foods, food should be prepared and served semi-solid. The meals on the baby’s plate should be different in terms of color and texture.

You don’t have to spoon-feed your child a vegetable puree; you can start with finger foods like sweet potatoes or bananas. They can experiment with various hues, flavors, and sensations as a result.

Each food group must have a portion on a 9-month-old’s plate, which should also be colorful and diverse in terms of color, texture, and scent. It must be presented in a beautiful manner, including finger foods.

Finger Foods:

Finger foods to help in finger coordination especially after 9 months

Foods to serve to children aged 9 to 12 months and older :

Grains:

Other infant cereals include maize, millet, and baby rice, wheat, ragi, suji, khichri, chapatti, and meals prepared from rice (Idli, Upma).

Protein:

Bengal gram, chickpeas (Kabuli Chana), lentils, legumes, ground nuts, soybeans, and green peas.Eggs (hard-boiled), fish (bones removed),

Fruits:

Bananas, papayas, apples, mangos, and other seasonal fruits, etc.

Vegetables :

Lettuce (salad patta), fenugreek leaves (methi), carrot, pumpkin, tomato, bottle gourd (lauki), spinach (palak), green beans, and coriander (dhania)

Dairy :

Paneer cheese, curd, and butter

Fats & Oils :

Combine groundnut oil and mustard oil or mustard oil and rice bran oil.

Thanks and Regards

N.B. – This information is suggestive only