Today I would like to talk to you about the introduction of solid foods in children leaving behind mashed food. At first glance it may seem a simple stage but there are times when it gets complicated and we do not know which way to go. For those moments we want to provide you with these simple guidelines, so that together with a lot of calm and a lot of naturalness they end up taking that big step.
Solid foods can be introduced when we see the child is ready for it, here we will always follow the guideline indicated by our pediatrician, generally they recommend introducing solids from 12 months, but we must not forget that each child has a different maturity rhythm and we adapt to it, without excessive stress or haste. Personally, I recommend introducing them before the first birthday. If we wait too long, we may have more difficulties, they have more character, they identify food more and their refusal to try new foods may be more intense. Before 12 months, we can introduce small pieces of bread with oil for snacks, ham and ham, ripe fruit, cookies (we have some from 4 months) … so that they begin to get used to chewing.
Once we have introduced these little things, there are foods that we can offer without mashing, we can begin to offer them semi-mashed and even change to solid foods in some cases. For example, the purees we can begin to leave them not so liquid, we leave lumps and increasingly thicker until we can give them, for example, lentils without mashing. Another change that can be made quickly is the change from mashed vegetables and chicken to broth with semolina and then with noodles. Although we may think that they are small, you will see that if we persist before you know it, they will be eating everything by themselves.
The second courses can also be introduced at about one year of age, after a crushed or semi-crushed, we offer small amounts and small pieces of different foods, for example, cooked vegetables, omelet, pieces of fish, pieces of chicken … As they have already taken their first course they are fed, and we take advantage of that second course to teach them to chew and try new textures and flavors. Little by little they will eat more and bigger pieces of food.
Fruit is also an ideal food for them to manipulate, suck, taste… then we are going to reinforce it with their fruit porridge for snacks so we should not worry about them not eating a whole piece, because if we think about it… so many changes and so difficult it must be a world for them!
After this somewhat theoretical part, let’s move on to practice! As I mentioned at the beginning, there are situations that can get complicated and for that reason I am going to give you some guidelines from my experience in case they can help you in some aspect. I insist that the more we delay the more difficult it will be, as a general rule, the transition from mashed to solid. If we start when they are still babies, the task becomes much easier. Although it doesn’t mean that they won’t have a rejection attitude, it seems to last less time.
– We must decide WHEN to make the feeding change, and once decided not to go back. If we have changed from a mashed food to a solid food, we should NOT offer a puree if we see that he does not want to eat the solid food.
– There can be NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE. Especially at the beginning of the process they will say “I don’t like it” or they will take the spoon away from you. If we see that he/she doesn’t like fish, I don’t offer him/her a steak with potatoes, or a puree or a porridge. The child is trying new tastes and textures. new tastes and texturesHe/she still does not identify what he/she likes or dislikes, and because he/she is not used to it, he/she rejects the food out of ignorance. With time and with the years they will be creating preferences but here we are the ones who educate them in the nutritional area.
– At this point and seeing that we do not give in, there may be tantrums, spitting, closing the mouth… a multitude of resources to end our patience, it is time to be FIRM AND INFLEXIBLE and above all SAFE. It is possible that the child refuses to try the new food and we see that he/she eats little during a season and that can cause anxiety and worry that inevitably we are going to transmit it to our little one. We have to fight against it, since the moment of the meal has to be happy, a moment of sharing time together, there has to be joy, confidence and a lot of calm.
Once they overcome the denial phase, they go back to eating in a normalized way and to recover what they have not eaten, we should not think that the child is malnourished or how bad we are. We are doing it for their own good and in a short time we will see the change and you will feel proud of them and of yourselves.
– It is also important that little by little we encourage the child’s AUTONOMY, we teach them to use the cutlery, as this reinforces their self-esteem because they are “older” and we turn mealtime into a fun and pleasant moment.
– We must not forget that this moment is also EDUCATIONAL, everything mentioned is to carry out a LEARNING, and in it there are parallel aspects that must be taken into account, such as table manners, you have to be well seated, do not give blows, do not throw the cutlery on the floor … If we see that these behaviors appear we tell him/her that this is not done and if the child insists we remove him/her from the front without an overreaction on our part, remember, very calm.
– Finally, I would like to end by reminding you of the importance of the FAMILY-SCHOOL relationship. As in all beginnings there are difficulties, it is complicated to establish new habits and if there is not a close relationship between the two fundamental contexts where the child spends his/her day to day it can become a stressful situation for both the children and for us.
So far my contribution on the subject of feeding and the transition from mashed to solid, you know that you can contact us to solve any kind of doubt. And remember, without fear, with confidence and security we will achieve that our “little ants” keep growing happily and in an environment as pleasant as the one we offer them between you and us.
FÁTIMA GIMÉNEZ ROMERO
