11 Foods Your Baby May Not Be Ready For

It is convenient to just feed babies some of the regulars on the family menu but is it the best? At infancy, a baby’s ability to chew, swallow and digest food is greatly underdeveloped. Baby is simply not ready. To avoid slowly or instantly endangering your child, it is important to ditch the temptation of what’s convenient.

Find below a comprehensive list of foods to be avoided to a certain age and avoid any complications that may result from feeding your baby inappropriate food.

1. Honey

Before your child is a year old, do not feed her honey, even if you intend to use it to treat a cough. This is because honey can, very occasionally, contain a spore of a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. This can cause a paralytic condition in babies called Infant Botulism. Better safe than sorry. Give your baby honey only after they are a year old.

2. Peanut Butter/Jellies

Peanut butter can be a choking hazard for your baby because of the chunky as well as slippery nature of it. Don’t dismiss it as a non-issue because it always seems like it’s not a problem but taking such risks with your baby’s safety is just not worth it.

Wait until your baby is about a year old when they can better coordinate their tongue-thrust reflex before you give them peanut butter and jellies.

3. Popcorn and Nuts

While popcorn and nuts may seem like an innocent treat, babies are usually allergic to nuts, added to the fact that they also pose choking hazards.

There have been instances in which young children have died from choking on popcorn, so, yes, choking is a major hazard for toddlers while eating popcorn too. There is also a concern for constipation. In fact, most recommendations suggest that a child should not be given popcorn until age four when they can chew well.

4. Citrus Fruits

Oranges like all citrus fruits are acidic in nature and are likely to give babies younger than 12 months old rashes. The acid can cause terrible diaper rashes and even rashes around the mouth and lips, not to mention it can upset babies’ stomachs.

5. Egg Whites/ Raw Eggs

These are marked by experts as possible allergens. Also, raw eggs in foods like mayonnaise contain ‘Salmonella’, a type of bacteria known to cause food poisoning. So, watch it.

6. Whole Milk

Whole milk – is not recommended for babies under 12 months of age. No milk of any type should replace breast milk or formula as they contain chemicals which may be harmful to a baby’s kidneys.

7. Shellfish

Shellfish can be a healthy part of your child’s diet soon after she begins to eat solid food, usually when she’s around 4 to 6 months. But if your baby has chronic eczema or a food allergy, talk to the doctor first before giving your baby shellfish.

8. Wheat

For some reason, babies and even some adults do not handle the fibre content of wheat properly. It gives babies the ‘runnies’, possibly because their digestive system isn’t yet fully matured.

9. Grapes

Grapes are nourishing and sweet and they do not really pose any major concern regarding allergies, still, they can be a choking hazard for your baby due to their small size. Again, be careful or avoid feeding them to your baby altogether.

10. Salt and Seasoning

Before your baby is six months old, he will get all the salt he needs from breastmilk or formula milk. Once your baby starts eating solid food, you shouldn’t add salt to home-cooked baby food or pre-prepared baby food, even if you think it tastes bland. If you’re cooking with stock cubes, choose low-salt versions.

Foods with added salts and preservatives should not be given to babies because of their immature kidneys. Some of such foods include bacon, sausages, soy sauce, and most adult packed foods.

11. Sugar/Sweets/Candies

Apart from posing choking hazards, sweets are bad for a baby’s gums and developing teeth because they lay the foundation for dental issues such as tooth decay in children.

Also, artificial sugars from processed foods rather than natural fruits) contain chemicals that may be bad for a child’s stomach. fizzy drinks and packed juice fall under this category.