Getting started - Introducing solid food
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Title：Getting started - Introducing solid food
Introducing solid food
Heading: Getting Started on Healthy Eating for 6 to 24 month old children - Introducing solid food
Hostess Ms Anna Wu, Registered Nurse, Family Health Service, Department of Health: Hello, and welcome to our program Getting Started on Healthy eating for 6 to 24 month old children. In general, babies can start eating solid food at around 6 months old. This is an important stage for babies. How do we introduce solid food to babies? And as parents, how can we help our babies to get through this period? We will explain it in detail in the following sections
Sub-heading: Introducing solid food
Narrator: In simple terms, solid food are food that are modified into a soft texture which the baby can swallow easily. Weaning refers to the transitional period between 6 to 24 months of age when babies change from a complete milk diet to a solid food diet that contains a variety of typical family food in a softer texture. Also, babies learn to feed themselves with a spoon. This is a very important stage for babies as milk alone can no longer provide them with sufficient nutrients for all of their bodies' functions, activity and growth. Therefore, babies need to take non-milk food to get all nutrients they need. In addition, eating solid food helps babies to develop their abilities to chew. Helping babies to become familiar with different kinds of food and tastes can help them adapt to a diet with a variety of foods and develop good eating habits early. This reduces their chances of becoming picky eaters later. You and your baby relate to each other during feeding. You talk to and smile at him, get familiar with what he wants to tell you and respond to him. This fosters the parent–child relationship and allows your baby to build trust in you. It also helps your baby's social and language skills.
Hostess: Next, we'll talk about some questions many parents ask. For example, when should we start feeding babies solid food? Is it the earlier the better? Can babies eat solid food even when they don't have any teeth?