Weaning or Complementary feeding what parents should know

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2. Weaning or Complementary feeding: what parents should know Complementary Feeding (Weaning) is a term for the process of adding food components to the diet of a growing baby along with the usual milk feed. This process of gradually adding a variety of food to the baby introduces a balanced diet and sets up good eating and dietary habits. The introduction of the food is not all about supplementary food but by and by the baby also gets the palette of the family and gradually learns to eat what is made at home and what all the other family members are having. This is a very important process especially in India where every region and religion has its own set of culinary and the child develops that taste more. Even though nowadays the food palette is quite global as the children have more exposure to the global cuisine through global food chains and vast and varied food options available. Weaning generally is a process where you introduce the food being made at home to the child and in that way, he learns the foodways of the family. 

3. The parents need to introduce different and varied kinds of food with health and taste balanced for the child to make him a good and healthy eater. Let's look into some tips and cautions a parent should keep in mind when starting the weaning of a child. These could be good pointers to develop a healthy and tasty food palette.

4. When to start weaning? Around six months would be an ideal time to start the first food other than mother’s milk or any other optional milk being given if not breastfeeding. Six months is also an ideal time for the fact that baby’s digestive systems and their kidneys have developed enough to accept outside food other than the mother’s milk. In a study, it was seen the weaning done at six months and not before that had a good positive impact on the baby by making the baby more immune to diseases like asthma, eczema, digestive problems and also have more resistance to allergies and obesity in later life. Weaning is a developmental stage activity that is surely going to go a long way in impacting the life of the baby both health-wise and taste-wise. He surely will develop a particular type of taste that is more likely to be the family food.  How do you know when the baby is ready for weaning.  Holding the head steady and being in a stable sitting position is the first sign that the baby is ready for weaning. This is the time when it is easier for the baby to ingest some solid food other than milk and his digestive tract is also in a normal position ready to intake food. 

5. The next sign is that the baby can focus on things pick them up and direct them to their mouth all by themselves. This will help the baby to start the initial stage of eating. This could be messy by enjoyable to watch and the baby learns to put other things in the mouth more than food. 

6. The next sign is that the baby can focus on things pick them up and direct them to their mouth all by themselves. This will help the baby to start the initial stage of eating. This could be messy by enjoyable to watch and the baby learns to put other things in the mouth more than food.  Next up is swallowing the food which was given to the baby. You will be able to easily identify if they are ready to swallow or not by the amount of food in his mouth and outside his mouth. Those kids who have not started to swallow well will try and push the food out and you have more food on the face than the mouth. What should you take care of when you start the weaning of a child? Weaning is not just about eating habits it is also a social activity that bonds the child to the parents by the experience they get when the parents are teaching them food habits. The six months guideline may vary from child to child and could be altered to benefit the child. 

7. Provide food with different colors and textures and also avoid food that would be termed inappropriate for the child.  Choose a time of the day when the child is relaxed Mix the new food with the milk routine and give them time to adjust as many children would take time to adjust to the new food and increased intake. Eat with the baby to show inclusiveness  Allow babies to feed themself as they will start using fingers if they like the food and show interest in eating and for them, it is an activity or more like play. Weaning is not all about food it is also about the social skills being developed and the bonding with the parents and siblings along with developing habits of regular eating habits and healthy food intake.  Eat healthy stay healthly.

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