Food diversification is one of the major stages in the development of the child. To initiate him to new flavors, textures, smells and colors is to awaken him to nutrition and introduce him to the pleasure of eating. Step by step, the child becomes familiar with new foods, for his greatest pleasure and your greatest happiness.

Diversification corresponds to the gradual transition from a diet consisting exclusively of milk to a varied diet, more or less solid.

It should begin when the child is 6 months old and continues gradually until he is 3 years old.

From 6 months, breast or infant milk consumed exclusively is no longer sufficient to cover the nutritional needs of the baby. It is therefore important to diversify the diet of the child who is able to chew food in order to be able to swallow them.

Due to the risk of food allergy, it is strongly advised not to start food diversification before the baby is 4 months old, as the intestinal barrier is not mature enough. For children said to be “at risk of allergy” – father, mother, brother or sister with allergies – it is recommended not to start diversification until after 6 months have passed.

Important: when talking about the child’s age, the information relates to the past months. Thus, dietary diversification should never be carried out before the start of the child’s fifth month and should ideally begin at the beginning of the seventh month.

The child at the heart of everything

The phase of dietary diversification is an important phase in the development process of the child but it is also an exercise which can be more or less difficult and for which the enthusiasm is variable according to the babies. As a parent, you need to observe and listen to your child so that you can adapt to their tastes and reluctance. Give your child time to discover new colors, new tastes and new textures. He must familiarize himself at his own pace with all these changes. It would indeed be counterproductive to force him if he did not show the desire for discovery. Remember that the primary role of parents in food diversification is simply to awaken the child to these novelties. Let your baby guide you and if he refuses to eat a food, do not force him to avoid any systematic opposition at mealtime. Just offer that same food a few days later.

From liquid to solid … no rush

Moreover, it is not easy to switch from liquid food to solid food for the child. Use your patience to gradually get your child used to new textures. Start with mashed potatoes and compotes finely mixed, more or less liquid according to your child’s desires, then move on to thicker textures to finish with meals that are ground and in small pieces.

A novelty by a novelty

Anyway, diversification will always be done gradually, respecting a certain pattern in order to introduce the different food groups according to the age of the child. Always introduce one change at a time: food, texture, bottle or spoon. You can even, a few days before starting the food diversification, offer a spoon to your child so that he becomes familiar with it while playing.

Step by step diversification, depending on the child’s age

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Milk and dairy products

Milk should remain the basis of your child’s diet. In order to meet their nutritional needs, it is important that they drink at least 500 ml of milk (breast milk if the child is breastfed, or infant if it is bottle fed). Very gradually, you will remove part of a feeding or a bottle to replace it with a milk if it is fond of it. In this case, replace the quantity of milk not drunk by yogurt, cottage cheese or Swiss cheese. “Special baby” dairy products are made with infant milk that meets the needs of the child.

Subsequently, always gradually, you will remove an entire bottle, or a breastfeed. Then one or a second.

At around 8 months of age, you will thus be able to give your baby four meals a day, including two varied meals (and no more) and two heads or two bottles of milk.

Vegetables

Choose tender vegetables that will be well tolerated by your baby’s stomach: green beans, spinach, seedless and skinless zucchini, white leeks, carrots, eggplants, pumpkin, etc. However, avoid vegetables rich in fiber, such as the green part of leeks, artichoke hearts and salsify for example, which are difficult to digest.

Whatever vegetables are chosen, they must first be finely mixed after cooking with water or steam. Do not add salt.

In fact, vegetables can be introduced at midday, in addition to milk. Give them either with a spoon or a bottle. If the vegetables are introduced from a bottle, first replace the water with vegetable broth, then gradually add a few tablespoons of vegetable soup to the milk. After two weeks, you will offer your baby a bottle of thick soup made up of half milk and half of vegetables: 150 ml of water or broth + 5 measures of milk + 130 g of vegetables. at the same time, remember to replace the first age pacifier with a second age pacifier with a wider slot to adapt the flow rate to the consistency of the meal.

Fruits

Once a day, as a snack and in addition to a bottle or a breastfeed, you can offer your child a fruit compote. If you prepare it at home, choose ripe fruit and don’t add sugar. Subsequently, you quite quickly offer very ripe raw fruits, simply mashed into a purée: pear, strawberry, banana, peach, cherries, raspberries, apricots etc.

Cereals and starches

Cereals, in the form of flour, no longer have the quota as they had a few years back, in particular to enrich the evening bottle so that the child sleeps longer. However, if your baby is a little eater, you can add gluten-free infant cereals in his soup, in his compotes or in his dairy products, from 6 months (never before 4 months old).

Regarding starches, you can introduce them at the start of food diversification, in addition to vegetables to thicken and soften mash: potato, semolina, rice, bulgur, pasta, etc. Just make sure to always cook them well for longer than what the cooking advice on the packaging provides and mix them with the vegetables, in the same quantity. Subsequently, when your child has familiarized themselves with the thicker textures, you can content yourself with cooking the starchy foods well, and simply offering them mixed with the vegetables. The potatoes will be crushed more or less finely.

Proteins: meat, fish and eggs

Meat, fish and eggs are a good source of iron for your child, whose needs are important at this age. You can choose :

• All meats, including ham cooked without rind, limiting offal and cold cuts.
• All fish: fatty, lean, fresh or frozen, but avoid breaded fish. Consider varying them while offering two servings of fish (including one oily fish) per week to your child, and of course remember to carefully remove the bones.
• Hard-boiled eggs

At the start of food diversification, mix the proteins with the vegetables. Then cut them very finely or crush them.

As for the quantity, do not introduce one serving of meat, fish or egg per day, at one of the two main meals (midday or evening) and count:

• From 6 to 8 months: 10 g in total per day, equivalent to 2 teaspoons of meat or fish or 1/4 of a hard-boiled egg.
• From 8 to 9 months: 15 to 20 g in total per day, or the equivalent of 2,5 to 3 teaspoons of meat or fish, or a little more than 1/4 of a hard-boiled egg.
• From 10 to 12 months: 20-25 g in total per day, equivalent to 4 teaspoons of meat or fish, or a little less than 1/2 hard-boiled egg.
• From 12 months: 25 to 30 g in total of meat or fish per day or 1/2 hard-boiled egg.

Fat

From 6 months (over), it is recommended to systematically add a teaspoon of good quality oil to your child’s purees and solid meals. Ideally, choose the ready mix of 4 oils (Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds), available in supermarkets. Otherwise, vary the following oils:

• Colza oil
• Sunflower oil
• Olive oil

From time to time you can replace the oil with a small knob of butter.

hydration

Water is the only drink available to your child when he is thirsty outside of his meals. Use the same water as you used to prepare her bottle.

Fruit juices, for their part, are not essential, infant milk and breastfeeding being valuable suppliers of vitamins.

The Nutri-Bébé study, carried out on 1035 children aged 15 days to 36 months who are not sick or breastfed, led by TNS-Sofrès, CREDOC (research center for the study and observation of living conditions) and the Dr Chouraqui, pediatrician, nutritionist and gastroenterologist, has shown that:

• Children’s protein consumption is up to 4 times greater than the recommendations, and greatly exceeds the safety threshold.
• From 6 months, at least 50% of children lack iron, a cofactor for growth and immune defenses.
• The salt intake of children from 0 to 3 years old exceeds the recommendations for almost all ages.
• From the age of one, 80% of children have lipid intake lower than the average intake recommended by EFSA (the European Food Safety Agency).

The calculated intakes being compared with the recommended nutritional intakes proposed by ANSES on the one hand and EFSA on the other hand.

Consequently, here are the rules of good behavior to follow with regard to the feeding of your baby, to satisfy its nutritional needs, to avoid any deficiency and any excess.

Protein and iron 

• Follow the recommendations based on your child’s age.
• Limit meats, fish and eggs to one meal per day.
• Vary the sources of protein (meat, fish, eggs) and offer fish twice a week.
• Take into account all the proteins in a day’s diet (eggs in pancakes, cakes, etc.).

Salt 

• Do not add salt to your child’s meals, even if they seem bland to us.
• Beware of hidden salt (industrial products: bread, sweet cookies, ham).
• Do not give children ready-made meals intended for adults (lasagna, quiche, pizza, etc.).

Fat 

• Systematically add fat to homemade dishes.
• Vary the sources of lipids: mixture of 4 oils (commercial product), walnut, rapeseed, olive oil, butter, cream, etc.
• Ban semi-skimmed milk. In diverse children, offer whole milk or better still, growth milk.

Milk 

Continue to breastfeed your baby or give growth milk if he is using bottles. You can even make desserts with: flans, desserts, cake. The amount of protein, fatty acids and iron is perfectly adapted to the young child (before 3 years) compared to other types of milk and vegetable drinks.

If you can’t prepare meals …

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t make a homemade meal for your child. Instead, choose store-bought dishes specifically prepared for children that meet strict French and European standards.