Changing food and nutrition for your 8-to-12- month old

Your baby may be on the move, crawling, or getting ready to take some first steps. His diet is on the move too, changing in so many ways.

Hunger and fullness cues for when babies start to crawl will help you know when and how much to feed.

Take the following interactive quiz to test your nutrition knowledge on feeding your 8-to-12- month old.

Changing food and nutrition for your 8-to-12- month old

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True or Myth

1/8

Protein-rich foods, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other good sources of protein should be eaten daily by your child.

True

Myth

True!

Infants should be offered a variety of foods every day to ensure that their nutrient needs are met, and that includes good sources of protein such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other high quality protein – offered daily. Protein is essential for healthy growth and development. Just be sure everything has an appropriate texture and consistency for your baby's developmental stage. You can gradually increase food consistency and variety as he gets older.

Sorry, true!

Infants should be offered a variety of foods every day to ensure that their nutrient needs are met, and that includes good sources of protein such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other high quality protein – offered daily or as often as possible. Protein is essential for healthy growth and development. Just be sure everything has an appropriate texture and consistency for your baby's developmental stage. You can gradually increase food consistency and variety as he gets older.

True or Myth

Your 8-to-12- month old's nutritional needs are changing as fast as he is. Some highlights to remember and put into action include:

Offer your baby poultry, fish, eggs or other good sources of protein daily, or as often as possible.
Be sure everything has an appropriate texture and consistency for your baby's developmental stage.
Bananas are a good source of potassium, as are tomatoes and potatoes. Incorporate these foods into your baby's diet - make sure they're cooked, chopped or mashed so she can eat them safely.
Taste and texture are equally important! Be sure to offer finger foods that dissolve easily as well as foods that have more texture yet are still very soft.
Raw apples are hard and don't dissolve easily, so they're not appropriate for your 8-to-12- month olds' eating skills.
Let your baby play with her food while she's learning to eat. Allow her to explore it with all her senses!
As your baby's solid food intake increases, her breast milk intake will naturally decrease a little.
It is important for your baby and the rest of the family to eat together. Babies learn by watching others so it's a great opportunity for you all to model healthy eating behaviours!