First foods can lead to future favorites: Baby food at 6 months

When your baby opens their mouth for their first taste of food, they embark on a journey of discovery that may influence their food preferences for the rest of their life. Up until now, your little one has relied purely on breast milk and/or formula to grow and develop. And look how far they have come! Now they need some additional nutrients, and the foods you choose to offer them are essential for their future health.

Incredibly, what you offer on their spoon during these early weeks of feeding can influence the variety of foods they will choose to eat in the future. Not just next month, or even the one after, but in years to come when they’re waving goodbye to you at the school gates.

Vary the menu

So how do you help your baby grow into a child with a healthy diet? One important way is with variety. Offer different vegetables during these early weeks of complementary feeding and they’ll be more likely to accept new vegetables now, and in the future. One recent study showed that an introduction of vegetables early in the complementary-feeding period may lead to a greater acceptance of vegetables by babies, and later in life by children.

Beyond the smooth

As well as offering a wide range of vegetables, it is important for your baby to learn about texture as their feeding skills develop. Once your baby is experienced with, and able to manage, smooth purees, think about adding some texture, perhaps by mashing developmentally appropriate food with a fork rather than blending to a thick liquid.

Research shows that babies who are introduced to ‘lumpy’ textures before nine or 10 months of age are more likely to eat family foods, healthy foods, and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables as toddlers and at school age. “Introducing your baby to texture early on may help them accept more complex textures when they’re older,” says Laurence Stoll, Complementary Food Nutritionist at Nestlé Nutrition, Switzerland. All of this goes to show that it’s never too early to start positively influencing your child’s health.