The very first food you should give to your baby

While many babies are given cereal-based foods as their first solids, researchers says parents would be better off providing this food group first.

Babies have a “flavour window” and parents should introduce vegetables not cereals as their first foods, researchers have found.

Infants who are weaned onto vegetables and fruit are more likely to embrace the taste and eat them in later childhood, a team from the University of Queensland has found.

In Australia, only five per cent of children meet the guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption, which puts them at risk of adult diseases like hypertension and stroke.

This low vegetable intake has persisted for the last 20 years.

“Infants might make faces when they are first introduced but it’s worth persevering,” Dr Katrina Moss, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in maternal and child health at UQ told The Courier-Mail.

“Three-quarters of children are given cereals as their first solids but these are bland and the child doesn’t get to experience different flavours.

Eight-month-old Tommy Page eating up some veggie goodness. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Parents can start introducing semi-solid foods when their baby shows they have good control of their head and neck and they show interest in solid foods. This usually happens between five-to-six months but could be earlier for some babies. Semi-solid foods shouldn’t be introduced before four months.

“Parents should go for single flavour at a time and make sure the food is properly pureed. If too busy the bought pureed vegetables will do but try blending a vegetable and putting it into ice trays and put into the freezer,” Dr Moss said.

Professor Gita Mishra, Professor Annette Dobson and Associate Professor Leigh Tooth were all involved in the study which also showed that breastfeeding plays a role, with children who receive six months of breastmilk eating a wider variety of vegetables than those who have less than six months.