One of the major events in your child’s maturation process is the introduction of solid food instead of breast milk or formula. For most children, this occurs sometime around six months mark, but children aren’t ready for table food until around the age of two years. Thus, baby food must be specially prepared, made so that a young child can easily eat and digest. While fast food and convenience are more a part of households now than ever before, that approach should not be taken with something as important as introducing children to food and nutrition, especially since those first years are a time of so much learning and development.

The first years of a child’s life are crucial for getting the proper start, especially while so much growth is taking place. Babies are growing and maturing at a rapid rate, developing their coordination and learning about the world, and it is important that children receive the right kind of fuel to take on each new and exciting day. Therefore making the right choices in nutrition is a crucial component of parenting, just as important as ensuring that your child has a safe and healthy environment for playing and sleeping.

While a world where things are done faster and with more convenience might make it seem as though baby food is an item to be bought and tossed into the grocery cart, that’s simple not the case. Baby food has traditionally been prepared at home by parents, but not just those who are living a whole foods lifestyle or engaging in a macrobiotic diet. It wasn’t even until the 1950s in most countries that buying pre-prepared baby food was even an option. Best of all, choosing to prepare your own food for your child is helpful for household budgets, as it’s less expensive and more nutritious to prepare a certain amount of baby food at home, and homemade food has significantly less unhealthy additives. It’s also helpful for figuring out early if your child has any potential food allergies, since you know exactly what went into the food.

Preparing food at home is also a welcome burden relieved from many family wallets. After all, it’s a great deal more expensive in general to buy pre-packaged food of all varieties, and baby food is no different. Best of all, it’s one of the occasions in life when you can save money and make something healthier than it would be from the store.

One important fact to remember: The World Health Organization and The American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend that, until six months of age, children be breast-fed. This is the optimal source of nutrition, and prevents later iron deficiency. Try to keep that in mind when making your food choices.

It’s relatively simple to determine whether or not your child is prepared to make the switch. If your child has control of his or her head, can sit upright with little help, and seems to recognize things and be on the way to developing solid motor skills, it’s a good time to begin. The tell-tale sign is whether or not solid objects introduced to your child’s mouth prompts the tongue reflex in infants where they immediately try to spit things out.

An important thing to remember regarding babies and food is that their bodies have not yet been introduced to more complicated foods, so that digestion is another factor in choosing what to prepare first. Many parents start out with pureed apples, bananas, and pears, as they are easy to digest and provoke few allergic reactions. Popular vegetables for children include sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and carrots, for much of the same reasons.

When it’s time to get babies started on their solid food diet, an excellent first choice for food is pureeing bananas. This is also particularly easy for parents, since there is no steaming or cooking involved. With a great deal of vitamins and minerals, as well as lots of potassium, bananas are a super-food in their own right. Be sure to peel the bananas thoroughly before pureeing them, and start with small spoonfuls, so that your child has time to adjust to the change. It’s often best to choose organic bananas, too, for even more health benefits.

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