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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(NC)-It is very important for older babies to have a well-rounded and healthy diet. Dr. Richard Theuer, an infant nutritionist and consultant to Beech-Nut Nutrition, provides some advice to help avoid the development of "picky eating" habits.
First, start your baby on solid foods no later than six months of age. Second, once you are feeding solid foods, expose your baby as early as possible to a wide variety of foods. Third, continue giving your baby a taste each day of a new food that he or she does not like much or "makes a face".
In some ways, parents can 'train' their baby's taste buds with the foods they feed. For example, daily exposure to applesauce increases baby's acceptance of carrots and daily exposure to carrots increases baby's acceptance of pureed meat.
Your baby may need to taste a new food 10 times before he or she's interested in trying more than a teaspoonful of it. With repeated, daily exposure to a new food, babies increase their acceptance of the new food. This acceptance is reflected in a greater intake and a happier face after repeated, daily exposure to that food.
For further information on healthy nutrition for your baby, call the Beech-Nut Helpline at 1-800-233-2468 weekdays 9a.m. to 6p.m. Eastern Time.
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