Fruit For Your Child From a Small

Most baby books recommend starting from 4-6 months. I prefer giving vegetables from 6 months and to introduce fruits from about 8 – 10 months. This gives me time to check on the baby’s ability to digest the vegetables. You can check this out by looking at your baby’s stools. If the stools contain undigested vegetables this means that his system is not ready to take fruits, which is why I recommend starting fruits later.

It is best to hold off on introducing citrus fruits until your baby is at least 2 years old. Citrus fruits commonly cause allergies or food-sensitivity reactions, such as a diaper rash or eczema. If you have a family history of allergies or asthma, it is best to avoid all citrus fruits including tomatoes and strawberries. When you do introduce citrus fruits, monitor your child for symptoms such as hives, rashes or wheezing. Sometimes milk may cause an allergic reaction if combined with fruits especially orange. If you have a family history of allergies, eczema and asthma, it might be useful to refer to the chart on blood group diet and check out the most suitable fruit to give and which one to avoid.
Some people advocate giving pureed fruits to small children. I personally do not like to do this because, firstly I am too lazy to do this and secondly but most importantly, processing fruits will reduce the nutritional contents of the fruits.

Another question that many mothers ask is: “Should I extract the juice from the fruits for my baby?” My answer is “No”. Your baby needs to eat the fibre from the fruit as well as the juice. The fibre is necessary to prevent constipation and some of the vital nutrients are in the fibre so by just giving the juice alone your baby will not have all the nutrients of the fruit.

Drinking too much fruit juice tends to increase restlessness in healthy infants and the children tend to become shorter and fatter. If you really must give fruit juice to your baby, make sure that the juices that you purchase are pasteurized. Limit your baby's intake of juice to 4-6oz per day, this is equivalent to one serving of fruit and is sufficient for a baby's dietary needs. If you use commercial fruit juices always dilute it before giving to your baby. The formula is one part juice to 3 parts water.

Source : articlesbase