 Family
meals with baby
Food writer and mum, Fran Warde, shares some tips
on family meals with your baby.
By the time your baby is one he should be able to
eat the same as the rest of the family, especially if you have been
cooking all his meals so that he is used to fresh and varied flavours.
You will have to cook foods that suit everyone in the family, so
obviously a curry is not necessarily suitable! Start with pasta
dishes, fish cakes, risottos, roasts, meat pies, soups and usually any
pudding that does not contain alcohol will be popular.
This stage of life is very exciting as you really start to feel
like a family when everyone is happily sitting around the table and
enjoying some good home cooking - it's a joy to see a baby eating your
food.
From about
eight months babies start to feed themselves finger food and slowly
they progress onto a spoon. Don’t try to take control, allow them
this messy freedom. The sooner they start the sooner they learn and
eventually a hungry baby will learn where his mouth is, instead of
decorating his highchair, face and table - just be patient.
It's very important to lay good foundations for family eating
habits as, in this day and age, we are all too busy and some families
rarely gather round a table and share their experiences of the day
together. These habits start young so make a real effort, gather your
family round the table and enjoy this ancient social exercise.
Babies love to copy and their parents are who they will copy first,
so make meal times happy occasions. If it is not possible for the
whole family to sit down together, make sure you always sit down with
your baby yourself and have a drink or a token meal so that it is not
a lonely experience for your baby.
Just remember that eating in a calm and happy environment is
conducive to good digestion, and this is the foundation of good
health.
Picture courtesy of Tesco
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