Safely Feeding Babies - Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Baby

A baby's first year is a time of rapid growth and development. It is important to incorporate the proper nutrition into an infant's diet to promote the future health, growth and development of the child.

Starting good eating habits at this early stage will help set healthy eating patterns for life. Here is a list of foods you should avoid feeding your baby during the first year of growth:

1. Sugary foods. Sugary foods and drinks can encourage a sweet tooth and lead to tooth decay when your baby’s teeth start to come through. Only add sugar to foods if it’s really necessary. Sweet puddings, biscuits, sweets and ice creams are not recommended for babies under a year. Give baby a healthy start in life and they will be more likely to continue down that road.

2. Salty foods. Baby foods aren’t allowed to contain added salt. But any foods you buy that aren’t aimed at babies, especially sauces and ready-made porridge can often be high in salt. Choose lower salt (or lower sodium) versions for your baby whenever you can. Babies under a year should have less than 1g salt per day, which is less than 0.4g sodium. You can use these figures as a guide when you’re checking food labels.

3. Honey. Don’t give honey, even for easing coughs, to your baby until they are a year old. Very occasionally honey contains a type of bacteria that can produce toxins in babies' intestines. This can cause a very serious illness called infant botulism. Honey is also a sugar, which means, like sugar, it can encourage a sweet tooth and lead to tooth decay.

4. Cow's milk. Avoid serving regular cow's milk until infants are 1-year-old. A baby can not digest the enzymes and proteins in cow's milk, and certain minerals in it can cause damage to your baby's kidneys. Also, unlike breast milk or formula, cow's milk doesn't provide all the proper nutrients for a growing infant.

5. Nuts. Not only are there potential allergy problems with nuts, all kinds of nuts, but as a hard and crunch food nuts are a possible choking hazard for babies. Wait until your child is older before allowing them to eat nuts.

6. Egg. Eggs are a common source of allergic reaction, especially in a young child. Avoid eggs or any product containing eggs until one year of age.

7. Fish. Avoid giving any shark, mackerel, swordfish and some other fishes. This is because the levels of mercury in these fish can affect a baby's growing nervous system. You should also avoid giving raw shellfish to babies to reduce their risk of getting food poisoning.

8. Chocolate. Chocolate usually has a fairly high amount of caffeine and sugar, two things a baby does not need and, in fact, could be unhealthy for a small child, especially in large douses. Also, most chocolates that are candy contain cow’s milk.

9. Citrus fruits and juices: Oranges, grapefruit and similar fruits contain citrus acid, which can cause a baby to have an upset stomach. Also, these fruits could lead to rashes.

10. Small, and hard foods. Avoid serving foods that may choke an infant, such as nuts and seeds, raw carrots and celery, whole kernel corn, raisins, large chunks of meat or cheese, popcorn, chips, pretzels, grapes, whole berries, cherries, hard candies, pickles, hot dogs, marshmallows, unpeeled fruits and vegetables. In general, avoid foods that are round and firm, sticky and chewy or cut in large chunks.