Supplemental/Complementary foods : Weaning a child

1. Never introduce bottle for feeding.Always use katori-spoon.
2. Continue breast feeding till 1 ½ to 2 years.
3. Exclusively breast feed your child till 6 months.At 6 month start weaning with thin foods,gradually thickening consistency over the next 2-4 weeks to the thickest consistency acceptable to your child.Introduce new food   every 3-4 days.
4. Add little quantity of oil/ghee or sugar/jaggery to make food energy dense.
5. Add plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables to the child’s daily diet. 
6. Let the food be tasty and attractive.Offer a varigated diet.
7. Offer nuts and peas (small and hard food items) in crushed form or as juice to children below 3 years age in  order to prevent aspiration in airways.
8. Top milk (cow/buffalo/packaged) undiluted,with added sugar to be given after 1 year of age. (Avoid excess intake of top milk)
9. Aim for child to eat from family pot at 1 year of age.Encourage group eating for toddlers (age 1-3 years)
10. As the child gets older encourage self feeding.
11. Drinking with cup : 6 months.
    Soft finger foods  : 8-9 months.
    Use of spoon       : 10-12 months
12. After recovery from illness give an extra meal for 1-2 weeks to help regain lost weight.
13. Refrain from junk food,e.g chips,chocolates,biscuits,Maggi,chiwada etc.
14. Do not force feed your child.
15. Always prefer homemade food to canned food.
16. Do not harbor misconception like ‘garam,thanda or khatta’ foods.

Choice of food to be given at 6 months

1. Boiled & then cooled water                                    
2. Thick Dal                                                                
3. Khichdi (Over cooked Rice+Dal)                              
4. Mashed boiled potatoes
5. All fruit juices
6. Clear soups
7. Mashed banana-with top milk

Choice of food to be given at 6-12 months

Use curd/milk to adjust consistency of semi-solid foods and mash it with fingers to suitable consistency.Add plenty of fresh vegetables or fresh fruit in every semi-solid meal.

1. Roti/Bread                                                     
2. Shira                                                                 
3. Semolina(Rawa),upma                                  
4. Suji / dalia                                                          
5. Poha                                                          
6. Idli,dosa,veg sambar                              
7. Tenderly cooked/minced chicken/meat
8. Egg yolk (below 1 year)
9. Egg white and fish (above 1 year) 
10. Veg-halwa/kheer e.g carrot,white pumpkin etc. 
11. Coocked sprouts Dal with rice/roti 
12. Crushed roti with Dal and vegetables
13. Crushed roti with milk & sugar
14. Sattu / ragi powder with milk/curd
15. All fresh fruits (including banana,guava,citrus fruits & Mango)
16. Curd and lassi