Diet taboos for infants and young children

After raising children for so many years, combined with the consensus of public tertiary-level child care doctors and the practical experience of countless families around me, the core dietary taboos for infants and young children under 3 years old are three bottom lines that cannot be broken: it is strictly forbidden to touch highly allergenic/high-risk foods such as honey, fresh milk, and whole nuts under 1 year old; absolutely do not add additional salt, sugar, soy sauce and other condiments under 1 year old; do not directly feed whole grapes, jelly, hard candies and other foods that are easy to choke under 3 years old. In addition, most of the "can't eat cold food" and "don't touch hairy things" spread online are not universally applicable. They can be flexibly adjusted according to the tolerance of your own children, and there is no need to blindly copy them.

A while ago, I was talking to some mothers in the community about this matter. One mother said that her mother-in-law wouldn't even let her baby eat broccoli, saying, "It's cold and will cause diarrhea." However, last time the child care provider was scolded by the doctor, saying that as long as it's cooked and broken, it can be eaten after 6 months of supplementary food. This caused the couple to have an awkward quarrel with the old man for several days. In fact, this kind of contradiction is too common. It is nothing more than a collision between traditional child-raising experience and modern evidence-based concepts. We don’t have to say who is right and who is wrong. It will be clear if we break it down.

Let’s talk about the allergy issue that everyone is most concerned about. This is actually a part that all pediatric fields have a clear consensus on: honey must not be touched by children under 1 year old. This is really not what the elders call "cold sex". It is the possibility of botulinum spores in honey. The intestinal barrier of infants and young children is not fully developed. Once it is infected, it may cause severe neurotoxicity, even if it is a regular brand and has been sterilized. This is the real bottom line and cannot be relaxed even half a point. There is also fresh milk. The intestines and stomach of babies under 1 year old cannot digest the macromolecular proteins in it, which can easily cause hidden intestinal bleeding. You have to wait until after 1 year old to gradually try it.

As for eggs and shelled seafood, which are highly controversial, there is no unified standard for "how many months before adding them": the old-school pediatric guidelines recommend adding egg yolks at 8 months, egg whites at 1 year old, and seafood at 1 and a half years old. They are afraid of adding them too early to cause allergies.； However, the latest evidence-based medical research believes that after adding complementary foods for 6 months, you can gradually try these highly allergenic ingredients in small amounts, which can actually reduce the probability of subsequent allergies. There are two extreme examples around me. My neighbor's baby started eating whole egg steamed soup at 7 months old. Now he is 3 years old and can eat any seafood without any problem. My colleague's baby just added egg whites the old way when he was 1 and a half years old. Now he gets rash when he eats some shrimp. In the end, it is still an individual difference. As long as you only add one kind at a time when adding new ingredients to your baby, and observe for 3 days if there are no rashes, vomiting, or diarrhea, then you can eat it with confidence, and you don't have to wait until he is a month old.

Let’s talk about the most talked about thing among the elderly: “If you don’t eat salt, you will have no strength.” The last time I was in the nursing room, I saw a grandma feeding her 10-month-old baby steamed dumplings dipped in light soy sauce. She said, “There is no flavor when boiled in plain water. The baby doesn’t like eating it.” I was stunned at the time. In fact, there is a clear consensus on this: babies under 1 year old only need 350 mg of sodium every day. Whether they drink breast milk, formula milk, or eat natural ingredients from vegetables and meat, it can fully meet their needs. Adding additional salt, sugar, and soy sauce will only increase the burden on the kidneys. It is also easy to develop the habit of heavy taste from an early age. When they grow up, they are picky eaters and do not like to eat vegetables. However, recently some nutritionists have put forward a more flexible statement: If a child between 1 and 3 years old is really anorexic and refuses to eat unflavored complementary foods for several days in a row, he can add a small amount of low-sodium children's soy sauce or baby salt. The daily amount should be controlled within 1g. There is no need to add zero to a harsh level. When my baby was 1 and a half years old, she was anorexic for almost a week. The pediatrician asked me to add a drop of soy sauce to her noodles, and she ate a full bowl that day. As long as the amount is controlled, it’s really not that scary.

There is another taboo that is most easily overlooked, but will be a big deal if something happens: the risk of choking. Last year, a grandmother in our community fed her 2-year-old grandson a whole piece of jelly, and it got stuck in the trachea and her face turned purple. Fortunately, she was sent to the emergency room and it was taken out in time. It's scary to think about it. Children under 3 years old have not yet fully developed their swallowing reflexes. Never give them round, slippery, and unbreakable objects: whole grapes, nuts, hard candies, jelly, plums with cores, and the popping beads in popping drinks that are very popular these days. These are all high risks. However, there is no need to abandon food due to choking. For example, nuts can be ground into powder and added to complementary foods, and grapes can be eaten by dicing the skins and seeds. The unsaturated fatty acids in nuts are very good for brain development, as long as they are processed properly.

As for the statements that we often hear, such as "watermelon is too cold to be eaten", "crabs are hairy and cannot be touched" and "mangoes are too hot to be eaten", they are really not universal. My baby often eats less than half a bowl of scraped watermelon puree in the summer, and his bowel movements are normal. My best friend's baby poops after just one bite of watermelon, so her family just doesn't let the baby eat it for the time being. This is a matter of individual tolerance. You don't need to apply other people's standards to your baby, and you don't have to argue with the elderly about who is right and who is wrong. Try a small amount once, and the baby can eat it if it doesn't feel uncomfortable. If it feels uncomfortable, just stop for a few months and try again. It's not that particular.

To be honest, I have seen too many families arguing over "can the baby eat this?" In fact, it is really unnecessary. There is no standard answer to raising a baby. Just stick to the three core bottom lines and make flexible adjustments to the rest. After all, each baby's stomach and intestines are unique. As long as the baby is eating happily and the growth curve is always within the normal range, it is better than anything else.