How to Get Your Child Interested in Solid Foods

Obie Editorial Team

Obviously I don’t remember being weaned onto solid foods, but I was there for my nieces when they made the switch. They took to solid foods pretty naturally, but some children resist the switch and it can be frustrating for parents that are beginning to wean their children.

One problem can be that you’re simply weaning them too early, but if your children are the right age, it could be a few different issues keeping them from changing between milk or formula to spoonable and finger foods. Parents have tried all sorts of way to get their children to eat solid foods, and if you’re having trouble, maybe some of these suggestions will help you with the weaning process.

Start With Rice Cereal
When you’re just starting to wean, you don’t want to go straight into foods that could be hard to chew and digest. You need to start slow. The best solution is to start feeding your baby rice or grain cereal. Sometimes you might still have some difficulty with this however, which is why you need to find the right type of cereal and the right texture. Sometimes babies prefer it cold, sometimes warm. The hang-ups during the switch to solid foods usually have to do with texture and taste. Maybe your child takes to cereal right away, but more likely you’re going to have to try a few combos before it sticks.

Add Foods to the Cereal
Once your baby has cereal down, mix it up a little. Try adding pureed fruits, veggies, and meat to the cereal mixture to get them familiar with the new tastes and texture.  To make this process more nutritious, puree your own foods. That way, you know exactly where the food was purchased and what is going into your child. Organic fruits and veggies will make the meal even healthier, and a blend of organic meats will provide the protein and omega 3 acids their developing body needs. If you want to try and make more elaborate baby food, check out Pinterest and other similar sites for great recipes.

Finger Foods
When you start to introduce finger foods, make sure they’re finely chopped and not hard to chew. Food that is too solid won’t be eaten and your child may not be ready to digest large pieces of food yet. Chop everything down to size and add easily digestible foods like dry grain and rice cereals. Mashed food can even be finger foods if they have the right consistency.

By the time your child is one years old or thereabouts, you might be able to offer them three solid food meals a day as well as snack. If you weaned later, you might only offer them meals, not snacks. By this time you should only use breastfeeding or formula to help them get to sleep or to provide comfort.