Photo by twogirlsandamom
When it's time for your baby to start eating solid food, the question always arises: Should I start with fruit or veggies? Some moms are afraid that if they give their baby fruit first, he'll develop a sweet tooth and won't ever like vegetables. But according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that's simply not true.
The AAP says, "For most babies it doesn't matter what the first solid foods are. By tradition, single-grain cereals are usually introduced first. However, there's no medical evidence that introducing solid foods in any particular order has an advantage for your baby.
Though many pediatricians will recommend starting vegetables before fruits, there's no evidence that your baby will develop a dislike for vegetables if fruit is given first. Babies are born with a preference for sweets, and the order of introducing foods does not change this."
And that advice seems to hold true among moms. Over in the CafeMom Newcomers Club epoh polled members to see if they started with fruit or vegetables and how that affected their child's taste for vegetables.
Forty-two percent of respondents said they started with fruit and their kid still likes vegetables; and forty-two percent said they started with vegetables and their kid still likes vegetables.
So no matter what you start with, it's pretty safe to say that your child will probably still eat his veggies. That is, until he becomes a toddler and starts throwing them on the floor (but that's a conversation for another day).
Have you started your baby on solid foods yet? What was the first food you gave him or her?
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Comments 8
Cereal is actually totally worthless, and is just a filler that's pretty void of nutrition. People claim it's not likely to spawn an allergic reaction... but uh... you're going to give your child fruits and veggies too, right? It's not like introducing rice first is going to negate any allergy they may have to sweet potatoes.
Anyway, I'd go for the most nutritionally sound foods first, like sweet potato, broccoli, blueberries, etc. and be concerned about the amount of vitamins they provide, rather than what "category" they're in.
I have my own opinion about giving veggies first and it is because my parents chose to give me fruits first and I never would touch veggies and still to this day hate them so I chose to give my child veggies first and she will eat pretty much ne veggie you put out there and slowly introduced fruit which she loves as well but will chose veggies over fruit-which to me is better because I just feel veggies have more nutritional value that I feel I missed out on(Dont worry I do drink v8fusion!)
You know they say it doesn't make a difference but then my friend started her baby on fruits first and he absolutly would not touch his veggies. So I just think its the kid not the order.
I think that once they start solids its good to get a variety, although I spaced starting new foods a week apart to make sure no allergies cropped up that I would be confused as to what it would be.
I actually started my DS on buckwheat first.
I gave dd fruits first, and she still love vegetables. --Breastmilk is naturally sweet, so if this were true, every breastfed baby wouldn't eat vegetables.
I've done both and for my 4 kids it made absolutely no difference. In fact with my oldest I believe we started her with applesauce and pears and she always preferred sweet potatoes and carrots. She would spit the fruit out and cry until we gave her veggies.
My other kids didn't care what it was as long as it was food, lol. They are 8, 7, 6 and 3 now and love all their veggies and fruits. Sometimes veggies are all they eat for dinner and they pick fresh fruit and veggies over other snacks (they were begging me for baby carrots for a snack yesterday) and LOVE salads. My 8yo begs me to have salad every day for lunch.
I gave my son fruits first....peaches to be exact! He now loves all fruits and vegetables, including PRUNES!! yech! So I don't feel that giving fruits first will deter them from eating vegetables....I haven't found anything yet that child will not eat. I agree with the lady above that I think it depend on the child not the order introduced.
I never understood the whole giving them veggies before fruits thing. My mother in law told me to give veggies before fruit because fruit was sweet and if the baby had veggies after that they wouldn't enjoy them as much. But breastmilk is very sweet so, yeah, they're already used to eating something sweet.
Baby-led weaning is an interesting concept. We used it a bit once my son was ready for solids.
We started on Pastina, rice cereal with applesauce and yams.