Friend is feeding her 6 month old table food?

Question

I have a friend who insist that her daughter is ready for table food and gives her anything from pizza to pastas to steak to chocolate cake. She started her daughter on stage 1 foods at 3 months old and at 4 months old she was eating stage 3 foods. I know all babies are different, but every mom and doctor I have talked to say wait until they are at least 9-10 months old before giving them table food. Her daughter weighs 23 lbs and was born at 8 lbs 9 oz. My son is the same age and is one stage 1 and occasionally stage 2 foods and weighs about 17 lbs. It seems that her daughter is heading down the path to be an overweight child. Is she feeding her baby table food too soon?

This is her first child and she was putting rice cereal in her bottles when she was only 2 1/2 months old. Her child may have been born bigger, but at 23 lbs?! That is too heavy for six month old born at just under 9 lbs. I even saw her give her baby fries and part of a hambuger. She insists she is ready, but the table food that should be given are healthy things like cooked egg yolk or shredded cheese.

Answer 1

Your friend is possibly setting her baby up for a host of problems down the line. Can people feed their babies that young without adverse effects? Sure. There are also people who binge-drink during pregnancy, and manage to still deliver healthy babies, but do you want to chance it?

Introducing solid foods earlier than six months is associated with a host of potential problems, among them obesity, diabetes, allergies, anemia, and eczema.

I can't even imagine that she's introducing these foods in a fashion that will ensure that any allergies can be detected...chocolate cake??? That must have at least three allergens (wheat, chocolate, eggs) you're not supposed to introduce this early (btw, just because you don't see a reaction right away doesn't preclude the later development of allergies).

Your friend is being very irresponsible. At this point, yes, it's ok to be giving cereal and single foods and/or combos that have already been individually tested, but, gosh, why would you chance your baby's health just because your mom fed you pizza at 4 months and you were fine, or whatever excuse parents use to justify making their lives more convenient at the expense of their child's health? It confounds me.

I'd be curious to know the height/weight percentiles for this child. Unless the child is somewhere in the 97th percentile for height, I'm willing to be the pediatrician has already talked to her about the potential for obesity, and she's ignoring the info.

Answer 2

She's 6 months old and weighs 23 pounds? I'd say she's already on the overweight path, unless someone does something to turn her off of it.

My son is 8 months old, and is just now at 16 pounds. He was 7 lbs, 13 oz at birth. He eats stage two baby foods, but does eat some table foods. Stuff like green beans, mashed potatoes, tiny bits of bread, peas, broccoli, squash, spinach, and sweet potatoe. Okay, I'll admit to letting him have vanilla ice cream, but it was less than a teaspoon's worth, and I know that his daddy and his papaw give him tastes of other things, probably things that I don't even want to know about!

I really hope that your friend is chopping up the bites very tiny, and doesn't force the baby to eat more after she's full. And shame on her pediatriction if he knows what's going on and hasn't tried to stop it!

I have a friend that feeds her 10 month old everything like that too. Oreos, hot dogs, and marshmallows. It makes me a nervous wreck! I'm afraid that the baby is gonna choke. I mean, there's no reason for a baby to eat a hot dog, and especially if it's just chopped into 'coins' and not into those really small bites like a baby is supposed to have.

Answer 3

I don't think it is so much that the baby can't handle the food. But more the choices of food she is giving her. My kids were eating table food at 6 months. My youngest was 10 pounds at birth and was eating cereal in her bottles at one month--per the doctor!! I always gave my kids what I was eating. So I now have a 5 year old that loves salads and veggies. I NEVER order them off the kids menu, there are better choices than mac & cheese and hot dogs. But I do not see anything wrong with her giving her solid foods. But, my kids also had teeth at this age too, which to me makes a difference.

Answer 4

Yes, its too soon for table foods, but the rice cereal wasn't started too early.My foster brother was only 2 months old when he started cereal.She is staring way too early with some of the foods.Cooked pasta and small stuff like that I can see, but steak and things like that are too rough on the baby's stomach and can cause
the child to be very overweight.

Answer 5

I wouldn’t be feeding my six month old baby steak and chocolate cake, but at that age babies are ready to start eating table foods. I say six months is the perfect “ready age” for babies to eat (some kinds of) table foods. However, three months?? Does she have other children? If so, are they healthy? Or overweight? That's a good way to tell if you friend knows what she's doing. If she doesn’t have kids, maybe politely tell her the risks of overweight children, or bring it up in a innocent conversation.

Answer 6

My son is 8 months old and when he was 5/6 months old, we started him on the 1,2's. Now he gets foods, but we dont give him anything he cant mash up with his gums or anythign he would choke on... but we give him some table foods like mashed potatoes, bananas, pudding, SOME small pieces of pasta that wont get lodged in his throat. I think your fried is taking it to extremes though. And 23 lbs at that age?!! That is crazy. I know every child is different, but its the baby's moms fault that she weighs so much. 23 lbs is way too much for a 6 month old. Has a doctor said anything when she goes to check-ups and for shots?? It would shock me if he didnt. Like I said, thats way too much and you should say something. Looks like it getting out of control.

Answer 7

That is a tricky situation because you could be overstepping your boundaries if you tell her she is wrong. I am sure she knows the guidelines, especially if her child goes for well baby visits. As far as she baby being obese when older, you cannot predict that at such an early age. My son was born 8lbs 6oz and was 20lbs at 4 months!!! Now he is 11 years old and weighs 69lbs(underweight if u ask me). Each parent has different views on what is best for their baby and as hard as it may be to know what she is doing is not the best idea...You may just have to let her do her thing.
I agree with you though..Steak and Chocolate cake are not wise choices!

Answer 8

Every baby is different. Many babies strongly dislike baby food, and only want what mom is eating. For those who make their own baby food-stage 1,2 or 3 don't mean anything. Until they are a year, most nutrients for babies come from formula or breast milk, not table food anyway. Also there are other factors that affect the size of children-breast milk vs formula, genetics, length of babies. To compare them without knowing all the variables is unfair.

Answer 9

Do NOT feed your cat milk. Cow's milk is not good for cats and will usually make them sick to their stomach. Cat food is the best option, and if she is refusing to eat, get her checked out by your vet. Cats often don't show many signs of illness as a survival mechanism, so no symptoms should be ignored.

Answer 10

We always ate table food in moderation at this age, and we're all slim and heatlhy.

BUT i dont agree with her choices of foods at all. letting baby try something that you're eating from time to time is okay. But to feed her pizza's and fries on a regular basis? Thats rediculous.

It's probably better to get her a book on how to prepare table foods for infants and toddlers. I just saw a nice one by DK books today. This way she can see how best to make long term investments in her childs nutrition. Telling her she's making a bad choice to feed her child at this age wont help, but encouraging her to pick more nutritional foods would certainly be helpful.

Also, you can find research on the long term effects of feeding children processed and sugary foods online. They've found it leads to sugar problems and diabetes later in adulthood. No one wants that for their child.