Can I give my 11M old cockles, squid, mussels etc?

Question

Can anyone tell me please, if I can give my 11 month old baby- squid, octopus, cockles, mussels, clams, prawns or scallops etc. I know they are not suppose to have swordfish or marlin, because they may contain small amounts of mercury. We live in UK & have no family history of any fish allergy.

Tuna, sardines, cod, trout, salmon, I've been told are ok. No bone, skin etc & mashed down to a fine smooth paste. But I want to try her with more variety. I'm not giving her other meat, just seafood- for ethical reasons. She has plenty of dairy etc, so protein content is not a concern.

Answer 1

hi if you have already given you child seafood (all seafood inc fish) and she hasnt had an allergic reaction then it will be ok to feed her a wider variety of seafood so long as its washed and cooked. start of with tiny portions first if you are still worried abought allergies perhaps 1 prawn. as for the person/people who say about giving dairy products to under 1's is wrong then they should read up on there facts
1: there told not to drink liquid cows milk on its own until after they are 1
2: health visitors in the uk advise that from 6 months onwards if you have started the weaning rocess then it is ok to feed your child yoghurts that arnt low fat which for those of you who dont know, yoghurt is a dairy product
and 3: for those of you who think that giving a child dairy products under the age of 1 is wrong and you give your child formula milk, well F.Y.I., formula milk is actually powdered cows milk with added vitimins and iron!!!

anyway, if you feel you need advice on this subject you are best speaking to you health visitor, but it sounds like your child eats well and so far you havent had any allergies so i would say this would be safe, a hv would only tell you to leave it till ur child is 12 months to be on the safe side, but 4 weeks isnt going to make much difference to her immune system if you have already tried her with product that may cause and allergic reaction.

Answer 2

I'm a big lover of seafood, and love nothing more than a salad with whelks, cockles, mussels, huge crevette's, and possibly some red and black caviar. There's a restaurant called The Crows Nest in Birmingham that I'd reccomend for that. As for cooked fish, I'm quite into doing a nice barbeque with tilapia / salmon and large prawns - though I do an excellent fish pie using Rick Steins' recipe. I'm hungry now.

Answer 3

I believe that you are supposed to wait until after 1 year for this sort of thing due to the risks of food contamination rather than digestive reasons.

Given the old addage about not eating shellfish unless there is an "R" in the month (I.e. avoid shellfish when the weather is hot as bacteria are more likely to develop), I certainly wouldn't try it now. I would personally wait until September and let the weather cool if you are in the Northern Hemisphere (remember that fish may not be caught at your latitude, they may have come from much further south).

Answer 4

I wouldn't for another few months at the least because shellfish are among the worst food allergies one could have, (I know, I'm allergic to shellfish) and the risk of analphalaxis is high.

If there are ABSOLUTELY no allergies in your family, I would start offering it when your child is closer to two years old, and then be sure it's the only new thing they have that week to watch for allergies.

Answer 5

No way! I wouldn't give that to my 11 month old child! Probably not till they're 2 or 3 just to play it safe. Now for the tuna, salmon and cod that's fine. My children love them! I would wait on the clams, etc. just to play it safe.

Answer 6

allergy issues are the biggest reason for not giving a child seafoods of any kind in infancy. But if you've talked to your babies pediatrician already and they see no problem with it than by all means. However keep an eye out for reactions.

Answer 7

I would wait at least until you can ask your Dr. shell fish has a very high allergy rate and you can never be to safe besides it sounds like you give her a lot of choices she will be just fine for now and probably very healthy too. Congrats on doing such a good job with her.

Answer 8

2

Answer 9

Cant really see any problem apart the obvious food poisoning issues that arrise with seafood. If its very fresh and well cooked there should be nothing to worry about.

Answer 10

Your not supposed to give any of that or peanut butter,fresh strawberry to them till 2yrs old because of possible serious allergic reactions and at 11M they still don't have the complete development of chewing and swallowing yet so i would wait.