Parenting Tips for Your 8 Month Old Baby

At 8 months, you might be trying to feed your baby new foods. Here are some tips on keeping food safe and healthy:

• Do not add salt, sugar, or seasonings to your baby's foods. Foods that taste bland to an adult are a new taste experience to an infant. Some sodium or salt is necessary for good health, but there is enough natural sodium in foods. Added salt will provide too much sodium for a small baby and can even be harmful.

• Do not feed honey to your baby during his first year. Honey may carry botulism spores that can harm him.

• Do not use leftovers to make baby foods. Leftover foods are likely to have more bacteria than freshly prepared foods. This could cause your baby to get food poisoning. Use fresh, frozen, or canned food. If you use frozen food, buy the form with the least amount of added sugar, salt, and fancy sauces, all of which are not good for your baby.

• Do not feed your baby raw eggs or raw milk. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized. These raw foods may be sources of infections that can be dangerous for him.

• Do not feed your baby chunky foods such as corn, nuts, popcorn, and seeds, or coarse-textured foods (such as cookies) that crumble easily. Such foods are difficult for your baby to eat. He could choke on them.

• Home-prepared beets, spinach, turnips, and collard greens contain too many nitrates for your baby. Do not feed him these foods yet.

• Do not get your baby's food too hot. Your baby's mouth could be burned by hot food. Most babies will accept cold food. If you want to warm your baby's food, do it just before serving.

• Never leave your baby alone while he’s eating.

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