The most suitable consistency for an infant’s or young child’s food depends on age and neuromuscular development of the jaws.
Beginning at 6 months, an infant can eat pureed, mashed or semi-solid foods. Feeding a baby pureed or soft food for too long can delay the development of chewing skills.
It is important that infants get the right sort of food textures at the appropriate times so that their oral muscles are exercised appropriately, and that they get plenty of practice and they can move on to the next type of texture.
Children who have difficulty in progressing often stay either on a pureed or soft diet or skip some of the transitions.
Children who are unable to progress through the textures will probably experience limited food choices, therefore, limiting their consumption of essential nutrients.
For some children, there may also be a link between difficulty in progressing through food textures, and delays in their speech and language development.
By 8 months most infants can also eat finger foods. By 12 months, most children can eat the same types of foods as consumed by the rest of the family. However, they need nutrient-rich foods and foods that can cause choking, such as whole peanuts, should be avoided.
Complimentary food should be thick enough so that it stays on a spoon and does not drip off. Generally, foods that are thicker or more solid are more energy and nutrient-dense than thin, watery or soft foods.
When a child eats thick, solid foods, it is easier to give more calories and to include a variety of nutrient-rich ingredients including animal-source foods.
There is evidence of a critical window for introducing ‘lumpy’ foods; if these are delayed beyond 10 months of age, it may increase the risk of feeding difficulties later on. Although it may save time to continue feeding semi-solid foods, for optimal child development, it is important to gradually increase the solidity of food with age.
