Mealtime with Your Eight-Month-Old

Parenting Tips

Mealtimes are still messy for you and your eight-month-old. She continues to need your special attention at meal times.

Your baby is probably able to pick up food with her fingers. By now, she is learning to drink from a cup. When she chews, she can move the food to the sides of her mouth.

You can now offer her thicker and lumpier foods. Here are some foods that she should be able to eat now:

• Soft, small pieces of meat.
• Mashed beans or peas.
• Bite-size pieces of bread.
• Cooked, mashed fruits and vegetables.
• Noodles.

Your baby is not yet ready for some foods. Here are some foods that you should not give her yet:

• Cow's milk.
• Egg whites.
• More than 4-6 ounces of juice per day.
• Honey.
• Wheat cereal.

Instead of drinking cow's milk, your baby should continue to be breastfed or to get formula with iron. Egg whites and milk can make a young baby sick. If your baby drinks too much juice, she may lose her appetite. Then she might not eat the foods she needs. Honey may have bacteria. This can make your baby very sick. Wheat cereal can be hard for your baby to digest.

Remember, your baby knows how much food to eat. Give her a choice of foods that will help her grow. Do not force your baby to eat her food. She knows how much food she needs.

Meals should be offered at regular times each day. Meal times should be pleasant and as quiet as possible. Turn the TV off. Don't have a lot of other activity going on. Enjoy your meals together.

These tips were adapted from the U.S. Department of Education.

View more Infant Parenting Tips.