According to experts, here are the types of food you should never give babies or young children as they can be harmful or even fatal to their health.
1. Anything under-cooked or raw
Some adults might prefer eating their food a bit under-cooked, or even raw, such as with sushi. However, as tasty as these might be, it’s not a good idea to give your baby anything that’s undercooked or raw, particularly with eggs and poultry.
Make sure that the meat your child is eating is well-done since eating under-cooked meat can cause a lot of harm, and can potentially expose your children to salmonella which can be fatal.
2. Food with excess salt
During your child’s first year, their salt intake should be very tiny, less than a gram each day is enough for their daily needs. For kids who are 1-3 years old, 2 grams or less is what they need when it comes to their salt intake.
This is due to the fact that their kidneys aren’t ready to handle sodium, so giving them salty food can be hard on their kidneys. Make sure to check the salt content whenever you’re buying food for your baby, and whenever you’re cooking their food, keep the salt to a bare minimum.
3. Sugary food
Sweets are a big no-no for babies and young kids. Too much sugar for young kids and babies has been found to contribute to cardiovascular disease, as well as weight problems as they grow older.
Which is why when it comes to sweets, it’s best to avoid giving your kids any until they’re older than 2 years of age. Instead of candies, or sugary drinks, you can give them fruit juice, or fresh fruit instead.
4. Honey
As healthy as honey is, it’s best to avoid giving it to you baby as it might contain bacteria spores from Clostridium botulinum, which can stay in your baby’s tummy and cause infant botulism, a potentially fatal illness.
When it comes to honey, it’s best to wait until your child is older than 12 months, to make sure that their immune system and their stomach is well developed enough to deal with various types of bacterial infections.
5. Cow’s milk
During a child’s first year, the only types of milk that they should be drinking are breast milk, or baby formula, recommends the American Academy of Pediatrics. The reason why cow’s milk should not be given to a baby is because cow’s milk lacks the nutrients that a growing baby’s body needs.
For older kids, it’s best to give them whole milk instead of reduced fat milk, since their growing bodies need all of the nutrients that they can get.
6. Food that might be a choking hazard
This should be self-explanatory. Avoid giving your child any type of food that they can potentially choke on. This includes tiny candies, popcorn, chewing gum, tiny slices of raw veggies, hard candies, and even sticky peanut butter.
You should also avoid giving your child any food that’s less than half an inch, since they might swallow that piece of food and choke.
As always, it’s important to keep an eye on your child, especially when they’re eating, so that you can be sure that they’re not choking on anything.
Source: familyshare.com
Be sure to check out theAsianparent Community for more insightful stories, questions, and answers from parents and experts alike.
This article was first published on theAsianparent.ph. It is edited and published with permission for theAsianparent.
