Complementary Feeding: Consistency, Quality, and Variety

Behavior: Mother or caregiver increases food thickness and variety as the child gets older, adapting to the child's nutritional requirements and physical abilities.

As the gastrointestinal tract and immune system mature and other developmental changes occur, a child is ready to eat a variety of foods. During the period of complementary feeding, a baby should gradually become accustomed to eating family foods. At six months an infant is ready to eat pureed, mashed, and semi-solid foods. By eight months the infant can handle "finger foods” such as grated vegetables and bread strips. By 12 months the child should be eating family foods.

Food quantity and food quality are both important to ensure good health and development. Fruits and vegetables, as well as meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, should be eaten daily. Vegetarian diets cannot meet the nutrient needs of young children unless nutrient supplements or fortified foods are consumed.

LINKAGES country programs identified local diets and current good practices, tested options for improving the traditional diet, and identified target audiences and effective strategies for reaching them. Below are examples of messages about food consistency and variety that are promoted in these programs.

• (Ghana) Make sure to prepare and offer a variety of foods that are easy for the child to swallow. Make sure these foods are well cooked, mashed, or ground. In addition to stews and soups with vegetables, every day give the child some fruits in season.
• (Nepal) Use local foods such as green leafy vegetables, mangoes, bananas, and papaya. If available, give fish, meat, and egg. The addition of oil, ghee, or butter to a small amount of food increases its energy.
• (Madagascar) Enrich the child's food with a spoonful of oil, groundnut paste (peanut butter), or dried shrimp.