Parenting Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for parents, grandparents, nannies and others with a parenting role. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
My baby is 7 months old and tends to resist eating soup and she rarely finishes the whole plate that I prepared for her. I am not sure whether I should insist more than I already do in order to give her some more or if she already have a sufficient amount. Therefore, my question is whether there is an approximate measure of soup that a baby with a certain age (in this case 7 months) is expected to consume in a single meal?
Thank you for your attention.
At this age, we supplemented breastfeeding with about 4 ounces of soup plus some fruits and veggies per day. Keep in mind that this is just a single data point and and not a statistical sampling or a guideline.
There are no nutritional guidelines that I am aware of about soup at this age. Some babies like soup and some do not. As long as the child has enough quality nutritional food in general, they will be fine. Be sure to check if the child is not moving dramatically up or down along the weight and height percentile curve and that these are appropriate for the child’s age and height. Going to the pediatrician for well visits (regularly scheduled even if the child has no issues) should take care of that. Note that at this age, babies generally should eat as much as they need. If it’s not soup, they will make it up with something else.
Do not try to get your child to eat more or less than he wants of anything you have offered. What is the matter of trying to get him to eat more or less of something? It creates conflict and negativity around eating. Limiting a child's intake of a food he wants to eat or or making him eat more of food he doesn't want makes him upset and angry. Upset, angry children have trouble knowing when they are hungry and when they are full. They may undereat and grow poorly or overeat and get too fat.
(Satter, 2005, p. 108)
How to introduce solid foods (provided your child is willing):
- Have her sit in a high chair looking straight ahead.
- Hold the spoon a few inches in front of her mouth and wait to see what she does.
- Do it her way: let her eat or not eat, eat little or much, fast or slow.
- Stop the feeding when she is done opening, swallowing, smearing, dropping, banging.
- Give her plenty of chances to learn, have fun, and keep it casual.
(Ellyn Satter. Child feeding: ages and stages)
REFERENCES:
Ellyn Satter. "Your Child’s Weight: Helping Without Harming", Kelcy Press, Madison, WI, 2005: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Childs-Weight-Helping-Without/dp/0967118913
Ellyn Satter. Child feeding: ages and stages: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/child-feeding-ages-and-stages/
