The baby grows up and mother’s milk or adaptation mixture is not enough for him and then it is necessary to introduce complementary foods.
But when can a banana be given to a child?
Banana has long ceased to be a strange fruit.
It is distinguished by good taste, a rich set of vitamins, high nutritional value, wide accessibility, fast digestibility in the body and hypoallergenicity.
But when can a child have a banana and how many bananas can a child have per day?
At what age can a baby be given a banana in the form of complementary foods?
The correct and timely introduction of complementary foods is of great importance, because it is precisely on this that the health and development of the child will largely depend. Usually, doctors recommend introducing complementary foods from six months. If the child is thin, suffers from anemia, then the doctor may allow to give complementary foods a month earlier. Experts advise starting lure with vegetable dishes. Otherwise, the child will taste the taste of sweet fruit, then he won’t eat vegetables.
When the baby tolerates new products well, you can introduce fruits in 7-8 months.
However, if the baby is overweight, the doctor may advise you to postpone the introduction of bananas to the diet at a later time, since they are very high-calorie and they have a lot of sucrose.
When the baby is slowly gaining weight, then as the first feeding you need to enter porridge.
Therefore, at what age a child can be given a banana, it is definitely impossible to say. Everything is individual and depends on the specific situation.
How many bananas per day can a child
Banana, like any other complementary foods, babies should be given gradually and in small portions. You need to start with 0.5 teaspoon, preferably in the morning, in order to track during the day whether the child is allergic to an unfamiliar product. At first, it is desirable to keep a diary of the child’s nutrition, in which to note which product was given to the baby, and what was the reaction to it. This will allow, if necessary, to adjust the diet of the baby. If rashes appear on the skin of a child or loose stool, it is better to refuse feeding for a while and try it again after a month.
When there is no negative reaction to banana puree after 7 days, you can give it 1 tablespoon per day. At the age of one, a baby can eat half a banana without any harm to health. At the same time, bringing the fruit to a homogeneous state is no longer necessary. At 18 months old, the baby can be allowed to eat the whole banana. School children are advised to eat up to 2 bananas per day. They will help support mental and physical activity.
That is, how many bananas per day can a child depend on his age.
When a child can have a banana, in what form to give it for the first time
Of course, if a baby is given a banana for the first time, then the fruit must first be brought to a uniform consistency, only then it will be most useful for the baby.
It is easier to use factory fruit purees. In addition to the fact that the product in them has a homogeneous consistency, some vitamins are additionally introduced into them and it is convenient to use them outside the home. Therefore, in-store fruit puree is an ideal complementary food that does not need to be cooked.
When buying mashed potatoes, be sure to pay attention to the production date and expiration date. It is better to take the finished product in a glass jar, which is additionally covered with a special branded film. Such packaging is more difficult to fake.
You can make banana puree yourself. The fruit should be ripe, the peel is yellow without any dark spots. When buying a green banana, hold it for 2 days at room temperature and it will ripen. You can not store bananas in the refrigerator, because of this they blacken.
The fruit peel must be washed well and removed along with the remaining white longitudinal strips. If these conditions are not met, the benefit of such a product can be quite doubtful.
Banana puree itself can be prepared in various ways. For example, the fruit can be chopped with a blender or grated. And you can use pure and gauze ironed with a hot iron to make mashed potatoes. Cut the banana into small pieces, wrap in 3-4 layers of gauze and begin to slowly squeeze. In this way, you can get mashed soft consistency.
If the mashed potatoes turned out to be too thick, you can add a little mother’s milk into it, this will only increase the useful qualities of such complementary foods. At an older age, when the child will be allowed sour-milk products, banana puree can be combined with them.
When a child can have a banana, the benefits of the fruit are undeniable:
By the content of vitamin C, bananas are not inferior to lemons. And, as you know, ascorbic acid enhances immunity, strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
There are a lot of B vitamins in them, which normalize the baby’s sleep and generally positively affect the baby’s nervous system.
In addition, the fruit contains nicotinic acid, tocopherol and vitamin K.
In addition to vitamins, bananas are rich in minerals.
Especially potassium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the heart muscle.
The fruit is rich in iron, magnesium and fluoride.
Magnesium has a sedative effect.
Fluoride is involved in the formation of teeth.
Iron prevents the development of anemia.
By breaking down the starch contained in bananas, glucose is released, which gives energy to the baby.
The fruit contains pectin, which has a fixing effect and helps to remove toxins from the body. Pectin is part of some children's antidiarrheal drugs.
Therefore, banana puree can be used to normalize stool in a child with diarrhea. But this only applies to ripe bananas. There is little pectin in unripe fruits, but a lot of starch, which has a laxative effect.
When a mother knows at what age it is possible to give a banana to a child and how to do it correctly, she will be able to diversify her baby’s diet and feed him a useful product so that the baby grows strong and healthy.
