Complementary foods are complete and balanced nutrition that is important for growing children, especially when given at the age of 0, which is the foundation for a baby’s lifelong health. In the infant stage, breast milk is of course the most ideal food for babies, but as babies grow up day by day, from about four months, breast milk or infant formula alone can no longer meet the nutritional needs of babies. Therefore, during this time, in addition to the original breast milk or infant formula, the baby should also be given some solid food, which is what we call complementary food. Complementary food includes rice flour, mud and lake food and other homemade food. The first source of nutrition for infants comes from breast milk, which has the most reasonable, ideal and suitable formulas for protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, so the first stage of growth of infants – 1 to 4 months of nutrition is best mainly from breast milk. If breast milk is sufficient, the infant’s growth will generally not have any problems, so there is no need to add other nutritional supplements; at this time, if breast milk is insufficient or the mother has no milk, the infant should preferably use milk as the main source of nutrition, because although milk is not easy for the infant to digest, it is still the closest to breast milk in terms of nutritional comprehensiveness, so it can be the best source of nutrition for the infant in addition to breast milk. As infant growth progresses, infant nutrition enters a second phase, the rapid growth period from 4 months to 9 months of age. If nutrition is obtained only from breast milk, it will be obviously insufficient, especially the protein content, fat content, mineral content and vitamin content of breast milk of water quality will not be sufficient to meet the needs of infants’ rapid growth, and the nutrients most likely to be lacking at this time are protein, iron and calcium, which must be considered to be supplemented by foods other than breast milk. The third stage of growth is from 10 months to 12 months. This is when the infant enters another growth spurt, his brain functions are developing rapidly and his cognitive ability to understand the world around him is increasing rapidly. He will begin to recognize people and objects, and link the things his brain perceives with language; he will gradually learn to play on his own, from reaching for distant objects with his hands to learning to build blocks; he will begin to consciously learn to call his mother and father and to twist his body to the rhythm of music; he will stand on the wall and develop into self-sufficiency and toddlerhood; his diet will enter a stage where complementary foods will gradually replace breast milk, and finally he will be completely independent of breast milk and completely dependent on natural foods. This is a critical period. This is a very critical period, and whether the food provided to infants is nutritious, comprehensive and suitable for their growth and development will directly affect the development of their bodies and brains, the development of various functions of their bodies and their future health. Balanced nutrition is very important for growing babies, especially in the 0-year-old stage of nutrition to give, but also to lay the foundation of the baby’s health for life. When babies are 4 to 6 months old, the secretion of saliva and gastrointestinal digestive enzymes increases significantly, and the digestive capacity is stronger than before, and the stomach capacity is increasing, so they are capable of digesting and absorbing foods other than milk. Although breast milk, formula and other dairy products are still the best food for babies at this age, but the nutrition they contain can no longer fully meet the needs of the baby’s growth and development, therefore, parents should start adding other foods outside of dairy products when the baby is 4 to 6 months old, these gradually added foods are called complementary foods. Dairy foods – including human milk – contain vitamins and trace elements (copper, iron, zinc, calcium) that do not meet the needs of the baby’s further growth and development, and the content and ratio of the three major nutrients – protein, fat and carbohydrates – do not adapt to the needs of the baby’s body after 4 months. When the infant grows to 4 months, although milk is the ideal food, the energy supplied by milk with a large amount of water is limited and is completely insufficient for infants 5 to 6 months old, because for infants 5 to 6 months old to get enough calories, the amount of milk should be at least 300 to 400 ml each time. It seems that this practice of supplying infants with calories by increasing the amount of milk alone is unrealistic. Therefore, at this time, but the village milk food can not meet the needs of infant growth, whether breast milk or artificial feeding must be added in a timely manner. 4 to 6 months of age, infants begin to teething, gastrointestinal tract digestion, absorption function is also becoming increasingly mature, this is gradually accepted from liquid food, to semi-solid, until the primary stage of solid diet. This stage is the best time for infants to exercise their chewing and swallowing functions, and is the key stage to adapt to small spoon feeding. In addition, the content of calcium, phosphorus, iron and various vitamins in breast milk is not high enough and will be insufficient after a certain period of growth. Milk has a higher content of calcium and phosphorus, but the single ratio is not suitable for infants, so it is not easily absorbed by infants; in addition, milk must be heated, sterilized, in processing and transport storage, the vitamins in it will be destroyed in large quantities, and the content will be insufficient. After infants grow to 4 months, their nutritional needs will increase rapidly, and generally these nutrients will appear to be inadequate, and if not supplemented in a timely manner, their health and normal growth will be affected, and serious iron deficiency anemia and rickets will occur. The new source of these nutrients can only be complementary foods, if you want to supplement the deficiency of these nutrients, you must add complementary foods to infants. The order of adding various types of complementary foods In terms of type: should be in the order of “starch (grains) – vegetables – fruits – animals The order of “cereals” should be added. Cereals should be added first and iron-containing nutrients can be added appropriately (e.g. rice flour with iron-containing nutrients for infants), followed by vegetable juice/puree, then fruit juice/puree, and finally animal foods (e.g. egg custard, fish, poultry, animal puree or meat loaf, etc.) should be started. It is recommended to add animal foods in the following order: egg custard puree, fish puree (with bones and spines removed), whole egg (such as steamed egg custard), minced meat, taking care not to use egg custard to replace iron-containing infant rice powder to give infants iron supplements, and not to add supplemental foods containing meat when the baby is under 6 months old. In terms of quantity: the order should be from less to more, at first just give the baby to try and taste, or try a little after feeding, and gradually increase after the baby adapt. In terms of texture: add in the following order – liquid first (such as rice paste, vegetable water, juice, etc.), then puree (such as thick rice paste, vegetable puree, meat puree, fish puree, egg yolk, etc.), then solid (such as soft rice, rotten noodles, small steamed bun pieces, etc.). In terms of time: it is recommended to add liquid food (such as milk powder, rice paste, vegetable puree, etc.) from 4 months of age. From 6 months of age, semi-solid foods (such as puree, egg yolk puree, fish puree, etc.) can be added, and from 7 to 9 months of age, semi-solid foods can be gradually changed to chewable soft solid foods (noodle porridge, vegetable porridge, etc.). 1-~12 months of age, most babies can be gradually changed to solid food-based complementary foods. The 8 basic principles of adding complementary foods for babies Principle 1: Adapt to the age of the baby Adding complementary foods too early, the baby will vomit and diarrhea because of the immature digestive function, digestive function; too late to add will cause malnutrition in babies, and even refuse to eat non-dairy fluid food. Complementary foods added too early to make the relative reduction in the absorption of breast milk, while the nutrition of breast milk is the best, so that the results of substitution are not worth the loss. Principle 2: One to many kinds of food gradually increase the variety of food according to the baby’s nutritional needs and digestive ability. At the beginning, you can only give your baby one kind of complementary food that is appropriate for the age of your baby. After 3 to 4 days or a week of trying, if your baby has good digestion and normal bowel movements, try another kind, and do not add several kinds at once in a short period of time. If your baby is allergic to a particular food, you will be able to observe it within a few days of trying it. If there is no adverse reaction within a few days after eating, it shows that the baby can accept this food; if you suspect that the baby is allergic to a certain food, you may want to feed it again after a week, and if there are 2 to 3 adverse reactions one after another, you can assume that the baby is allergic to this food. Principle 3: Complementary foods should be fresh, hygienic, good taste Parents in making food for babies, do not focus only on nutrition, but ignore the taste, which will not only affect the development of the baby’s sense of taste, laying hidden dangers for future picky eaters, but also may make the baby aversion to complementary foods, thus affecting the intake of nutrients. Complementary food should be natural and light as a principle, the production of raw materials must be fresh and tender, can add a little salt or sugar, but do not add MSG and artificial coloring, etc., so as not to increase the burden on the baby’s kidneys. Principle 4: The mood when eating should be happy When feeding your baby complementary food, first of all, you should create a happy and harmonious eating environment for your baby, it is best to choose to feed your baby when he is happy and awake. When the baby does not want to eat, do not force the baby to eat, because this will make the baby frustrated and bring negative impact on future life. Principle 5: From thin to thick When babies start adding complementary foods, they do not have teeth yet, so parents can only feed their babies liquid food, and then gradually add semi-liquid food, and finally develop to solid food. If you add semi-solid or solid foods at the beginning, your baby will definitely have difficulty digesting them, leading to diarrhea. The transition should be gradual according to the development of baby’s digestive tract and the growth of teeth, i.e. from vegetable soup, juice, rice soup to rice paste, vegetable puree, fruit puree, meat puree, and then to soft rice, small pieces of vegetables, fruits and meat. In this way, the baby can absorb well, so that indigestion will not occur. Principle 6: From fine to coarse The particles of baby’s food should be fine and tender, so as to exercise the baby’s swallowing function and lay the foundation for the gradual transition to solid food later. However, the processing should be fine. When the baby is about to grow teeth or is growing teeth, parents can gradually make the food particles coarse, which will help promote the growth of baby’s teeth and exercise the baby’s chewing ability. Principle 7: stop adding immediately after the baby has eaten the new food, parents should closely observe the baby’s digestion, if diarrhea, or more mucus in the stool, we must immediately suspend adding the food, and then add a small amount after the baby returns to normal. Principle 8: You should not eat liquid or pureed food for too long You cannot give your baby liquid or pureed food for a long time, as this will make your baby miss the critical period of chewing ability, which may lead to obstacles in chewing food.