Thanks for your question. The Jury is still out on whether added salt is directly harmful to children. On the other hand, habits learned in childhood often translate through to adulthood. So children who grow accustomed to high-salt diets are more likely to consume high-salt diets as adults. High-salt diet is more established as a risk factor for poor health in the adult population. So it stands to reason that if you want your kids to eat healthfully when they grow up, serve them healthy food and role model healthy eating when they are kids.

Thanks !

What is your opinion about using salt at children under 2 years ?

Thanks !

Wanted to answer re meat question too (sorry I love BLW lol) Alongside the suggestions from DF, mine loved big old pieces of meat ie TOO big to put in their mouth whole such as a steak. My youngest would gnaw/chew/suck all the juices out pre teeth. Also bone broths/stocks are a fantastic source of nutrients and you can use herbs etc for flavouring and skip the salt :)

Hi Melissa. Sounds like your babe is eager to move on to more interesting and exciting textures. Here are some ideas to get things going:

The idea is to choose meats with textures that are a bit more challenging for baby to orally manipulate than fine purees. Think solid foods that can be easily converted to mush with a few munch motions of the mouth. You and baby have already discovered that a steamed broccoli floret fits the bill nicely. So what can be good meat equivalents?

Try pattes, very finely shredded tender braised meats, or boiled meatballs cut into small bite-sized pieces. Fish is another good option. Offer small bite-sized pieces of soft flaky fish being careful to remove any bones. Eggs are another good option; Loosely scrambled eggs are the perfect texture for babies at this stage. You can also try lightly poaching or soft-boiling eggs and then offering bite-sized pieces to baby. One nice thing about eggs: the longer you cook them, the firmer and dryer they get (i.e. The more advanced the chewing skill required to eat them). So as baby’s skills progress, you can gradually advance the texture by increasing the frying/poaching/boiling times.

I hope these are helpful suggestions. Good luck and enjoy!

DF

My son got his first set of teeth at 21 months of age and I can assure you that he was gnawing, chewing, and grinding food with his gums well before that. There’s really no harm in using the gums to chew, especially with softer foods like bananas, avocado, scrambled eggs, cheese, etc. As the texture gets harder and more advanced, Maya may or may not be able to handle it. Just let her tell you if/when she’s ready, teeth or no teeth.

When I recommended ‘dump[ing] a pile of apple sauce in front of a baby’, I envisioned the applesauce in a pile on a tray without a bowl or cutlery. But quite frankly, you can do it however you wish, just so long as the experience is positive for Maya.

I have seen bowls and plates with suction cups on the bottom. They seem to work quite well … of course you’ll miss that precious moment when baby swats the bowl of food off the tray thereby reinterpreting the expensive artwork hanging beside her on the dining-room wall ;)