How to Make Cheese Safe for Babies & Toddlers - First Foods

I posted about raw apples the other mean solar day because the number 1 mistake I see parents making with infant-led weaning is offering their baby whole or sectioned raw apple.

Don't go me wrong: I get downright giddy when I see parents taking an ambitious whole nutrient arroyo with starting solids. And I firmly believe that #FingerFoodFirst gives you the best shot at raising a happy, salubrious, and adventurous eater.

But the second biggest fault I run into parents making is how they cut cheese for their baby and I want to go on the record to challenge the matchstick (aka french fry) cut that yous commonly see other professionals recommending.

Here's why: The size of a baby or child'southward windpipe is about that of a drinking straw in diameter.Foods that could get stuck in a straw, form a seal over it, or block its opening are choking risks.

When it comes to cheese, the main risk is a clamper of cheese breaking off before it is chewed. Which can happen quite easily with the matchstick cut.

In my stance and experience, a super thin and flat piece of cheese is far safer than a matchstick cut or minor cube, both of which could more hands get stuck in a straw.  And shredded cheese is fifty-fifty safer.  But the flat, thin (or "ruler-sparse") cut makes information technology easier for babies to choice upwardly and is rubber as well. (This ruler-thin cutting also works actually well for cantaloupe and honeydew melon as well!)

Now look. I don't desire y'all to first pulling out your rulers to meaure the thinness of a slice of cheese, nor do I want you going aorund with a harbinger to see if something gets stuck. Infant are placidity adept at munching with their gums and in general, do really well.

Before I go though, remember that some cheeses are extremely high in sodium, which if consumed in excess, can lead to hypernatremia, a condition of having too much sodium in the blood, which affects the balance of h2o in our bodies. ¹  Early on and excessive exposure to sodium is also thought to play a part in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity. ²

For a listing of cheeses that are unsafe for babies, check out our guide, 30 Foods You Should Never Feed Your Baby.

Happy (cheese) eating!

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Printing.
2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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