By Dr. Tracey Graves, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Are you raising a child who is defined by the “standard” toddler and youth diet? This standard includes chicken nuggets, french fries, crackers and cookies, chips, and an occasional pudding or yogurt item. For many mothers and families, the vicious cycle of poor nutrition caused by “food jags” seems to spin entirely out of control until adults give in to the increased consumption of less nutritious food selections. Simply making the decision to feed on demand in order to keep proper caloric intake for the child may be the most appealing selection for a parent, but certainly not the most beneficial one with regard to proper nutrition. This phenomenon is one that I have explored in detail. The more important question should center on where along the developmental path the child exhibited food-jagging behaviors.
Food jagging is a coined phrase that describes a child binging on a small variety of foods without expansion toward different textures and or tastes. By 12 months of age, a child may begin to exhibit the signs of food-jagging behaviors based upon the success or failure of their individual progression through the early stages of baby foods. There are four levels, or stages, of dietary textures that a child will pass through until he or she is able to consume a standard table-food diet. Although there is no clear agreement about the details of the actual four stages within the baby-food hierarchy, the American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child’s Nutrition recommends that a parent should “begin with Stage 1 foods for beginners…don’t offer your child toddler foods [that] contain chunks until he is an experienced eater.”
So what exactly are these stages? Stage 1 typically starts between the 4–6-month-old age range. This stage includes single-ingredient foods such as rice cereal and pureed fruits and vegetables. At approximately the 7–8-month-old range, a baby may make the transition to Stage 2 foods, which include single-ingredient and combination foods that are strained instead of pureed. These foods incorporate texture into a baby’s diet. When a baby is 9-12 months old, he should be ready for Stage 3 foods. These foods include more texture and small chunks to encourage chewing. In addition, Stage 3 foods are sold in larger jars because a baby will likely have a bigger appetite during this phase of development. Lastly, a baby will progress to Stage 4 foods or table foods at the end of the first year or the beginning of the second year of life. It is important to note that these age recommendations are general guidelines and may vary from child to child.
Frequently, babies and children begin to have food or feeding aversions as a result of poor oral/motor skills. The severity of these aversions can range from being a little picky to downright refusing all foods and requiring nourishment via feeding tubes. The Developmental Food Continuum, created by Dr. Kay Toomey, is provided to help give you a general idea of what is considered normal eating habits and normal feeding development. These “recipes” will sustain your child’s transition through the kid-food hierarchy, and will nourish your child as well!
What Kids Can Eat
• 0-13 months breast or bottle
• 5 months thin baby-food cereals
• 5 ½ months slightly thicker baby food cereals and thin baby-food puree—Stage 1
• 6 months thin baby-food puree—Stage 1
• 7 months thicker baby food cereals and thicker baby food smooth purees—Stage 2
• 8 months soft mashed table foods and table food smooth puree
• 8 months hard munchables (raw carrot sticks, celery sticks, baby pretzels, dried fruits, bagel strips, frozen melon in strips)
• 9 months meltable hard solids (Towne crackers, biter biscuits, graham crackers, Gerber’s Cereal Squares, Fruit Loops, Cap’n Crunch, baby cookies)
• 10 months soft cubes (avocado, overcooked squash, kiwi, vegetable soup ingredients without the broth, Gerber Graduates fruits, boiled potatoes, peas, bananas)
• 11 months soft mechanical [soft solid foods that can be broken down easily with little chewing or tongue smashing] single-texture foods (fruit breads, muffins, soft small pastas, cubed lunch meat, thin deli meats in small rectangles, soft pasta or soft meat soups without the broth, soft pretzels, barley, scrambled eggs)
• 12 months mixed-textured soft mechanicals—Stage 3 (macaroni and cheese, microwavable children’s meals, soft chicken nuggets (not fast food), french fries, spaghetti, lasagna)
• 12-14 months soft table foods in appropriate sizes and shapes
• 16-18 months hard mechanicals (Cheerios, thin pretzel sticks, Ritz crackers, Saltine crackers, Pop Tarts, Fritos and most other chips)
Tracey Graves, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) certified speech-language pathologist for Children’s Developmental Workshop and Listening Ears, LLC.
