delayed solids question

will have problems with solid foods

This is another myth that is not supported by research for normally

developing, healthy babies. Keep reading for more on this…

Is there a “window of opportunity” for starting solids?

There is certainly a “window of opportunity” for starting solids, but this

varies widely from baby to baby. At some point (usually around 6-8

months) baby will become developmentally ready to eat solid foods (able

to sit up, chew, pick up food, etc.). At around the same age, the

gastrointestinal tract is physiologically mature enough to handle a

diversity of foods. At this point, most healthy babies will be ready and

willing to eat (even if it’s only occasionally and in tiny amounts).

Occasionally, parents will be told that baby must start solids by 6 months

(or 8 months, or 10 months) or baby will have problems learning to

accept and eat foods that require chewing. This “limited window of

opportunity” idea is widely believed, but unproven.

I’ve not been able to find any research data to support the idea that there

is a limited window of opportunity for introducing solids in normally

developing, healthy children. There does appear to be some limited

evidence that babies who have been tube-fed long-term or have serious

developmental delays may have problems learning to eat if they don’t get

a chance to practice eating solids between 6 & 10 months. A small study

involving case studies of several mentally retarded children was done

back in 1964 (Illingworth RS, Lister J. The critical or sensitive period, with

special reference to certain feeding problems in infants and children. J

Pediatr 1964;65(6) part 1:839-48.). This study suggested that there may

be a “critical and/or sensitive” period for introducing chewable textures to

these children, and if solids are not introduced during this time, an

important developmental milestone may be missed (possibly leading to

rejection of solids later on). This study is the only one I’ve found

referenced with regard to the “limited window of opportunity” claims

regarding the normal development of children.

I asked a speech & language pathologist I know about her experiences

with this. She has worked with many young children who have feeding

problems, including developmental delays and problems with chewing

and oral texture aversion. She said that she could not think of any reason

that delaying solids would cause feeding problems, and said that the the

problems in the children she had worked with had generally started at

birth or relatively soon after. None of these children had a feeding