Fruit juices for feeding. When can I start giving juices to my baby?

More recently, juices were introduced from the age of 1 month, in order to correct the baby's nutrition in terms of vitamins and microelements. When do modern pediatricians recommend giving the child the first juice.
It is now believed that the early introduction of juices can lead to digestive disorders in crumbs: regurgitation, increased gas formation, diarrhea. Juice does not provide much nutritional value for a child. Juices are introduced into the diet of a child to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract: improve appetite, increase the production of gastric juice and pancreatic enzymes, and increase intestinal motility.

Therefore, today, juices are recommended to be administered no earlier than 4 months. And given that it is not recommended to start complementary foods with juices: first, vegetable puree is introduced, then cereals, and only then juices and fruit purees, in fact, juices are introduced into the child’s diet no earlier than 6 months of age.

So we have established that the first juice is introduced into the diet of a child from 6 months. The baby is 6 months old. He had already tasted vegetable puree and porridge. It's time to try the first juice.

first juice

• The most hypoallergenic (the most rarely causing allergies) is the juice from green apples.
• First, it is recommended to give the child juice without pulp, because it is less irritating to the gastrointestinal tract.
• It is better to dilute it by half with water at first.
• After your child gets used to apple juice without pulp, you can try giving him apple juice with pulp.
• Decided to start with apple juice without pulp.

Which juice to choose ready in a jar or make it yourself. There are no clear recommendations here - each mother makes her own choice.

Ready juice

Among ready-made children's juices there are direct juices And recovered from concentrates.

Direct juices

Directly squeezed juices are obtained from high quality fruits and vegetables, pasteurized and poured into bottles or bags. Those. such juices are subjected to heat treatment, in which some of the vitamins are destroyed. Direct-pressed juices are more expensive than reconstituted ones. Today juices for baby food of direct extraction are produced by Frutonyanya, Gardens of Pridonya, From diapers.

Reconstituted Juices

Reconstituted juices for children are obtained by diluting the concentrate. Concentrate or concentrated juice is obtained by evaporating water from freshly squeezed juice in a vacuum. At the same time, the boiling point of the juice is lower than usual (60-70 C), so vitamins are preserved, and microbes are destroyed. Thus, juices in jars undergo partial heat treatment, so they irritate the child's gastrointestinal tract less than freshly squeezed ones. Ready juice in a bottle is a cross between freshly squeezed juice and compote.

If you choose ready-made juice, read the composition carefully. The composition should contain only clarified apple juice, there should be no sugar and preservatives. The best packaging is a glass bottle or jar, because it allows you to evaluate the appearance of the product.

The disadvantage may be that it is not known from which apples the juice is made. Usually on the package they write simply: clarified apple juice without sugar. Maybe the apples are green, or maybe they are red. Therefore, a child may be allergic to one brand of juice, but not to another. Selection is carried out for each child individually.

But juices in jars are available all year round and are equally useful and safe throughout the calendar year.
The most popular brands of children's juices today: Agusha, Agu-Agu, Frutonyanya, Babushkino basket, Tyoma, Hipp, Heinz.

So, when choosing a ready-made apple juice, the first criterion is the composition, the second is the taste, the third is so that it does not cause allergies in the child. If the juice meets all the criteria, you can stop at this brand of juice and constantly give it to your child.

Freshly squeezed and homemade juice

It can be chosen in the autumn-summer period, when locally produced green apples are available. In winter and spring, there is no confidence in the benefits of such “freshly squeezed” juice.
So, we choose apples of green varieties without red stripes.
For the first juice, wash the apples well, pour over with boiling water, peel, rub on a fine grater and squeeze through cheesecloth. Then you get clarified juice.
If you squeeze the juice on a juicer, you get juice with pulp. It is not suitable for the first acquaintance with juice.
So, juice is selected.

How to give juice to a child Scheme for introducing juice into a child's diet

Juice begins to be given to the child from half a teaspoon, doubling its amount daily. One teaspoon contains 5 ml of juice

• First day - ½ teaspoon,
• Second day - 1 teaspoon,
• Third day - 2 teaspoons,
• Fourth day - 4 teaspoons,
• Fifth day - 8 teaspoons, (40 ml)
• Sixth day - 12-15 teaspoons, (60-75 ml)

For the first 3 days, it is recommended to dilute the juice by half with water, especially if you give your child freshly squeezed juice. From the fourth day, the juice can not be diluted.
So gradually, in 1 week, the amount of juice is brought to the recommended daily volume, which at 6 months is 60 ml, at 7 months 70 ml, at 8 months - 80 ml and by 1 year 100 ml.

For another week, it is recommended to give the child clarified apple juice in the recommended daily amount. After that, you can try giving your child apple juice with pulp. It contains more fiber and stimulates the bowels.

From a bottle from a spoon from a cup

Many mothers are interested in how to give juice to a child. Of course, from a bottle is easier. But all pediatricians unanimously repeat that they do not give complementary foods from a bottle. Because complementary foods teach the baby to adulthood, he must move from sucking to eating from a spoon and drinking from a cup. Learn to drink and eat like an adult. Therefore, juice is given first from a teaspoon, and then from a cup.

What time of day to juice

If juice is given to a child after the introduction of vegetable puree and porridge into his diet, then by the time the juice is introduced, he has already formed something like lunch (when he eats vegetable puree) and breakfast (when he eats porridge).
Juice should be given separately from these meals. Subsequently, the child will have a second breakfast or afternoon snack (when cottage cheese or cookies are added to the juice at a later age).

How many times a day to give the child juice

healthiest juice

When the baby is used to apple juice, you can also gradually give him a taste of carrot, pear, plum juice and blackcurrant juice.
This range may well be limited to the first year of a child's life.
But it must be remembered that only Apple juiceit is recommended to give the child every day, because

• Carrot and pumpkin juices contain a lot of carotene and, if consumed daily, can cause carotene jaundice in a child, so it is recommended to give them to a child 2-3 times a week.
• Plum juice has a laxative effect and can cause diarrhea in a child.
• Pear juice, on the contrary, strengthens and can cause constipation in the baby.
• Currant juice is quite acidic and can cause digestive disorders in a child.

But when the child tries all these juices and you make sure that he tolerates them well, he can be given mixed (multifruit) juice from the above fruits.

Thus, the first juice and the most useful juice for a child of the first year of life is apple.

How much water should a baby drink?

In recent years, the opinions of pediatricians have been divided. Is it necessary or not to give a newborn baby water? This question is still open.

Some parents are of the opinion that the baby gets enough liquid with milk when feeding. Others believe that food and drink should not be confused. Let everyone decide for himself how and what to feed the baby.

But you should never force a baby to drink water if he does not want it. The child must come to the point to start drinking clean water.

However, if the baby constantly demands to drink, especially if the thirst is caused by hot weather or malaise, and the parents will give breast milk or formula instead of clean water, then the extra calories consumed can provoke.

And extra pounds will not give anything good to a newborn. Therefore, in such situations, it is better to give the baby water or tea to drink.

The rate of fluid between feedings should not exceed 30 grams at a time. If the baby likes the taste of water, then it is worth giving it in an amount of no more than 100 grams per day.

The baby should drink only after feeding or between meals. Drinking should not be used as a substitute for food. Otherwise, the baby will begin to lose in, and the mother may lose lactation due to insufficient emptying of the mammary glands.

The use of liquids other than milk is very important, especially if the newborn is bottle-fed and suffers from constipation. And in case of illness, it is advisable to supplement the baby so that dehydration does not occur.

Of course, mother's milk is the best medicine for many, but it is impossible without liquid in such cases. At the same time, children's teas will be an excellent tool for replenishing fluids.

If it is not possible for parents to prepare juice for their child, then when buying, carefully study the recommendations on the package or label. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the manufacturer's regulations and watch the terms of use.

For example, juices for 8 months of age should never be given to a baby at 5-7 months.

Taking into account the recommendations of children's doctors and nutritionists, using only high-quality products in the child's diet, parents will give the baby the opportunity to grow up healthy and happy.

One of the most controversial issues in the issue of baby food is the introduction of juices into the diet. Sources and experts speak differently about this. The development and health status of each baby is very individual, so the decision when it is better to give the child juice is made by the parents themselves. Before that, it is advisable to study the materials on this issue and consult a pediatrician.

When parents decide to introduce a new food to their little one, they face a number of challenges. The variety of fruit drinks makes them think about what juices can be given to a child, and which ones should be discarded. There is an approximate scheme for the sequence of introducing drinks into the children's diet, which can be followed without fear for the health of the baby.

1.At 3 months:

• clarified, from green apples.

2. At 4–5 months:

1. clarified pear;
2. apricot;
3. peach;
4. carrot;
5. pumpkin;
6. banana.

3. From 6 months to a year:

1. combined: apple + apricot, apple + peach, carrot + orange, apple + pumpkin, apple + celery;
2. cherry;
3. cranberry;
4. from cherries;
5. from blackcurrant;
6. plum;
7. beet;
8. cabbage.

4. It is worth being careful with allergenic juices, which should be given to babies as a last resort:

1. citrus fruits (orange, tangerine, grapefruit);
2. crimson;
3. tomato;
4. strawberry;
5. grape (introduced last).

If a child has any diseases, parents should consult a pediatrician and give him those juices that will alleviate his condition. So, for example, with constipation, you need to drink a beetroot or plum drink, with anemia - apple, pear, apricot or peach.

From what age?

There are many opinions about when to give juices to a baby, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages:

• from 3 months: for a long time it was believed that at this age it was apple juice that increased hemoglobin in the blood of an infant, but this argument was refuted, since iron is practically not absorbed by a small organism from such products;
• from 4 months the pancreas begins to produce enzymes for the processing of more serious food than breast milk;
• from 6 months- this age is recommended by most pediatricians;
• from 8 or 9 months: it is already safe to introduce apple juice into;
• after a year: there are experts who say that a small body can fully process such drinks only at this age.

If the baby has already had manifestations of allergies, it is better to postpone such complementary foods for a later period. If there are no deviations in his condition, you can do it earlier. If you are still not sure when to start giving juice to your child, it is best to consult a doctor.

How to introduce juices into the children's diet?

In addition to the age and type of drinks, there are a number of rules that should be followed so that the introduction of juices becomes a pleasant event in the life of a baby. Parents should consider that:

1. you can give juice immediately after morning feeding;
2. on the 1st day of introducing the drink into baby food, you need to give the baby just a few drops, and then very carefully monitor the reaction of his body during the day: is there diarrhea or profuse regurgitation, excessive rumbling of the abdomen; in the presence of such symptoms, complementary foods should be stopped and returned to it later;
3. the scheme for introducing juice into the baby's diet is simple: in the first week - half a teaspoon per day, in the second week - a whole teaspoon, in the third week - 2 teaspoons per day;
4. two weeks after the first feeding, you can start giving mixed drinks, which have the highest nutritional value;
5. the daily dose by one year should be about 50-60 ml, which can be given one and a half hours before the second feeding;
6. it is better to start complementary foods with industrial drinks, on the jars of which it is indicated that they belong to baby food and the age at which they can be introduced is determined;
7. concentrated juices should not be given: it is better to dilute them with water in a 50/50 ratio;
8. juices with pulp can be given after a year;
9. natural home-made drinks are recommended to be introduced from a year and a half and not more than 200 ml per day;
10. store-bought ordinary juices are allowed to be consumed by children only from the age of three.

Dangers of early introduction

Today, many doctors are against giving juice to babies under the age of one. They argue this opinion with a number of negative consequences of such early feeding:

• juices have a bad effect on the work of the stomach, disrupt the normal process of digestion;
• they can cause allergies;
• fruit drinks contain a lot of sugar, so children, having become accustomed to sweets, may later refuse healthy food - cereals and soups;
• they do not satisfy the baby's need for the daily norm of vitamins and trace elements.

Before introducing juice to a child in his constant diet, each parent must understand for himself that there is nothing healthier and tastier than mother's milk. Therefore, all doctors advise young mothers in the presence of milk not to rush with complementary foods before 6 months.

Every parent has heard about the benefits of freshly squeezed juices for children. It is believed that fresh cannot harm a child, since it is made by hand at home without the addition of flavorings and dyes. However, this is not quite true. In order for freshly squeezed juices to be useful for a child, you need to follow certain rules for their preparation and use.

Many parents believe that natural freshly squeezed juices are a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients for a growing child's body. However, doctors are still arguing about the real benefits of fresh juices for children.

Juice is not just a dessert or a drink to quench your thirst. Juice is a therapeutic and prophylactic drink. In folk medicine, freshly squeezed juices from cabbage, etc. are used as medicines for the treatment of skin, intestinal, and endocrine diseases.

Proven Facts About Freshly Made Fruit Juices:

1. A glass of fresh juice contains a large amount of fruit acids. The higher the concentration of the drink, the more acids it contains. They provoke the appearance in a child, irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and esophagus, increase peristalsis, and cause bloating.
2. To prepare a glass of natural juice, half a kilogram of fruit is required. Although the skin, pits, and core will be discarded, most of the fructose in the fruit will remain. Drinking a glass of seemingly harmless juice, the child heavily loads the pancreas, the body may not be able to cope with so much sugar that enters the body. The younger the child and the sweeter the fruit, the greater the risk of acquiring impaired glucose tolerance at an early age.
3. Drinking freshly squeezed juices in large quantities, the child endangers the delicate enamel of milk teeth. The destruction of enamel causes caries at an early age.
4. Regular intake of fresh juice reduces appetite in children.
5. In natural juices, all substances that can cause are preserved. Due to an increase in their concentration, pseudo-allergies often develop in children.
6. Using freshly squeezed juices to quench your thirst increases the risk of overdosing on fruit sugars, pigments, and acids.

Benefits of freshly squeezed juice

In order for home-made fresh juice to be as useful as possible for a child, you need to follow the rules for preparation and use:

• do not give fresh juice to children under one year old;
• use for the preparation of juices fruits and vegetables growing in the place of residence of the child;
• choose not very sweet varieties of fruits, do not add sugar to the drink;
• before cooking, fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed and poured over with boiling water;
• so that as many vitamins and as possible are preserved in the juice, fruits and vegetables are rubbed on a plastic grater along with the peel;
• when mixing different juices, they adhere to the principle of "green with green", "yellow with yellow", "red with red";
• mixed juices should not be given to children under 3 years of age;
• no need to filter fresh juices, vitamins are stored longer in juices with pulp;
• sweet fruit juices should be alternated with vegetable juices containing less sugar;
• you can’t mix vegetable and fruit juices: different enzymes are needed for their digestion;
• the child should drink natural juice within 15 minutes after preparation.

When exposed to light and oxygen oxidation, fresh juice quickly loses its beneficial properties. Half an hour after preparation, there will be no vitamins left in the drink, fermentation processes begin, the emergence of pathogenic bacteria, etc.

In order to fully benefit from the juice, you need to consider the following rules:

• after teething, it is better for children to drink juice through a straw;
• fresh is given to the child no earlier than an hour after eating;
• the daily norm of freshly squeezed juice for a child under 3 years old is 30 ml, from 3 to 10 years old - 60 ml (at the same time it is divided into two doses).

Some nuances

Freshly squeezed juice should be consumed no earlier than one hour after eating and no later than 15 minutes after preparation.

Apple juice, even for an older child, can be given only in small quantities, since it contains a lot of fruit acids and can increase the acidity of gastric contents. A baked apple is much healthier for a child.

In order to assimilate the carotene contained in the fresh juice, you need to add a spoonful of cream to the drink or give it to the child along with a slice of bread and butter.

Summary for parents

Before offering freshly squeezed juices to children, especially if they have problems with the gastrointestinal tract or a tendency to allergies, you should definitely consult a doctor. For your child to get the most benefit from fruits and vegetables, they should be eaten whole, not juiced.

Autumn is the time for drinking freshly squeezed juices. Most are confident in their extreme usefulness. Is it so?

Turned on the juicer, and a glass of freshly squeezed juice is ready! And tasty, and healthy, and a lot of vitamins, many people think. But they are only partly right. In order for the body to process and assimilate all the benefits of fresh juice, the pancreas must be well adapted to it, but in children, even practically healthy ones, it is not yet ready for such high loads. And for any problems with the gastrointestinal tract or a tendency to allergies, freshly squeezed juices should not be given at all without consulting a pediatrician.

Important point! Of course, freshly squeezed juices are much healthier than juice from a bag or bottle. But you need to understand that juice is not a dessert or a drink, but treatment-and-prophylactic product, so it must be used carefully and correctly.

• At the age of 3 to 10 years, freshly squeezed juice can be given for medicinal purposes only twice a day, thirty minutes before meals, one serving should not be more than 30 ml, i.e. two dessert spoons. Bigger is not better, overdose can cause cavities and disorders gastrointestinal tract. Juice can be diluted one to one with drinking water.
• Before squeezing, vegetables and fruits should be thoroughly washed and defective areas removed, for example, an apple with a mashed side or a beaten tomato may contain toxic substances.
• Fresh must be used immediately after its preparation, it cannot be stored until evening in the refrigerator - in 10-15 minutes it oxidizes and the vitamins contained in it are destroyed.
• For children with a cold, freshly squeezed juice is contraindicated, as it stimulates the secretion of mucus, which can increase cough or runny nose.
• If the baby suffers from gastritis, other gastrointestinal disorders, as well as allergies, a doctor's permission is required to drink fresh juice.

A few nuances

Children under the age of 3 are recommended to give unmixed juices, for example, pear or carrot without the addition of other species. In this case, the likelihood of allergies is less, useful substances are absorbed in a larger volume. Mixed juices can be given to healthy children from the age of three. When preparing various combinations of fresh juices, you can not use grapefruit or lemon juice, they are very aggressive for children's ventricles.

Put vegetables or fruits into the juicer separately, and mix after that already squeezed juices. There is only one exception: when squeezing juices from vegetables, you can add celery or parsley to the original products.

For the preparation of berry juice, a specially designed juicer should be used.

By the end of winter, the content of vitamins in fruits and vegetables drops sharply, so it is better to use winter types of fruits, and if the child does not have allergic reactions - oranges, tangerines, you can give him lingonberry or cranberry juice.

Four basic rules:

1. You can not mix fresh vegetable juice with fruit juice, as their digestion requires different enzymes.
2. Often served in cafes, mixes of fresh juices from various fruits can only be given to children over ten years old.
3. Fruit juices are mixed according to the principle: red with red, green with green.
4. Each fruit for juicing should not be used more than twice a week.

Weekly diet

When and how much juice to give your child depends on the goal that you set for yourself, for example, to wake up the appetite, recharge your batteries or relieve fatigue. Do you still remember that one serving should not be more than 30 ml? A child can drink juice from fruits in the morning, and from vegetables in the evening, or even get by with a mono-fresh. Well, let's start the "juicy" week!

• On Monday we drink orange juice, it contains enough vitamin C to help the student successfully withstand the increased workload of the school week, sharpen his memory, and positively affect concentration.
• On Tuesday, we will prepare tomato juice with the addition of celery or parsley.
• Wednesday. We will give the child pure carrot juice or mix it with other vegetable juices, excluding tomato juice.
• Thursday. Grape juice.
• Friday. Pear juice.
• Saturday. Blueberry juice helps relieve eye fatigue. Many people believe that blueberries cause constipation. Yes, it has such a property, but 30 ml of blueberry juice will not create such problems.
• For Sunday, a mix of carrot and cucumber juice with the addition of celery is suitable.

Juice treatment

Freshly squeezed juices are effectively applied and for medicinal purposes. But at the same time, only a nutritionist or gastroenterologist should prescribe them to a child and draw up a regimen. Here the main role is played by the nature of the disease and the general state of health. It is necessary to take into account the tendency to allergies and many other factors. In any case, the doctor will first recommend the juices needed to cleanse the body, and only then prescribe the juice directly for treatment.

For frequently ill children, especially in spring and autumn, the doctor may recommend a treatment course for ten days: once a day you give the child a mixture of carrot and beet juice, mixed in a ratio of three to one. For kidney disorders, it is good to add asparagus juice to such a mix. It, like fresh cucumber juice, has a good diuretic effect.

A few more subtleties

Fresh from apples the child can only be consumed in small quantities, otherwise the acidification process will begin in the stomach, which will cause belching, heartburn and other problems. Preschoolers are generally recommended to eat baked apples: they adsorb and help eliminate toxins from the body. Also, the child is useful apple concoctions and compotes. But pomegranate and grapefruit juice is not recommended for children. Carrot juice should be mixed with cream or “snacked” with bread and a slice of butter, as fats are needed so that the carotenoids contained in carrots can form vitamin A.