Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Weaning/Solids

What is the general view on feeding a 7-month-old baby eggs at teatime? I was thinking about scrambled egg with tomato and cream cheese. I am not an egg eater, but I’m sure it would make a nutritious, easy and quick tea.

You’re absolutely correct that scrambled eggs make an easy and healthy meal, especially when time is short. Adding some vegetables, such as chopped tomatoes and thinly sliced courgette, along with some starchy carbohydrate food such as toast fingers, ensures that the meal is well-balanced. Eggs in any form are a great source of protein and also contain valuable vitamins, including vitamin A, and minerals such as iron. Both the Government’s Food Standards Agency and the British Nutrition Foundation state that eggs are suitable to introduce to children over six months of age. Of course, they should then only be given once a child is accustomed to more introductory weaning foods, such as baby rice and fruit and vegetable purees, and only in dishes whose textures are suitable for your baby’s age and weaning stage.

Eggs should not be given earlier than six months, as they are a food that people can develop allergies to. This fact can cause concern, and some people prefer to wait until their children are about eight or nine months old before giving them eggs for the first time. There’s no harm in this, so long as other protein-rich foods such as meat or chicken are being eaten. The only time people might wish to delay introducing eggs until later than this is if there is a history of allergic conditions such as food allergies, eczema or asthma in the family. In this case you would be advised to discuss the timing with your health visitor or GP.

When serving your child eggs for the first time, you may wish to try giving the yolk and the white separately a few days apart, as they contain different types of protein. This will allow you to observe whether your child has a reaction to either part of the egg. One definite precaution to take at any child’s age is to cook the eggs until hard – this is because there is a risk of salmonella, a type of food poisoning, from eggs that are not completely cooked.