Weaning Your Child

Weaning and food allergy

The Department of Health recommends that high allergenic foods: Milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, soya, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, seeds can be introduced from 6 months of age. There is no evidence to support delaying introduction of these foods after 6 months. They should be introduced one at a time, with a gap of 3 days in between each new food, so that it is easier to identify any food that causes a reaction. Make sure your child is well at the time of introduction, i.e. not when they have a temperature, just had a vaccination, or have a cough or a cold.

Once your baby has had several attempts at eating the individual foods, you can start mixing them to increase the variety and enjoyment of eating. It may be helpful to keep a food and symptom diary (a food diary template can be found at the bottom of the page) to identify any foods that may have triggered a reaction. By the age of 12 months at the latest, your baby should have been introduced to all the major allergenic foods (where appropriate).

Allergy Insights Podcast: Weaning babies with a cow’s milk allergy

Allergy UK’s Clinical Dietetic Advisor, Laura Philips, is joined by acclaimed Paediatric Dietitian Lucy Upton, otherwise known on social media as The Children’s Dietitian, for a discussion which aims to inform parents on how to identify, diagnose and manage cow’s milk allergies when caring for their babies.