0-4 months: Breastfeeding/bottle feeding

• Even if you feel that you do not have enough milk, you should not usually give your baby bottle feeds as a supplement. This will cause your baby to drink less from your breast, which in turn will result in you producing less milk. The more your baby drinks from your breast, the more milk will be available for the next feed. Although many mothers worry about not having enough milk, it is actually very rare that there is not enough breast milk for the baby. If this is the case, ask your pediatrician or midwife.

4-8 months: Introduction of solid foods

• Do not feed your child in a room where there is a lot of noise (e.g. TV, radio, etc.). Such distractions make it difficult for your baby to concentrate on eating.
• You should not sit too high during feeding. To create a positive atmosphere during the meal, it is important that you can establish good eye-level contact with your baby.
• Do not put pressure on your baby and do not force eating! This can make food resistance worse. Pressure and coercion will teach your baby that mealtimes are unpleasant. Please remember that you as parents can decide when, how often and what your baby gets to eat. However, your baby decides whether and how much to eat.
• Do not offer your baby too large portions at first. Certain signs such as turning away, shaking the head or showing disinterest will tell you that your child is full.
• Do not feed your child too quickly. You should give your child enough time to discover the food in detail, for example by touching or smelling it.
• Do not offer your child too many different new foods at one time.

From 8 months: Solid food

• Do not combine praise and blame! Try not to point out past eating failures to your child. Instead, be happy with your child when a meal has gone well.
• Don’t try to get your child to eat by bribing him or her. For example, avoid phrases such as “You’ll get sweets if you eat this” – this unnecessarily devalues the main course.
• Don’t punish your child if he or she doesn’t eat! This makes the meal a more stressful situation for everyone.
• Don’t look for someone to blame for your child’s feeding difficulties.
• Seek help and support from your midwife, your pediatrician or a counseling center at an early stage. In the Emergency & Help section you will find a list of suitable contact points for professional help in your area.