Meat is a great and healthy way to add protein to your diet, with many different types of meat containing various valuable nutrients. However, children, especially those under the age of four, can have a lot of problems adding meat into their diet. Here are some ways to safely add in meat into your child’s diet.
Start With Soft Meat
Children under the age of 4 can have a lot of issues with eating tougher meats. Even cut-up meats can become choking hazards for children that young, which is why you want soft meats. Choose meats they can comfortably chew with their gums, like pureed or ground meats. This way, they can eat it without needing to chew fully.
Cut Into Small Pieces
Once they have their teeth and grow up a bit, children can switch to eating tougher meats, but it still needs some preparation. When you serve a child meat at this age, you should cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces, so they don’t have to chew as much and won’t choke if they don’t chew enough.
Be Careful of Flavor
Outside the safety of eating meat also comes the need to foster your child’s desire to eat meat. Children can struggle with extreme flavors when it comes to meat. Very dry or spicy meat can cause a lot of issues and turn them off of meat for years to come. Start with milder meat with good preparation to increase the odds of your child liking it. If you’ve issues finding this kind of meat, then try using an online sausage store for the exact meat you need.
Look Out for Any Bad Signs
Although meats are very healthy for people, not everyone can eat them healthily. There are a lot of allergies and sensitivities in the world, so when you start a new diet, keep a sharp eye out for any bad signs. Things such as hives, diarrhea, swelling, or gastrointestinal trouble are just a few of the signs. Contacting your child’s doctor before feeding them meat may be a good idea.
These are just a few ways you can start trying to add meat into your child’s diet at a young age. The biggest trick is finding a type of meat that’s safe for a child to consume. But once you find a good option, your child will come to love meat!