Top 10 Foods to Avoid Giving Your Baby Under 1 Year Old if You Don't Want to Harm Them

Many families, due to circumstances, cannot afford formula milk for their babies, and sometimes mothers do not have breast milk for various reasons (abandonment, loss of the mother,...), so they feed their babies cow's milk or soy milk. However, this can be harmful to the baby due to several reasons:

• Cow's milk or soy milk does not provide adequate nutrition nor the appropriate ratio of nutrients for the baby, such as: Iron deficiency, not meeting the iron needs like breast milk and formula milk, and containing unnecessary protein and minerals that can be harmful.
• Introducing cow's milk or soy milk to babies early on can be harmful to their health, causing intestinal bleeding and kidney damage.

Advice for Mothers:

• For babies under 1 year old, mothers should only feed them breast milk or iron-fortified formula milk.
• Once the baby is over 1 year old, mothers can introduce cow's milk or soy milk to the baby in moderate amounts.

Eating nuts is beneficial for health due to the rich nutrients they provide. Nuts such as sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, and cashews are especially good for pregnant women, as they help the fetus gain weight quickly. However, for children under 1 year old, parents should not feed them because:

• Children under 1 year old are prone to choking when eating, especially when they are just starting to eat solid foods and trying foods of different sizes and shapes. Nuts are usually small in size, and parents may not notice if a child accidentally swallows them, leading to choking hazards. It's advisable to grind them thoroughly before feeding.
• Although nutritious, nuts are also among the top allergenic foods (some people are allergic to peanuts or beans), especially when there is a family history of nut allergies or a predisposition to allergies.

Advice for parents:

• Before feeding children, parents should check if anyone in the family has a history of allergies. If not, when feeding children, only give them a small amount first to monitor any allergic reactions. If the child shows no signs of allergy, they can eat a larger amount later on, but moderation is key, and they should not eat too much.
• There are many other nutritious foods that contain equivalent nutrients to nuts that parents can consider. Parents should remember that the best food for children is breast milk.

Chocolate has an enticing sweet taste, making it always a tempting food for young children. However, for children under 1 year old, chocolate not only lacks benefits but also brings harm to them because:

• Chocolate has a sweet taste and contains excessive sugar. A food with such a high sugar content can have many adverse effects on children, such as: Children are prone to tooth decay because they often neglect brushing their teeth properly without parental supervision, Children are at risk of obesity if they consume too much chocolate because the chocolate they eat is usually milk chocolate containing mostly milk and sugar (unlike dark chocolate containing mainly cocoa, which has many health benefits), just one chocolate bar provides a large amount of energy or calories, so if children eat a lot and have little physical activity, they are prone to overweight, obesity. Moreover, the risk of obesity will lead to other risks such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,...
• Due to its caffeine content, when children eat chocolate, they are prone to restlessness, insomnia, and sleep disturbances. For everyone, especially for young children, sleep not only helps restore physical strength but also promotes brain development, height growth, so caffeine is very harmful to children.

Advice for parents:

• Parents should keep chocolate out of children's reach.
• Replace sweet foods like chocolate with other beneficial foods for children such as fruits (banana, apple, papaya,...)

Eggs are delicious, nutritious, affordable, and easy to find. Eggs contain high levels of nutrients, making them very good for health. However, for young children, eggs, or more specifically egg whites, are not entirely beneficial because:

• If not properly cooked, children are prone to poisoning due to eggs being uncooked. The reason given is that the oviduct of the chicken contains many bacteria, especially salmonella, so both the inside and outside of the egg can be contaminated. Salmonella can cause poisoning, so if the eggs are not fully cooked, they can cause poisoning. Proper egg processing methods also need to be consulted, not just boiled or heated up because, like with boiled eggs, if you don't know how to peel them, the outer shell may burn (making it difficult to digest) but the inside remains raw.
• Egg whites inhibit the body from absorbing Vitamin H, which is an essential vitamin in the process of using protein and carbohydrates.
• Some children with sensitive constitutions may be allergic to eggs.

Advice for parents:

• Children 8-12 months old: eat 1 yolk per meal, 3-4 times a week.
• Children 1-2 years old: should eat 3-4 eggs/week, including egg whites.
• Children from 2 years old onwards, if the child likes eggs, they can eat 1 egg/day.
• Children under 1 year old should only eat egg yolks, which can be processed into egg powder: Cook the flour, beat the egg yolk into a bowl with finely chopped vegetables, beat the egg and vegetables evenly, pour the egg and vegetables into the boiling flour on the stove, stir quickly, when the flour boils up, it's done, do not cook it too thoroughly.

Oranges are highly beneficial for health, especially for children as they provide essential calcium for growth and height development, along with vitamin C to boost immunity. However, nutrition experts advise that the most suitable age to supplement oranges for children is when they are 1 year old. Giving oranges to children under 1 year old without proper consideration can lead to some adverse effects such as:

• When children consume oranges or lemons, they are prone to diarrhea because their digestive system is still immature. Even if the child is breastfed, if the mother eats fruits with a sour taste, the child may also experience diarrhea.
• When mothers supplement orange juice at the wrong time: When the child is too hungry and drinks orange juice, the acidic content in the juice can harm the child's stomach. Conversely, when the child is too full and drinks orange juice, the child will feel bloated and not want to eat anything else.
• When mothers directly feed oranges to children by slicing them without removing the peel, seeds may cause choking hazards for the child.

• It is best to only supplement orange or tangerine for complementary feeding when the child is over 1 year old. For children under 1 year old, when supplementing, it is necessary to dilute the juice before giving it to the child (for example, the ratio of orange juice to water is 1:10).
• When giving children orange juice, it is advisable to use a spoon instead of a bottle to avoid the risk of tooth decay in babies.

Parents might recall the catchy nursery rhyme 'Johny Johny Yes Papa', which begins with Papa asking Johny, '...Eating Sugar?' It seems like every child enjoys consuming sugar due to its sweet taste and the sensation of scooping it up and licking it off their hands (similar to eating raw Milo or licking condensed milk). However, parents should not indulge this habit in children because:

• Children who consume sugar are prone to tooth decay.
• Introducing sugar to children early on fosters a habit of consuming sweet foods, which is detrimental to their future health. Sweet foods pose more risks than benefits (risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, etc.).

Advice for parents:

• Parents should only introduce sugar into a child's diet when the child is 12 months old.
• Replace sugar with other naturally sweet fruits such as apples, grapes, papayas, etc.

Due to busy lifestyles, mothers sometimes opt for processed foods purchased from supermarkets or convenience stores for their children because they are quick and convenient. However, this is not a wise choice because:

• Even for adults, processed foods are not beneficial as they contain preservatives and high levels of salt. Salt plays a role in extending the shelf life of processed foods and preventing spoilage.
• Talking about salt with young children, it's very harmful to them because their kidney function is not yet fully developed. Supplementing salt when the kidneys are not fully developed and cannot excrete all of this salt will cause salt to accumulate and affect kidney function.

Advice for mothers:

• Avoid giving children, especially those under 1 year old, processed foods.
• Replace processed foods with homemade raw foods.

Some mothers innocently believe that adding a bit of salt to their baby's puree makes it more flavorful than bland porridge and helps the baby gain weight better. However, feeding salt to a baby under 1 year old is harmful because:

• Young children's kidney function is not yet fully developed, and supplementing salt to them at this age burdens their kidney function, which can affect kidney function later on.
• Developing a salty eating habit in children from an early age, there's a saying 'Salty food harms the kidneys,' not only that, salty food also affects the function of other vital organs like the heart.

Advice for mothers:

• Do not feed salt to children under 1 year old.
• There's no need to replace salt with any other food, as breast milk alone is sufficient for the most comprehensive development of the child.

Old folks often pass down the secret of tongue cleaning with honey to keep a baby's tongue clean and free from thrush. However, for babies under 1 year old, using honey for tongue cleaning or adding honey to a baby's diet is extremely dangerous because:

• Honey contains Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which is harmful to the intestines of babies under 1 year old.
• Honey can also cause allergies in babies.

Advice for mothers:

• A baby's intestines will mature after the first year of life, at which point it is safe to start giving the baby honey. If, unfortunately, a baby under 1 year old consumes honey, monitor whether the baby develops any allergies, stomach pain, or digestive issues. If so, seek medical attention immediately.
• Replace with natural sweet fruits such as mangoes, bananas, papayas,...

Colorful, refreshing jelly cubes with enticing flavors may make eating enjoyable for children, but they are actually sweet killers for them because:

• Choking on jelly is the most dangerous as it can lead to death. Jelly is inherently slippery, often produced in cylindrical shapes. When children eat a lot, or peel off the outer layer and squeeze the top of the jelly, it will be pushed out very quickly and forcefully. Many children have been choked when a large piece of jelly is quickly pushed into their mouth, unexpectedly slipping into their throat, causing choking.
• Jelly is soft, so it easily changes shape when flowing down the airway, adhering tightly to the airway, which can lead to immediate death. Moreover, when using utensils to pick up jelly, it is easy to break into pieces. These fragments can further fall deep into the airway, complicating rescue efforts.
• Jelly contains a lot of sugar and gelling agents such as sodium alginate, agar powder, etc. Eating too much can cause abdominal distension and indigestion.

Advice for mothers:

• As a preventive measure, it is best not to give children under 5 years old jelly to eat.
• Adult supervision is required during consumption.
• Replace with fresh fruits.