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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To give 4 month food pouches to 13 month old?

83 replies

Bananaandpears · 16/12/2021 18:41

I it unreasonable to give these pouches to a 13 month old baby? Tends to be the fruit ones apples pears etc.

OP posts:
4intheCorner · 16/12/2021 20:20

I'm 35 and I eat them 😁. The apple one are great for rice pudding 🤤. Also my 4 year old has them occasionally.

Christmasbutmakeitspooky · 16/12/2021 21:18

I still buy the fruity ones for my 1 year old, they make a good small snack, or something else extra for him to have after his normal breakfast if he’s not totally full.

Pinkflipflop85 · 16/12/2021 21:48

@birdglasspen

What feeding team recommends pouches and jars? Any food professional would know they are high in sugars and an expensive alternative to normal food. Homemade dinners, puréed fruits and veg are going to be better nutritionally for your child. Op, can’t you and other family members eat the blueberries child can’t manage? Or make them into muffins or freeze them for smoothies. A ripe pear is quite soft I’m sure a child could manage one. Apples can be grated into pork or beef mince for burgers or sausage meat for sausage rolls. Stewed apples with cinnamon and raisins... yum, mix with plain yoghurt or use to top porridge. I can’t wait to feed my youngest these things when he will eat them unlike his older brothers!😂
The feeding team at the Evalina hospital who are very concerned about my daughter's frequent choking episodes and subsequent food refusal.
Missey85 · 17/12/2021 05:20

I'm a grown up and buy them still I love the mushy apples their yum! Smile

Etherealhedgehog · 17/12/2021 05:30

They're not FOR four month olds, they're FROM four months (you'd actually be going against NHS advice if you gave them to a four month old)

DragonMovie · 17/12/2021 05:48

I don’t give my son puréed fruit because it isn’t nutritionally the same as whole fruit - it’s just a sugar hit. When you’re first weaning a baby I’m pretty sure they say be careful with puréed fruit as it might make them refuse healthier, more savoury stuff. We learnt this late - baby did become fussy and we stopped all sweet foods for a month. It sorted the problem out and now he’s a pretty unfussy 3.5 yo.

I do understand that some babies might need puréed food for choking disorders etc but does it have to be fruit?

CeeceeBloomingdale · 17/12/2021 05:51

Completely fine as long as they also have food they need to chew. As adults we eat soup, custard etc which are similar consistencies.

CrackersDontMatter · 17/12/2021 05:56

I give them to my two year old as snacks, she loves a "squeeze apple" or whatever. They are really handy for on the go and you can keep a couple in the bag or glove box without them going to waste if they don't get eaten straight away.

liveforsummer · 17/12/2021 06:04

As demonstrated by the answers, of course there is no sudden cut off. My dc are 8 and 12 and still eat the organic rice cakes. The pouches are absolutely fine as a treat or desert but I think what OP is asking is are they ok as a substitute for whole fruit. The answer to that is no.

PickElaine · 17/12/2021 06:18

Surely it would be both cheaper and better for the environment if the fruit she didn't eat just went off and you threw it away. And she could have the opportunity to 'level up' her fruit eating skills or whatever Johnson called it at the same time. Grin

I'd use the time she's off nursery over Christmas to see how she goes with eating fruit and vegetables. Small children do hardly eat anything compared to adults. Don't fall into the trap of feeling more reassured that she's eaten because it's been measured out by a baby food company.

If you freeze the blueberries, you could get some out every night before you go to bed for the next day.

Original poster
Bananaandpears · 17/12/2021 07:11

Thanks. Yes, I suppose I was wondering if they were an alternative to actual fruit - she really doesn’t seem to eat much with me at all. Breakfast isn’t too bad but then she regularly refuses lunch and dinner, or has tiny mouthfuls. Yet she seems to eat fine at nursery - no idea why. I’m really looking forward to having her home for three weeks but I’m also a bit stressed about the food!

OP posts:
ChristmasCardDyslexia · 17/12/2021 08:06

My 7 year old still has the Ella's Kitchen Fruit Pouches on her porridge or in yogurt, not sure what age they are.

Deliaskis · 17/12/2021 08:30

I used to worry about this too. Then I stopped! I realised as we were travelling to various places that it's only in the UK that fruit puree is thought of as baby food. In several other countries they appear with yogurts in the supermarket as a perfectly acceptable fruit dessert, with no upper age limit!

I struggled to get fruit into DD (now 10), and apart from the occasional banana or some strawberries, still do. Fruit puree is not as good as whole fruit, but it's better than no fruit at all.

JKDinomum · 17/12/2021 08:34

In France all children's meals seem to finish with "compote" which is pureed apple. This is for children up to 12. So there's nothing wrong with eating pureed fruit at any age. But I personally wouldn't buy pouches as they are so expensive. Just buy fruit.

DontPeeInThePlayHouse · 17/12/2021 12:44

@UmmAyisha unfortunately we've tried all sorts but he is extremely self restricted when it comes to food due to sensory issues. As it is we only have 4 items of food he'll eat. It's a constant worry.

Rexthesnail · 17/12/2021 13:01

My 4yr old has them still

SlashBeef · 17/12/2021 13:04

Yanbu
My friend still uses them to get fruit into her 8 year old as he has additional needs and an extremely limited diet. They're fine.
Obviously I would keep offering whole fruits regularly as well so she can get practise chewing.

MaryShelley1818 · 17/12/2021 13:25

For a 1-yr old toddler it would obviously be better to try and encourage eating proper fruit. I wouldn't want to use as an alternative to proper food but obviously given occasionally would be fine.

CompetitiveMumming · 17/12/2021 14:45

ha, the 9 year old and 5 year old love a sneaky baby pouch :)

LeedleLee · 17/12/2021 15:07

They're just like little smoothies, aren't they? My DD is 2.5 and eats regular meals, but she'll have the odd pouch of fruit for a quick snack. Nothing wrong with it IMO.

birdglasspen · 17/12/2021 15:16

I see they recommend smooth food due to her choking, I assume this could be food you prepare yourself and then purée? Nothing against purée anything just hate the waste and nutritional rubbishness of baby pouches and jars!

ISpyCobraKai · 17/12/2021 15:24

I like them and I'm 44.
Just because you don't need something, it doesn't mean you should never have it.

LakeShoreD · 17/12/2021 15:32

Of course it’s fine! In other countries it seems to really common for kids to have them for snacks way past weaning. Apple sauce pouches are so popular in the US for kids snacks, my French relatives all give their kids pom potes, I think it’s just the British that often think it’s just for young babies.

Emerald5hamrock · 17/12/2021 15:36

Yes it is okay if part of a balanced diet, if mainly eating soft foods I'd stop and introduce some crunchy stuff before she takes a dislike of texture.

ISpyCobraKai · 17/12/2021 15:42

Does this just apply to fruit puree?
What about say mashed potato, or yoghurt, soup even?
Also cause for concern and only for young babies.
Thought not.