my sil asked me if it is safe to give her dd cows milk at 10.5 mths?

[2sprogsmum]

So........I said I'd ask Mumsnet, of course!
Am I right in saying that this would be fine if she had a good balanced diet of food due to Iron, which I am unsure whether she has as she is totally fed on jars?

It's not okay as a drink. Your sil can use it in cooking. And you really need to persuade her to add some home cooking to her dd's diet or she'll only ever want to eat processed mush. She needs textured food to literally get her teeth into not only from a dietary pov but in order to develope her jaw for talking.

HTH

I went on and on and on about weaning on home cooked food when she started weaning her dd, but me and dp started to notice that other family 'looked' at each other when we said anything, so we took it as a sign to shut up.

The protein structures of cows milk are more complex to that of formula milk, and are therefore not as easily digestible by baby. Cows milk can be used in cooking at this age, but is not recommended as a drink in its own right until the age of 12 mths.
Although jars are a useful convenience food, they are of course processed and pasteurised at high temperatures so the nutritional levels may be different to that of freshly prepared food. Vitamin drops are a good supplement for this, but check with your HV first. Consider preparing home foods without salt or spices, adding these after you have taken out a portion for DD. You can then 'finish' your dishes to cater for the adult taste buds!

But it doesn't need to be elaborate casseroles and bakes. Finger foods are fast to prepare - many need no preparation - and do the job just as well.

I'm not anti-jar, I use them when travelling and sometimes for pudding, but they can't be a substitute for 'real' food.

I switched mine over at about 11 months and they are perfectly fine. They had a good diet of mostly homemade food on top.

I would have thought that if this lo only has jars she'll find cow's milk hard to digest.