The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by the gradual introduction of solid foods starting at six months while breastfeeding continues up to age two or beyond. These guidelines, updated in 2023, apply to all infants whether breastfed or formula-fed and cover everything from first foods to meal frequency and nutrient priorities.
Exclusive Breastfeeding for Six Months
WHO and UNICEF recommend initiating breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and providing nothing but breast milk for the first six months. That means no water, juice, or other foods during this period. Breast milk alone meets all of a baby’s nutritional and hydration needs during these early months.
For mothers who cannot breastfeed, infant formula is the appropriate alternative. The core principle stays the same: milk (breast milk or formula) is the sole food source until around six months of age, when a baby’s nutritional demands begin to outpace what milk alone can provide.
Starting Solid Foods at Six Months
At about six months, babies need more nutrients than milk can supply on its own, particularly iron and zinc. This is when complementary feeding begins: introducing solid foods alongside continued breastfeeding or formula feeding. The 2023 WHO guideline on complementary feeding, which replaced earlier separate guidance for breastfed and non-breastfed children, defines this stage as lasting from 6 to 23 months of age.
First foods should be nutrient-dense rather than simply filling. Iron-rich options are a top priority because an infant’s iron requirements between 6 and 12 months are the highest of any stage in life, at roughly 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight per day. Good early choices include pureed meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and iron-fortified infant cereals. Iron from red meat like beef and pork is about 25% absorbed by the body, while iron from fortified cereals is closer to 10%, so animal-source foods are especially efficient at building iron stores.
Zinc is equally important during this window. Protein-rich foods like meat, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy products supply both iron and zinc along with healthy fats that support brain development.
Dietary Diversity and Food Groups
WHO tracks a measure called “minimum dietary diversity,” which means a child between 6 and 23 months should eat foods from at least four out of seven food groups each day. Those groups include grains and tubers, legumes and nuts, dairy, meat and fish, eggs, vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables, and other fruits and vegetables. Meeting this threshold helps ensure a child gets a broad range of vitamins and minerals rather than relying too heavily on any single food.
In practice, this means variety matters from the start. Rather than offering the same cereal every day, rotating through different grains, vegetables, fruits, and protein sources builds a more complete nutritional foundation. It also exposes babies to a wider range of flavors and textures, which can shape eating preferences well into childhood.
How Often To Feed
Babies and toddlers have small stomachs and need to eat frequently. The general guidance is to offer food or drink every two to three hours, which works out to about five or six eating occasions per day: roughly three meals and two to three snacks. This pattern supports steady energy intake and gives enough opportunities throughout the day to meet nutrient needs, especially as portion sizes at each sitting remain small.
Meal frequency naturally increases as a baby gets older and eats more solid food. A six-month-old just starting solids might begin with one or two small meals a day in addition to regular milk feeds, gradually building toward three meals plus snacks by around 12 months.
Continuing Breastfeeding to Age Two
Breastfeeding doesn’t stop when solids start. WHO recommends continuing to breastfeed up to two years of age or beyond, because breast milk remains a significant source of nutrition even after complementary foods are well established. Between 12 and 23 months, an average intake of about 500 grams of breast milk per day still covers 35 to 40 percent of a toddler’s energy needs.
Beyond calories, breast milk at this stage provides essential fatty acids and vitamins that may be comparatively low in many complementary foods. It contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids important for brain development, and breastfeeding itself has physical benefits: the sucking and swallowing motions promote healthy jaw and facial development, and the interaction between mother and infant during feeding supports bacterial and hormonal exchanges that help reduce the risk of middle ear infections.
Foods To Avoid Before Age Two
Children under 24 months should not consume added sugars. Their diets are small enough that every bite needs to count nutritionally, and sugary foods displace the nutrient-dense options they actually need. This includes sweetened drinks, flavored yogurts with added sugar, cookies, and packaged snacks marketed toward toddlers. Checking the Nutrition Facts label for added sugars is the simplest way to screen products.
Salt should also be limited. Young children’s kidneys are still maturing and cannot handle high sodium loads efficiently. Some canned foods can be surprisingly high in sodium, so choosing low-sodium or no-salt-added versions helps. Whole, minimally processed foods are naturally low in both added sugar and salt, which is one reason they form the backbone of WHO’s feeding recommendations.
Responsive Feeding
How you feed matters alongside what you feed. WHO emphasizes responsive feeding, which means recognizing a baby’s hunger and fullness cues and responding to them appropriately rather than following a rigid schedule or pushing a baby to finish a set amount.
Hunger cues progress in intensity. Early signs are subtle and mostly oral: increased alertness, turning the head, sucking on hands or fingers, mouthing. Active cues involve more obvious body movements like reaching for food, leaning forward, or getting excited at the sight of a spoon. Late cues, like crying or fussing, mean a baby has been hungry for a while and is becoming distressed. Ideally, you respond to early or active cues before a baby reaches the crying stage.
Fullness cues follow a similar escalation. A baby who slows down, turns away from the spoon, closes their mouth, or pushes food away is signaling they’ve had enough. Continuing to feed past these repeated signals can override a child’s developing ability to regulate their own appetite, which is linked to less healthy eating patterns later in life. Responsive feeding also includes the broader environment: eating in a calm, consistent setting with regular routines helps children develop a positive relationship with food from the beginning.
Allergen Introduction
Current WHO-aligned guidance encourages introducing potentially allergenic foods alongside other complementary foods starting at about six months, rather than delaying them. This includes common allergens like eggs, peanuts (in age-appropriate forms like smooth peanut butter thinned with breast milk), fish, soy, wheat, and dairy. Introducing these foods early and continuing to offer them regularly is now considered the best approach for most infants, as delayed introduction has not been shown to reduce allergy risk and may actually increase it.