Why I Never Fed My Baby Rice Cereal
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Rice cereal is one of those foods that’s questionable when giving it to babies. It doesn’t make you a bad parent if you have given your baby that food, but it is good to know everything you can about rice cereal. Being educated as a parent is the best thing you can do for your baby.
With my oldest I really just did what my parents and grandparents told me because I didn’t know what I was doing as a new parent and figured they knew better than I did. But, the second time around was different. When my youngest son became old enough to eat solids, I read everything I could and I came to the conclusion I would never feed him rice cereal and I truly never did.
If you are on the fence about it, here are reasons why I never fed my baby rice cereal and reasons why you may not want to either. Once you know the reasons behind my decision, you can decide what is best for you and your baby.
Why I Never Fed My Baby Rice Cereal
It doesn’t help babies sleep longer
There seems to be some myth that giving cereal in bottles will help babies sleep longer. However, more and more studies are showing that it doesn’t help babies sleep longer. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics cautions that doing this could put your baby at risk for excess weight gain, because her or she can wind up getting more calories than they need (you can read about that here). All baby typically needs for the first six months is milk from the mama (or formula).
Rice cereal can be a choking hazard
In order to get your baby to suck down rice cereal in a bottle, you usually have to cut a bigger nipple. How can this be good for baby? It could actually cause choking especially if you try feeding your baby this way during nap and sleep times.
It’s just a filler
If we’re being honest here, rice cereal has little to no nutritional value, it’s simply something to use as a filler. Most moms give their babies rice cereal because they think it’s a great first food and sometimes to help add iron into their diet. But studies have shown otherwise. Meats, fruits, and veggies are actually good first foods (and can be a better way to get iron).
Rice cereal isn’t all that healthy
Again, this article isn’t to make anyone feel bad, it’s all about the fact. Rice cereal has been proven to be not that healthy for your baby. There are tons of sugars and grains in rice cereal that aren’t great for baby. Not to mention, many contain chemicals to help extend it’s shelf life. One dangerous chemical found: Arsenic. Don’t believe me? Read the advice from the AAP here.
Next time you grab a box of rice cereal look at the ingredients, they do contain many in which you probably can’t even pronounce. If you can’t pronounce it, do you really want to feed it to your baby? I sure don’t!
Again, this article isn’t mean to be a “parent shaming” post. I realize that rice cereal has been a standing tradition and something our parents used when we we were little (mine used it with me).
But we have to remember that as time has changed, our foods have become more processed then ever and if our food industry isn’t going to set standards on foods for our children, maybe it’s time we do it ourselves.
If you don’t choose to avoid rice cereal altogether, then consider doing your research on certified organic options that can be much healthier for your baby.
So what do you think? Do you feed rice cereal to your baby?
Want another great read? Check out 10 tips for being an awesome mom!
All 3 of my kids had horrible reflux and with the first, did cereal, with the second, meds, and the last we found that plain goats milk did the trick. Just added vitamin powder to the milk once a day and he cleared right up. Just wanted to state that I didn’t come up with this idea on my own, it was recommended by our pediatrician. And the last baby never ate any type of baby food. Just went from milk to whatever I was eating at around 7 months old.
Completely agree. I used it with my first but I’d never do it again. I’ve started my other two on tasteless food like Avo and weatbix. And mostly veggies until she creates more of a taste my middle son also has an amazing wide spread choice of different foods and my first who got started on that disgusting fruit shit and was fed mostly premade baby packet food is a terrible eater.
My wife and I had preemie twins this past April (they were 10 weeks early). We spent a lot of time in the NICU (73 days for one, 84 for the other). Rice cereal was the major factor that got us out of there, although I still would generally agree with your article.
We had to use rice cereal because they had swallowing issues. It isn’t a choking hazard and actually helped them swallow (their poor swallowing reflexes made them choke often on breast milk). Nursing homes use the same concept for older people that have a hard time swallowing. The thicker consistency actually helps them. Our doctors and nurses compared it to trying to chug a bottle of water compared to a milkshake. You have to move a lot slower with a milkshake because of it’s thickness, which makes you less prone to choke.
With all that said, the first couple weeks of them at home and on rice cereal were terrible. Their bodies and digestive system were much too small for the rice cereal and any gas/poop was met with terrible crying. It was soooo much better when they were finally cleared to have breast milk without the rice cereal as that passed through their system much easier. If it wasn’t for their swallowing issues we definitely wouldn’t have used it – good insight from your article on the rest of the points!
It tastes like wet cardboard, so we started with regular oats, cinnamon, raisins, and yogurt–which they still eat for breakfast every day.
I fed all my kids rice cereal starting at 4 months…no problems at all…their pediatrician gave me the go ahead because my kids were healthy and had no health issues. With that said I’m so glad there is so much research for this…honestly there is nothing wrong with rice cereal. These kids are going to grow up eatting things like McDonald’s, hot dogs, candy, and yup even our friend CORN which also has no actual nutritional value either. Btw may I please state that when you start your kids on baby food you should ALWAYS start them on veggies and feed them the same food for at least 3 days before tryng a new food….if you start on fruit, baby will likely not eat veggies because they have aquired a taste for the sweet stuff. Just saying….it is crazy how people will mommy shame just because they read something somewhere. Do what is right for your kid….not what is right for you or because you “want” to. It is all about the baby…all mommy’s get kudos from me no matter what because it is so hard to be sure what you’re doing is “right”. Do what you do, and do it with your child’s best interest at heart.
Why exactly are kids necessarily going to grow up eating Mcdonalds and Hot dogs and Candy??? All of those things are TERRIBLE for you! I don’t feed my daughter those things except for VERY rarely on a special occasion like a birthday or a party. I don’t think saying it’s ok to feed kids rice cereal (which is full of sugar) bc they’re going to be eating fast food later anyways is a good argument….
Ha, fun stuff! 3 days of the same food in a row… My kiddo would just plainly not accept that. He’d eat anything, but never more than once a week. Second time around (even freshly prepared each time), he’d just spit it out and look very disappointed at me. So I just boiled whichever veggie we were eating for him. Never had trouble with him.
In addition, our kid hated the rice stuff too. He loved the texture and liked to play with a mouthful or 2, but that was it. Also, this is just plain rice flour in breastmilk, because reasons.
It also cause constipation. I’ve experienced with my son and now give him oatmeal and fruits and veggies
my 16 month old has a food allergy to rice. His pediatrician has never had a child with this allergy and it was a very difficult year trying to figure out what was the culprit in him experiencing excessive vomiting for an hour at a time- it was very scary. She initially never suspected it was rice since generally rice is supposedly the easiest digestible food and is considered the best starter food to help with transition to solids. I wasn’t Able to give him any typical baby food because if u notice ingredients to a lot of the baby foods have some sort of rice ingredient contained in it. I had to do my research and cook differently for him. In the end i think it is good that he isn’t eating rice because I have read and heard things about the rise of arsenic in rice. Makes me wonder if his body is rejecting it simply because of the toxins hidden in it
I have 5 children 22,21,19,15 girls and a 3 yr old boy. I never gave them rice cereal for the simple fact that rice is binding and who wants an infant with constipation? That being said I did however give them stage 1 oatmeal and it did sustain them longer than just formula all 5 of my babies slept 8 to 12 hours from age 6 weeks. I started my babies on fruits and spoon feedings between 3 and 4 months. Two of my children had gerd which is a severe form of reflux the option was medication or thickening the bottles with oatmeal I chose the oatmeal over medications my children are all happy and healthy and yes I’m aware that people say if you put cereal in the bottle or give it too early the baby can asperate it into their lungs,my pediatrician and gastro doc both stated that aspiration typically occurs in babies with neurological issues and that healthy babies don’t asperate. I think people have entirely too much to say about what others do with their children especially people that are fairly new parents themselves. Follow your instincts speak to a more experienced family member that you trust talk with your childs doctor and please people stay off the internet when it comes to parenting you won’t find your answers here.
My 9 mo old daughter was just tested for her iron today which they found to be a little on the low side. Our pediatrician recommended iron rich baby cereal which she hasn’t been eating every day. Im just wondering how your baby is getting their iron intake without a supplement?
You just feed them iron rich foods. Put chickpeas in a fruit or veg purée. Lentils, quinoa etc
Leafy green vegetables, like spinach and kale are also rich in iron. In addition, you could put small amounts of ground beef in for a 9 mo.
My 2 month old grandson has severe reflux and both his pediatrician and his pediatric GI said for my daughter-in-law to add rice cereal to his formula. It has helped. Please remember that all babies develop differently and be respectful of all mommies out there. My daughter-in-law is an excellent mommy.
My son has GERD and my doctor recommended oatmeal because there is a study showing babies that have rice cereal have higher levels of arsenic. FYI…
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/25/health/arsenic-rice-cereal-baby/
I breast-fed for the first 6 months — yes, mama milk ONLY, nothing else but occassional water. My little ones grew fast & strong & happy. At about 6 or 8 months, I offered a little tiny bit of rice flakes (ingredients: rice) mixed in with my breast milk — to let them try the novel experience of taking food from a spoon, and to let them try swallowing a semi-solid instead of a liquid. I chose rice instead of wheat or other things b/c so few people are allergic to rice. Later I mixed banana with breast milk & offered that; well it sure was a hit with the little ones! (probly b/c so sweet LOL)…. we added in other foods very cautiously, one at a time, try a new food for a day or two & watch for reactions, then back off & do breast milk only for a day or so before trying a new food. My kids are very healthy now (in their 20’s). The intolerance my younger had for cow milk (when I ate any cow dairy products, she had awful stomach pain) remained all her life, but no other issues.
I wish you would be more specific about the arsenic risk: arsenic is possible in rice grown in countries such as China which have awful pollution problems, but not ALL rice contains arsenic. Thank you.
Very good comment.
Sorry, but I disagree. I had 2 pediatricians (one for each child) that told me to start them off on rice cereal and until proved different, I’m going to take the word of a licensed doctor.
Betty and that is completely your choice. I will say that if you haven’t checked out the American Academy of Pediatrics you should. It’s written by doctors, for doctors and contains loads of information for doctors and parents. Sometimes doctors haven’t seen the newest research studies that are published on that site.
Betty doctors tell you the flu shot. Just because doctors say so doesn’t mean it’s right or the truth!
And my child’s pediatrician said absolutely no rice cereal because it’s useless and discouraged any food before 6-9 months at all. Not all docs are on the same page, I second the notion of checking out the AAP.
Ok, the first couple of reasons have NOTHING to do with rice cereal specifically. Until the sixth month, the baby should be getting nothing but breast milk or formula anyway… so it wouldn’t matter whether it was rice, oat or whatever cereal… it doesn’t belong in the baby at all.
On the other hand, it is not a bad thing to use as a starter food. It is bland, so that if a child is sensitive to tastes, they are still getting practice at eating… the muscular movements required. It is bland, so that if a baby has a sensitive tummy, it isn’t likely to offend. This is a philosophy that works as a child is working up to other foods. Should one start with fruits, or veggies… well, guess what – whatever is chosen can affect the child’s taste buds, possibly for life. Start with fruits, or mix fruits in as new foods are introduced, and that can REALLY set the child up for diabetes. A month or two of rice cereal does not equate to someone eating five or more servings of white rice a day for years and years… so THAT is a inaccurate analogy.
Feed your baby as you wish, but don’t be an alarmist.
Hi Lisa, I am not sure what you mean by “the first couple of reasons have NOTHING to do with rice cereal specifically” because the entire article is referring to rice cereal. I realize everyone parents differently and does what is best for their baby, that is pointed out several times in the article. It’s one mom’s opinion based on research she conducted and there are references to where she found the information. Again, this isn’t meant to be an “alarming” post but rather information on one’s mom decision and why she chose NOT to feed her baby rice cereal.
Wow, it all makes sense now. I just recently started feeding “solid” foods, however I noticed that she sleeps less and more hungry. …. I will definitely stop.
I started using it when my son was 3mths as a filler as my son was screaming every 2hrs for a feed (yes even through the night!) even after 13oz of formular (I was unable to fed) I had little choice so thinkened his bottles and that first fed, well all I can say was thank god I did! He went from 2hrs to 3.5-4.5hrs (5-6hrs at night) and a few weeks later he started feeding more frequently again so started him on it as a night meal (at 4mths) as well as still in his bottles and he soon seattled down again. I never looked back and as for those saying I put him at risk of alergies sorry but I have alergies and sensitivities (being started on foods at 6mths back in the day) and he has NONE!
I agree with the article for the most part however there are some instances where it is needed. Our LO has severe severe reflux so we mix it with her formula for thickening to help keep it down. It wasn’t our first choice but really our only choice as she’s on oral medications as well. I agree with no solids until 6 month and we will be making our own baby food but for now it’s helping her. We do not cut her nipple for fear of choking, we have stretched them which helped. She’s now 3 months old and has had to be on rice cereal since she was a month old. We hope she grows out of the reflux issues soon so we can’t taper off and no longer have to add it but it was our last and only chance to help her.
I totally agree with you! I realize sometimes it helps with other reasons but for an overall, healthy baby I think there are better options out there to start solids. That is my total opinion based on what I’ve read/learned from our pediatrician but I know each parent has their own opinion and of course, decision on how they parent. I hope your baby grows out of reflux soon too! I never had that issue with my boys but I had a friend who did and it was tough. Hang in there and know you are doing great! 🙂
luckily these days, you can buy formula that thickens in the stomach and has the same/better benefit for reflux – has been available for at the very least, 7 years – I used it with my oldest. reflux is awful, so I get why some people get desperate and try this, often knowing the downside, but hoping to do the ‘greater good’. Love the article, for us, I also went to total baby led weaning by number 3 – no purees at all, –
but that is a whole new subject lol