Can babies eat eggs?

Question

i was just reading the british food standard agency website about baby weaning, and it said eggs can be given to babies over 6 months of age. i thought it was 12 months myself but this is a government site so it must be ok.

Well my question is, how would you give an egg to a baby? do you just give them hardboiled and mashed?? or can they only eat one part of the egg.

Answer 1

give it them hard boiled and mashed

Answer 2

Current advice is that a baby old enough for solids (>6 months) can eat whole eggs.  If there is a history of allergy, or you want to be extra cautious, give the yolk only until 12 months -- it's the whites that are most allergenic. And, of course, eggs should be cooked thoroughly, babies can get very sick if they get salmonella. So you could hardboil the egg, or scramble it, or poach/fry, being sure the yolk isn't runny.

Answer 3

I tried both my children on scrambled eggs, neither were keen, but you can give it to babies who are weaning.  

Answer 4

Eggs for Baby Food - Age for Introduction to Baby:

8-10 Months - Egg Yolks Only

12 Months - Whole Eggs

The Goodness of Egg Yolks for your Baby

Of the mere 5 grams of fat in an egg yolk, only 1.5 grams (31%) are saturated fat. Monounsaturated fats total 1.9 grams (38%) and polyunsaturated0.68 grams (14%). The ratio of an egg’s fat content comes close to meeting the dietary proportions currently recommended as: -1/3 saturated, 1/3 monounsaturated and 1/3 polyunsaturated.

The egg yolk contains the following:

all of an egg’s vitamin A, D, and E;

almost all the vitamin B12, choline, folic acid and vitamin B3;

76% of the biotin,

73% of the inositol,

50% of the niacin,

93% of the vitamin B6,

42% of the riboflavin,

90% of the thiamin

44% of the protein

and substantial portions of the egg’s mineral content

Source: The American Egg Board

When can I introduce Eggs to my baby?

Most pediatric resources agree that egg yolks are fine for baby to eat when baby is around 8 months old.  Please keep in mind that the egg whites should not be fed to baby before 1 year old.  Eggs, particularly the egg whites, are one of the top 8 of all allergens.  Many studies that have been done on infants with egg allergies find that by the time the infant has reached age 5, the allergy has been outgrown!  This is good news as the egg is highly nutritious and an important part of ones diet!

If your family has a history of egg allergies, then it is probably best to wait until after 12 months old to introduce egg yolks.  Read about Egg Allergies.

The best way to cook Eggs and Egg Yolks:

Eggs may be scrambled and fried or poached and boiled.

A Few Eggs Baby Food Recipes:

Hard Boiled Egg Yolks

1. Hard-boil an egg

2. Peel shell away and cut in half

3. Scrape or pop out the yolk

4. Mash the yolk and mix in formula, breast milk, yogurt, applesauce or whatever you choose that is appropriate for your baby.

Hint - Hard boiled eggs will spin when they are fully cooked!

Egg Yolk Scramble

1. Crack an egg and separate the white from the yolk (you may use the shell for this or use an egg-separator)

2. Warm olive oil or butter in a frying pan

3. Scramble the yolk in a bowl with formula, breast milk, juice or whole milk and transfer to frying pan

4. Cook over medium heat, scrambling constantly, until thoroughly cooked

Egg Yolk Veggie Scramble (or Baby Omelet)

1. Crack a few eggs and separate the white from the yolk (you may use the shell for this or use an egg-separator)

2. Warm olive oil or butter in a frying pan

3. Scramble the yolk in a bowl with formula, breast milk, juice or whole milk and transfer to frying pan

4. Add a tablespoon of pureed veggies or pre-cooked soft dices of veggies, as you are scrambling the yolks

5. Cook over medium heat, scrambling constantly, until thoroughly cooked.

Veggie Eggs & Rice

1 or 2 hard boiled egg yolks

1 cup of cooked brown rice

1/4 cup of pureed or diced soft cooked veggies such as carrots, broccoli or even sweet potatoes

Combine all ingredients and mix well. If needed, puree or mash to your baby's preferred textures.

Variation: Warm a frying pan with a bit of olive oil, crack an egg and separate the white from the yolk. Scramble the yolk in a bowl with formula, breast milk, juice or whole milk and transfer to frying pan. Add the veggies and rice and scramble the mixture; cooking until the yolks are done.

Shaped Egg Yolk Fry-Up

1. Crack a few eggs and separate the white from the yolk (you may use the shell for this or use an egg-separator)

2. Warm olive oil or butter in a frying pan

3. Scramble and add the yolks to a frying pan. Cook them until the yellow begins to change color and harden - flip the yolks (just like you were making whole fried eggs!)

4. Continue to fry the yolks until they are thoroughly cooked

Answer 5

yes they can but make sure they are cooked well enough

Answer 6

The yolks are supposed to be okay after around 6 months, but you are supposed to wait until at least a year old for the egg whites.  It's a real pain to try to separate eggs so that no white is on the yolk at all, so it's much easier to just hold off on eggs altogether until they are a year or so.  That's what I did.

At that age, you could serve them eggs prepared however you like.  Just cut them into pieces that are too small to choke on.  

Answer 7

yes after 6 months is fine boil or scramble and make sure its well cooked .  

Answer 8

Try scrambled egg, soft boiled with soldiers, egg custard.

Answer 9

Egg whites only I believe until one year. . .there is something in the yolk they can not have.  My daughter loved them when she was younger.  I put them in the micro and cut them up.

Answer 10

Depends if your baby likes them or not. My son used to like scrambled egg, well cooked and cooled. The advice about what age to give babies what is changing constantly, so best you can do is go with the most up to date advice.

Answer 11

The current UK guidelines state that eggs are fine for babies over 6 months of age.  They make no mention of separating the yolk from the white - I think American guidelines are different, which would explain the discrepancy in the answers you are getting! My daughter is 10 months and loves eggs - her favourite is eggy bread!

Answer 12

Babies can have eggs,just the yolk until 1year old to avoid allergies then babies should only eat eggs that have been cooked until the white and yolk are solid.

Answer 13

There are lots of schools of thought on this.  Many sources say the yolk only until 9, 12, or even 24 months of age.  However there is no evidence that withholding allergenic foods past 6 months in infants without a strong family history of severe allergic disorders is beneficial at all.  There are actually a few small studies that suggest foods introduced while breastmilk is still part of a babies diet are less likely to be allergenic.

On the other hand almost all of the nutrition in eggs is in the yolk, and the healthy fat (choline among others) in the yolk is good for brain development.  Yolks also have vitamin D, and if fed an appropriate diet DHA.

It is generally recommended that the eggs be cooked thoroughly because of the incredibly small risk of salmonella.  So hard boiled, poached until firm, or scrambled are all fine.  If offering egg only hard boiled is the easiest.

There is no need to mash a babies food, but you can if you choose.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9646449/page...

Food allergy fears get some of the blame for the bland approach. For decades doctors have said the best way to prevent allergies is to limit infants to bland foods, avoiding seasonings, citrus, nuts and certain seafood.

But Butte's review found no evidence that children without family histories of food allergies benefit from this. Others suspect avoiding certain foods or eating bland diets actually could make allergies more likely. Some exposure might be a good thing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/676279...

Solids best

After six months, Mrs Rapley said babies were capable of taking food into their mouths and chewing it.

Therefore, feeding them pureed food at this time could delay the development of chewing skills.

Instead, she said, they should be given milk and solid pieces of food which they could chew.

Mrs Rapley argued that babies fed pureed food had little control over how much food they ate, thus rendering them vulnerable to constipation, and running a risk that they would react by becoming fussy eaters later in life.

She blamed the food industry for convincing parents that they should give children pureed food.

She said: "Sound scientific research and government advice now agree that there is no longer any window of a baby's development in which they need something more than milk and less than solids."

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintro...

Ensuring good nutrition

Babies who are allowed to feed themselves seem to accept a wide range of foods. This is probably because they have more than just the flavour of the food to focus on – they are experiencing texture, colour, size and shape as well. In addition, giving babies foods separately, or in a way which enables them to separate them for themselves, enables them to learn about a range of different flavours and textures. And allowing them to leave anything they appear not to like will encourage them to be prepared to try new things.

General principles of good nutrition for children apply equally to young babies who are managing their own introduction to solid foods. Thus, 'fast foods' and foods with added sugar and salt should be avoided. However, once a baby is over six months old there is no need (unless there is a family history of allergy or a known or suspected digestive disorder) to otherwise restrict the foods that the baby can be offered. Fruit and vegetables are ideal, with harder foods cooked lightly so that they are soft enough to be chewed. At first, meat is best offered as a large piece, to be explored and sucked; once the baby can manage to pick up and release fistfuls of food, minced meat works well. (Note: babies do not need teeth to bite and chew – gums do very well!)

Answer 14

My nephew LOVES scrambled eggs.

Answer 15

Babies 6 months and older can only have the egg yolk not white! After 1 yr they can have the whole egg.

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.co...

Answer 16

How about giving them 'soldiers' - bread and butter fingers dipped in the yoke and mashing up the white for them later (soft boiled - runny yolk hard white)

Answer 17

I've found that they get into trouble getting the shells off.

Answer 18

Yes, babies can have eggs over 6 months.  Scramble them.

Answer 19

no ,you can  not give a whole egg to baby because of his slender thoat!

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Answer 20

Im not sure exactly but yes you can give both the white & the yolk to the baby but they reccomend only one serving of the yoke per week, actually I think its only one serving of an entire egg per week (its in the book What to Expect - the first year(s) )

my daughter east it scrabbles or fried - just make sure it is cook entirely & it should be okay =)

Answer 21

egg in a cup.

mashed up really well with a little butter and left to cool

x

Answer 22

The recommendation is no egg whites for the first year.

Egg yolks are perfectly safe for baby to have.  Most people that have an egg allergy are actually allergic to the whites.  That's why they say to wait a year.

My daughter loves toast dipped in soft boiled egg yolks and scrambled egg yolks.

Good luck!

Answer 23

well i wouldn't personally give my baby eggs until she is at least 12 months old just to be on the safe side:)