From what age can cod be given to children?

The fact that fish is useful and necessary for a child’s body is known to all moms and dads. But not every parent knows for sure when it is possible to introduce fish dishes in general to the child in general and cod in particular. In this article we will answer the question about age limits and tell you in what form it is better to give this fish to kids.

Cod belongs to the category of marine low-fat fish. The fat content in it does not exceed 4%, and therefore it is this variety of fish that is recommended for the first input of fish products into the diet of children.

Cod is very useful - it contains a large number of valuable substances:

• vitamin A, essential for vision and the formation of strong immunity;
• vitamins D and E, as well as group B, contributing to the full development of the nervous system;
• various micro and macro elements;
• Omega-3 and Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential for the brain and its development.

Parents of babies fear that the fish may cause allergies. These experiences are justified, because the fish contain special proteins that can be perceived by children's immunity as foreign, and therefore potentially dangerous.

If your child does not belong to the number of allergies that react to any new product, then cod can be introduced into the baby’s diet as early as 8 months. Earlier official pediatric recommendations called the age at 10 months, but now the age limit is lowered.

To begin with, you should give a teaspoon 1-2 times a week. Gradually, the number of fish can be increased if there is no negative reaction to it. By the age of one year, the daily rate of fish for a baby is about 50 grams. But giving cod every day, despite all its benefits, is not worth it - it will be optimal to treat karapuz with fish dishes a couple of times a week.

It is quite difficult to teach a child to eat fish after one and a half years, if before that age his parents did not give it to him. Most children who are not accustomed to the taste of cod, simply refuse it. But a lot depends on how to cook and serve fish to the baby.

Separate attention deserves cod liver. If you buy it in cans in which it is found in a large amount of oil, then this delicacy should not be given to the child for at least 3 years - it will be too fat. Cod liver frozen, followed by heat treatment, can be added to the baby’s diet after one year.

When cod is introduced into the baby’s diet, it is wise to start with fish soup. In a portion of vegetables in cod broth, you can simply add boiled cod about a teaspoon, after grinding it.

In general, the first fish complement requires the observance of certain rules, the most important of which is that fish must be boiled without fail.If the child does not have anything against the puree soups, make just such a dish from a standard fish soup, simply by dipping a dip blender into it for a minute. 2-3 weeks after the baby’s soup has been “mastered” in fish broth, you can proceed to the second cod dishes.

If you boil a piece of fillet and offer the baby, he is unlikely to be delighted. Therefore, the mother needs to make some efforts to prepare a healthy and tasty fish, which the child will not definitely refuse.

For kids, try to choose a fillet, so as not to get bones. You can make mince from it and cook meatballs or steam cakes in a double boiler or oven. Usually, children are very supportive of fish cakes, provided they are tasty. But what is tasty and helpful in understanding mom and dad is not necessarily appetizing and pleasant for their offspring.

Children's recipes involve cooking casseroles with fish. For them, you need to use high-quality boiled cod fillet, selected potatoes. Again, it is necessary to remember the undesirability of spices and large amounts of salt.

Before the year children are better off stewing fish and steaming it. If you buy whole cod, make sure that every single bone from the finished dish is selected. You can put out fish for crumbs with a drop of lemon juice, but without adding pepper and bay leaf.

After one and a half years, children are allowed to give fish baked in foil in the oven. Try using olive oil instead of traditional sunflower for baking, and you should not stuff fish with fillings - the child will be happy to eat such dishes when they are a little older - in 2.5–3 years.

If you choose a recipe from the consideration of the maximum usefulness of the finished dish, you should know that too long heat treatment impoverishes the cod composition, and insufficient - increases the likelihood of infecting the child with dangerous fish parasites.

If the child refuses to fish, the mother will have to go for a little trick - to mask the product under something else. To do this, note should take the recipes for children's meatballs from cod, casseroles and scrambled eggs with cod. Beautifully cooked, bright, served with vegetables, greens, colored mashed potatoes, they perfectly “mask” the presence of fish in the plate, and the child will eat everything without even realizing that he is eating a fish platter.

There is one more wonderful way to make a delicious dish, quite unlike fish, to make fish with mashed milk and a small amount of olive oil from boiled cod blender. Your baby will not definitely refuse a beautiful white cream. The main thing - boil cod no more than 20 minutes.

The video recipe of cooking cod dishes, see below.