When is my baby ready to start solid foods?
Most babies are ready to start solid foods around six months of age, when they can sit up without support and have good control of their neck muscles, have lost the reflex that pushes food out of their mouth, and show interest in what others are eating. Breast milk or formula continues alongside solids.
Points clés
- Most babies are ready for solids around six months. The Canadian Paediatric Society points to readiness signs — sitting up without support, good head and neck control, and interest in food — rather than a fixed date.
- Iron-rich first foods (iron-fortified infant cereal, well-cooked meats, or legumes) are emphasized because a baby's iron stores start to run low around six months.
- In the first year, breast milk or formula stays the main source of nutrition; solids are added alongside it, not as a replacement.
The readiness signs
The Canadian Paediatric Society describes starting solids at around six months, and lists developmental readiness signs rather than a fixed date: being able to sit up without support, lean forward, and have good control of the neck muscles; showing interest in food; and holding food in the mouth without pushing it out with the tongue right away.
Iron-rich first foods — such as iron-fortified infant cereal, well-cooked meats, or legumes — are emphasized because a baby's iron stores start to run low around this age.
Solids add to milk, they do not replace it
In the first year, breast milk or formula remains the main source of nutrition, and solids are introduced alongside it. The point of early solids is learning to eat and adding iron, not weaning off milk.
Talk to your provider
If your baby was born prematurely, has feeding difficulties, or you are unsure about readiness, your provider can advise on timing. Introducing common allergens around this time is also part of current guidance — see our page on introducing peanut.
Les parents demandent aussi
- Can I start solids before six months?
- Guidance generally advises not before four months and around six months for most babies, based on readiness signs. If you are considering starting earlier, discuss it with your provider.
- What foods should I start with?
- Iron-rich foods are emphasized first — iron-fortified infant cereal, well-cooked meats, or legumes — because iron stores run low around six months.
Sources
- Canadian Paediatric Society — Caring for Kids
Around six months, look for readiness signs — can sit up without support, lean forward, and has good control of the neck muscles; begin with iron-rich foods.
- Health Canada
Introduce solids at six months with iron-rich foods, continuing breast milk or formula.