Why to expand an infant’s diet?

Expanding the diet of an infant to include non-milk meals is a process which lasts approximately between month 4/6 up to around 3 years old.
Diet expansion is important due to shrinking reserves of iron and zinc left over from the fetal period. It is recommended to introduce new foods to replenish potential deficits.
Additionally, diet expansion has a developmental aspect. The child learns and improves new skills. Motor skills, eye-hand coordination, the ability to bite, chew, swallow, or expectorate are all developed during the process of diet expansion. Communicative competencies, the sense of taste and smell, the ability to recognize the feeling of satiety and hunger are also developed at this stage. Getting to know different kinds of food is also a lot of fun and an opportunity to spend time together.
Source:
The EFSA Journal (2008) 793, 1-15 Coumarin in flavourings1and other food ingredients with flavouring properties

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