Baby Food and Allergen Introduction Readiness Checker
Add your baby's age and tick the readiness signs to see where they sit on the starting-solids timeline, with guidance on first foods and introducing allergens early.
Quick samples
Readiness signs
Add an age to check readiness
Enter your baby’s age in months and tick the signs you see, or try a quick sample, and where they sit on the starting-solids timeline appears here.
This is general guidance and not a diagnosis. Every baby develops on their own timeline, and readiness signs matter more than a specific birthday. Talk to your health visitor or paediatrician about starting solids, and before introducing allergens if your baby has eczema or a known food allergy or reaction.
The formula
Ready = age of about six months or more AND all four physical readiness signs present
- Readiness sign — A physical milestone (head control, sitting, fading tongue-thrust, interest) that shows a baby can manage food.
- Tongue-thrust — A newborn reflex that pushes solid food out of the mouth; it fades as a baby nears readiness.
- Allergen early — The current advice to introduce common allergens around six months rather than delaying them.
- One at a time — Offering a single new food before another, so any reaction can be traced to it.
Starting solids timeline at a glance
| Age | Milk | Solids & allergens |
|---|---|---|
| Under 4 months | Milk only | Not ready — do not start solids |
| Around 6 months | Milk still the main drink | Begin first foods; start common allergens once comfortable |
| 6–8 months | Milk remains central | Build variety, texture and self-feeding; keep milk feeds |
| 9–12 months | Milk plus three meals | Wider range, soft finger foods, family meals in safe forms |
| 12 months+ | Milk can reduce | Cow's milk as a drink is fine; honey now allowed |
A general timeline for term babies. Follow your baby's readiness signs and your clinician's advice, and delay or get guidance on allergens for babies with existing allergy or significant eczema.
Knowing when to start solid food is less about a birthday on the calendar and more about your baby showing a set of physical signs that they are ready. Around six months most babies develop them, and current guidance is to watch for that readiness rather than push porridge into a four-month-old who is not yet able to swallow food safely.
This checker weighs your baby's age against the four readiness signs that matter: steady head and neck control, sitting upright with little support, the tongue-thrust reflex fading so food moves to the back of the mouth, and clear interest in what you are eating. Tick what you see and it tells you where you sit on the timeline.
It also reflects a big shift in allergen advice. Rather than delaying peanut, egg and other common allergens, guidance now encourages introducing them early, around six months and alongside other foods, one at a time, since early exposure appears to help prevent allergy. Readiness first, then a gentle, observant introduction, with a clinician in the loop for babies who already have eczema or allergies.
The four signs of readiness
A baby who is ready can hold their head steady and sit upright with little or no support, which lets them swallow safely and turn away when they have had enough. Poor head control makes a first spoonful risky, so this is the first sign to look for rather than the last.
The tongue-thrust reflex, which automatically pushes solids out of an infant's mouth, has usually faded enough by around four to six months that food can move to the back and be swallowed instead of dribbled straight out. Interest completes the picture: a ready baby watches you eat, leans forward and opens their mouth.
None of these are about size or a due date, and they arrive in their own order. When the signs are present, starting is natural; when they are not, a few more weeks of milk does no harm, and readiness almost always clarifies itself around the six-month mark.
Why around six months, not four
For decades the advice drifted toward introducing solids early, but the balance of evidence has shifted. Beginning before about four months offers no benefit and carries real risks, because a young infant's gut and swallowing are immature and milk already meets their needs entirely.
By around six months, babies need more iron than milk alone reliably supplies, and their oral skills have caught up, which is why six months is the usual recommended starting point. Solids then complement breast milk or formula rather than replace it, at least for the first months.
The honest framing is that six months is a strong default, the signs are the true gate, and starting a little either side, rarely before five, is fine as long as readiness is genuinely there and your clinician agrees it suits your baby.
First foods and how to offer them
Good first foods are iron-rich and simple: puréed or mashed vegetables, fruit, lentils, meat or fish, and single-grain cereals, offered smooth or in soft lumps depending on how your baby manages. The emphasis is on iron and on texture that a ready baby can handle, not on any special baby-branded product.
Start tiny, a teaspoon or two once a day, and build gradually as your baby takes to it, always keeping milk as the main source of nutrition at first. Let your baby set the pace; early sessions are as much about learning to eat as about the calories, and refusing a food at first is completely normal.
Introduce one new single-ingredient food at a time over a couple of days before adding another, so that if anything unusual happens you can connect it to the food responsible. As skills grow, finger foods and self-feeding can join spoon-feeding, following your baby's interest.
Introducing allergens early and safely
The current evidence has changed allergen advice from delay to early introduction. Around six months, and once your baby is comfortable with a few first foods, common allergens such as peanut, egg, cow's milk, wheat, soy, sesame, and well-cooked fish and shellfish are encouraged in small, age-safe amounts alongside other foods rather than avoided.
The reasoning is that the immune system is more tolerant when allergens are introduced through a ready gut in infancy, and avoiding them can raise allergy risk rather than lower it. Give each allergen on its own at first, in a form a baby can safely manage, such as smooth peanut thinned into purée rather than whole nuts, which are a choking hazard.
Some babies need extra care. If your baby already has a food allergy, moderate-to-severe eczema, or a strong family history, talk to your doctor or an allergist before introducing the highest-risk foods, as they may advise doing so with guidance or testing first rather than entirely at home.
A worked example
A parent enters six months and ticks all four signs. The checker reads this as ready, and the sensible next step is to begin with small amounts of iron-rich single foods, one new thing every couple of days, keeping milk as the main drink and building texture as the baby manages it.
After a fortnight of familiar foods, the same parent introduces a common allergen, say well-cooked egg or thinned peanut, on its own, watching for any reaction. With no eczema or allergy history, early home introduction is appropriate; the parent keeps a diary of new foods and how baby responds.
Had the baby shown only two signs at five months, the checker would say nearly there, and the right move would be to wait a few weeks for the remaining signs rather than starting early, since readiness makes feeding safer and easier for everyone.
Safety, choking and when to ask
Always sit your baby upright, fully supported, for feeds, and never leave them alone with food. Avoid obvious choking hazards such as whole nuts, large chunks, hard raw pieces, whole grapes and popcorn, and prepare foods in textures matched to your baby's skill, from smooth purée to soft mashed lumps to safe finger foods.
Honey should be avoided under one year because of the botulism risk, and unpasteurised products and high-salt or added-sugar foods have no place in a baby's diet. Juice is best left out entirely in favour of water and milk, and cow's milk as a main drink, as opposed to an ingredient, suits after twelve months.
Ask your health visitor or paediatrician if you are unsure about readiness, texture progression, or allergen introduction, and seek urgent care for signs of a reaction such as widespread hives, vomiting, swelling, wheeze or floppiness after a new food.
Key terms
- Readiness signs
- The physical milestones showing a baby can safely start and manage solid foods.
- Tongue-thrust reflex
- An infant reflex that pushes solids from the mouth; fading it is part of readiness.
- Allergen
- A food such as peanut, egg or wheat that commonly triggers allergies; now introduced early.
- Complementary feeding
- Adding solids alongside milk from around six months, not replacing milk.
Pro tips
- Follow the readiness signs, not a birthday or a relative's advice to start early.
- Start with iron-rich single foods and keep milk as the main drink at first.
- Introduce common allergens early, one at a time, in a baby-safe form.
- Sit baby fully upright for every feed and match texture to their skill.
Common mistakes
- Starting solids before about four months or before the readiness signs appear.
- Delaying allergens past the point early introduction helps prevent allergy.
- Offering whole nuts, honey under a year, or high-salt and sugary foods.
- Pushing a baby to eat rather than following their fullness and pace.
Starting solids — your questions
How do I know my baby is ready for solids?
Look for four signs working together: steady head and neck control, sitting upright with little support, the tongue-thrust reflex fading so food can be swallowed rather than pushed out, and clear interest in what you eat. These usually line up around six months. This checker weighs those signs alongside your baby's age to tell you whether they seem ready, nearly there, or not yet.
Can I start at four months?
Current guidance is not to start before about four months and to aim for around six, because an early start offers no proven benefit and can raise risks while a young infant's swallowing and gut are still immature. Starting too soon often means fighting the tongue-thrust reflex. If you feel your baby is ready unusually early, discuss it with your health visitor or paediatrician rather than starting alone.
When should I give common allergens?
Advice now favours introducing allergens early rather than delaying. Once your baby is happy with a few first foods, around six months, offer small amounts of allergens such as peanut, egg and wheat one at a time, in a safe texture. Do not give whole nuts. If your baby has eczema, a food allergy or a strong family history, get medical advice before introducing the highest-risk allergens.
What foods should I avoid under one year?
Avoid honey entirely under twelve months because of botulism risk, and steer clear of choking hazards like whole nuts, hard raw chunks, whole grapes and popcorn. Skip added salt and sugar, and unpasteurised products. Cow's milk can be used in cooking from the start but is best not given as a main drink until after a first birthday, with juice left out in favour of water and milk.
Do I replace milk feeds with food?
Not early on. From around six months solids complement milk rather than replace it, starting with a spoonful or two a day and building gradually, while breast milk or formula stays the main source of nutrition. Over the following months meals grow toward three a day by around nine to twelve months, but milk only meaningfully reduces after the first birthday.