So you're feeding the baby: a guide for grandparents and nannies

If you have fed a baby before, you already have the instincts that matter: patience, a warm lap, and not panicking over a mess. A few of the rules have genuinely changed since the 80s and 90s, though, and it is not because anyone thinks you did it wrong. The science moved. Here is the short, no-judgment version so you and the parents are on the same page.

What changed, and why

Three big shifts, all backed by current pediatric guidance:

Allergens come early now, not late. The old advice was to wait on peanut, egg, and the rest. Research on peanut and egg showed the opposite helps, and guidance now applies that thinking to the common allergens: introduce from around 6 months and keep them up. If the baby has severe eczema or a known food allergy, new allergens are planned with their doctor. See introducing allergens.
Texture is good, sooner. Babies do not need smooth purée for months on end. Soft, safely-cut finger foods help them learn to chew and self-feed. Purées are still fine; the point is that lumps and soft pieces are not the enemy. See how to cut food safely.
Gagging is not choking. New eaters gag; it is usually a loud, protective reflex rather than an emergency. Choking is different: often quiet, or just a weak cough, and it does need action. Knowing the difference saves a lot of fright. See gagging vs choking.

The house rules

Keep it simple and everyone relaxes:

No honey before age 1, in any form: not a taste, not a dab on a pacifier, and not baked into cakes, cookies, honey grahams, or honey-nut cereal (risk of infant botulism).
No added salt or sugar, and skip sharing very salty or sugary foods from your plate.
Always seated and supervised, never a propped bottle or food on the go.
Cut food safely: soft enough to squish, long strips early on, no coins of sausage, and quarter grapes, cherry tomatoes, and large berries lengthwise.
No whole nuts, popcorn, or hard candy; whole nuts wait until around age 4.
No juice as an everyday drink, and no cow's milk as a drink before age 1; water in a cup with meals is the habit to build.
Follow the parents’ list, offer one new food at a time, and never force a clean plate. The baby decides how much.

The safe list lives in the app

So you are never guessing, the parents can share their baby's feeding plan with you directly in YummyYucky. Caretaker mode gives you the safe foods, the avoid list, any allergens being watched, and today's notes, all on one screen, without needing their password. No memory required, and no group-text at snack time.

Frequently asked questions

Why give allergens like peanut and egg so early? We used to wait.

This is the biggest change. The strongest evidence is for peanut and egg, where large studies found that introducing them early, from around 6 months, and keeping them in the rotation lowers the chance of developing that allergy, and current guidance extends the same approach to the other common allergens. One exception: if the baby has severe eczema or an already-known food allergy, new allergens get planned with their doctor, so do not start one on your own. Waiting was the old advice; the guidance flipped. Peanut (as a thin butter or puff, never whole), egg (fully cooked), and the others are introduced one at a time, on their own, watching for a reaction.

Isn't baby-led weaning a choking risk? Purée feels safer.

Soft finger foods, offered the right way, have not been shown to raise choking risk compared with purées, and the right way is what carries that: soft enough to squish, safe shapes, always seated and supervised, and they help babies learn to handle texture. The key is how food is cut: soft enough to squish, and shaped safely (long strips early on, never coins of sausage or whole round grapes; quarter grapes, cherry tomatoes, and large berries lengthwise, and cut sausage into short strips rather than rounds). Purées are perfectly good too. Both work. What matters is that food is soft, safely sized, and the baby is always upright and supervised.

What are the hard rules I should never break?

Three that matter most: no honey before the first birthday (risk of infant botulism, even a taste), no added salt or sugar (their kidneys and taste buds are still developing), and always supervise, seated and upright, never propping a bottle or leaving them alone with food. After that, follow the parents’ safe list and offer one new food at a time.

What if the baby won’t eat for me the way they do for their parent?

Very normal, and not a reflection on you. Babies test different caregivers and have wildly different appetites day to day. Offer the food calmly, do not force or bribe, and let them decide how much. A meal that ends in more on the floor than in the baby is a totally normal meal. Milk or formula is still their main nutrition this whole first year.

Sources

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Hand off without the handover meeting

Bring your partner or a sitter into the log and they see where things stand at a glance: asleep since when, the last feed, the last diaper. The printable sitter page lists what not to give and what has already gone fine. Free.

Start free

Last updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.

This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

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