How old can babies eat watermelon?

Watermelon is a relatively common fruit. Many friends love watermelon because it is rich in water and tastes very fresh and sweet. For babies, generally speaking, watermelon is not suitable for babies under six months old, so parents should not feed watermelon to babies too early.

1. Babies under six months old must not eat watermelon

It is recommended that babies under four months old are fully breastfed without adding any complementary foods. Although complementary foods such as rice noodles can be added appropriately from four months old, it is too early to add watermelon at this time because it contains too much sugar. Therefore, babies under six months old must not eat watermelon.

2. Babies aged 6 to 12 months can eat watermelon appropriately

Babies aged 6 months usually have started eating complementary foods, so they can eat watermelon at this age. However, because the baby is too young, has a weak spleen and stomach, and poor digestion ability, watermelon cannot be fed to the baby directly. Instead, the watermelon should be squeezed into juice and then added with water to dilute the sugar before giving it to the child to drink. Mothers can also remove the watermelon seeds, put the watermelon pulp in a bowl, crush it, and feed it to the baby so that it can be digested.

3. Babies over 12 months old can eat watermelon directly

Babies over 12 months old usually have a lot of teeth. Generally, babies of this age do not need to squeeze juice and can eat it directly. However, watermelon is cold in nature, and babies have weak spleen and stomach, so they should not eat too much, otherwise it will cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and other discomforts. In addition, babies with type 1 diabetes, babies with oral ulcers, and babies with colds and coughs should not eat it.

2. When should babies eat watermelon?

First of all, don’t eat it before meals. Watermelon is high in water content. Generally, adults will feel full after eating a few pieces, while children can only eat one piece at most and their little stomach will be filled. If the child eats watermelon before breastfeeding, he will not be able to eat milk after eating watermelon, so the mother should feed the child watermelon two hours after breastfeeding.

Secondly, don’t eat it before going to bed. Watermelon contains a lot of sugar and water, which has a diuretic effect. If children eat too much watermelon before going to bed, their urine will increase, making them prone to bedwetting, which will affect their sleep.

3. Three things not to eat with watermelon

Older babies can eat watermelon, but they should also pay attention to the "three don'ts" of eating watermelon:

1. Do not eat on an empty stomach

Since watermelon contains a lot of sugar, eating it on an empty stomach will lead to a decrease in gastric acid secretion, affecting normal digestion. If you eat too much, it will cause intestinal dysfunction and cause worse consequences.

2. Melon seeds cannot be eaten

The younger the child, the more dangerous it is to eat melon seeds. It is easy for the child to choke on the seeds and cause danger. Even if they enter the digestive tract smoothly, they can affect digestion and cause constipation. Mothers must be careful.

3. Don’t eat frozen watermelon.

Although watermelon tastes better after being frozen, it is recommended to store it at room temperature and eat it within four hours after opening. If you really cannot finish it, you can put it in a fresh-keeping box in the refrigerator, and remove the surface when taking it out of the refrigerator to eat. Watermelon for children needs to be kept at room temperature and wait until it returns to room temperature before feeding it to the baby. Otherwise, it will be too cold and cause indigestion.

In the hot summer, have you given your children watermelon? In addition to the above points, what other experiences do you have? Welcome to leave a message and share with everyone!