At what age should children be weaned?

During infancy, children's main food is the mother's milk to maintain life and various developmental effects. When the child is older, he will choose to eat milk powder. Many parents are not sure when their children should be weaned and provide the body with what they need through more nutritious foods. If you are not sure about at what age your child should be weaned, then here is a specific introduction and explanation of the appropriate age for weaning children. I hope it can help you solve your questions.

What is the best age for weaning babies?

Chinese babies are weaned relatively early, while most babies in other countries in the world are weaned between 2-4 years old. European and American countries, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all advocate "natural weaning", which is usually achieved when the baby is over 2 years old.

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 1 year, and if possible, it is best to breastfeed for over 2 years.

A 10-month-old baby has not yet developed to the point where he can fall asleep automatically and still needs assistance with sleeping. Falling asleep while breastfeeding is not a problem, nor is it the mother’s fault. Breastfeeding is the best aid to falling asleep. A 10-month-old baby is not yet developed to the point where he or she will not wake up at night. Wake up at night to feed and fall asleep again quickly. After the baby is weaned, he needs to be held and patted to comfort him. This makes the adults tired and the child's sleep quality is also affected.

At 1.5 to 2 years old, the baby can understand a lot of words and know a lot of things. You can explain to him when weaning him. The mother also needs to give the baby more company during the weaning stage to prevent the baby from thinking that the mother does not love him anymore. Reducing mother-child contact is absolutely wrong and will cause terrible psychological harm to the baby. Babies under one year old cannot understand their mother’s explanation and can only be forcibly weaned. They cannot understand why their mother does not feed them when she is right next to them. Weaning too early can cause great psychological harm to babies, although it is difficult for them to express it.

A 10-month-old baby still cannot live without milk. If you don't drink breast milk anymore, you have to use formula instead. How can the nutrition of milk powder compare to breast milk? There are no antibodies yet, so they cannot help your baby fight off disease. And the best season for weaning is spring and autumn.

How many days does it take to wean?

Method 1: Rapid weaning

At the fastest, the baby can be weaned from breast milk in less than three or four days. Especially when objective factors are added, such as the mother having to go on a business trip for a period of time, it is very likely that the baby will be completely weaned within a few days after the mother leaves. If the mother stops pumping milk after going to work, the daytime milk supply will soon stop.

Method 2: Gradual weaning

The fastest time is a week, and some babies may even stick to their mothers for several months before they are successfully weaned. This method is suitable for babies who are very dependent on breast milk.

If the mother attaches great importance to breastfeeding and stays with the baby every day, sudden weaning may bring a sense of loss to both mother and child. At this time, the mother needs to adopt a gradual weaning method. The gradual weaning method is to reduce breastfeeding from 6 times a day to 5 times a day, and then gradually reduce it after the mother and baby have adapted until breastfeeding is completely weaned. While gradually reducing breast milk, feed your baby formula milk or complementary food porridge instead, and give your baby some soft and rotten food. The staple food can be soft rice, soft noodles, rice porridge, small wontons, etc. The side dishes can be minced meat, chopped vegetables and egg custard, etc., so that the baby can slowly adapt to other foods.