Is it okay to give an 8 month old cornflakes?

I'm keen to have my DD eating a little cereal for breakfast as I also get to give her extra BM mixed in the with the cereal, which is great. The additional iron/vitamins in the cereal is an added bonus, too.

We started with farax/rice cereal when she was first weaning, but stopped that after a while when I realised it was contributing to her getting constipated. We switched to trying porridge at about 7 months old and that was going well, except about a week or so ago she started rejecting the taste of the porridge, even mixed with the fruit she loves.

We tried Weetbix, and that was absolutely pooh-poohed immediately lol, so I tried her with some cornflakes yesterday, and she really enjoys it. I crush the cornflakes up, ad EBM and heat them together till they turn into a porrdige-like consistency. She was really keen on it again this morning, and she seems to be digesting it well.

Is it okay to be having cornflakes for an 8 month old in this way? Are cornflakes okay for her stomach/digestion at this age? If not, does anyone have any other suggestions of cereal I could try for her breakfast?

TIA :)

I don't see why not. If you have a look at the ingredients you can make a more informed decision. I haven't had cornflakes in years so have no idea of what's in them... But I'm sure as long as they don't have a million additives and/or loads of sugar or salt they'd be just fine!
My DD is a fussy eater and I know how exciting it is when you find a food they like, LOL! Congratulations ;)

DD was the same at about that age -not into weetbix at all. I gave her the cornflakes from the health food aisle that are just sweetened with grape juice. I did persist with the weetbix though (mainly because I didn't want to waste the box) and it wasn't too long before she'd eat them without a hassle.

Nearly all cereals are high in sugar and salt, so it is a good idea to check the label, and only give small amounts. Kids weetbix is the best of the commercial cereals and even they are not really recommended under 12 months due to the salt content. Once in a while is fine, but I don't think I'd give it daily. Maybe oats or porridge might be another option for you.

Amy - thanks lol! Yeah, it is nice when you find something they like - I get really excited when I see DD enjoying something a lot :)

Crystalboo - that's actually something I hadn't thought of - continuing to persist with something like Weetbix. I had been persisting with porridge and the problem was that she was getting to the point that when I offered porridge she would reject that, and then not want anything else either, including the stuff I know she loves! Anyway, perhaps I can come back and try it again in a few days or a week or something. Same with the porridge I guess.

MR - thank you. I hadn't thought about salt content other than a cursory thought that cornflakes couldn't be that bad. But you're right - I looked at the packet and they seem pretty high in salt. So I might just have to find another brand or health brand as Amy has suggested and see if they are any better. Unfortunately porridge is my preference, but she is flat out rejecting that after at first really enjoying it for a while, hence I tried cornflakes. But I could continue to offer it and maybe one day she might start taking it again. The problem is that is it incredibly upsetting to prepare cereal with my EBM only to see it (the EBM) wasted when she won't eat it. It's seriously really upsetting me. So I guess we'll just have to see...

Thanks for your suggestions and information, everyone. Much appreciated :)

Ashton loved oats, I get those from the health isle at woolies. Also he loves the puffed rice, same place. Sometimes I add a tiny amount of honey, but most of the time he just eats it without a problem.

I would persist with the things bubs wont eat, because usually they do end up eating them :) Ashton hated oranges, so I offered him a slice every day and by day 5 he was eating it and wanting more :)

Oats might be another thing to try - but don't forget that honey shouldn't be given to a baby under 12 months due to the risk of botulism spores. If you don't have joy with oats, you could just not give cereal for a while and try again in a few weeks. There are plenty of other ways to give her a balanced diet, and really at 7 months while still bfing, the solids is more for experience than nutrition.

Have you introduced meat yet? This is now considered one of the best foods to give early on as it has good levels of both iron and zinc. You can scape it with a knife to make a pulp, or give her some grilled steak or a safe bone to suck on.

WRT salt, 300mg of salt per 100g is considered "low" for adults. For children it is half this, and for babies under 12 months it is less again.

really no honey!??! Crap I've been using it on cerial with the all the boys from the first solids :( I had no idea!

Yeah, it's true Mel. It's actually amazing that mums aren't told about it - how else would you know!

I googled it. OMG I am so glad my boys haven't been effected :( Gosh im an idiot! Here I was thinking it was better than some sugar!

You are so not an idiot hun. We can't all know everything - and for some reason the honey thing isn't talked about much. The thing is that the effects come on quickly so you can know for sure that your boys are just fine. Don't feel bad hun.

Mel, don't beat yourself up hun. I only found out about honey by reading it in the forums here too! It's definitely better than sugar, so after 12 months go for it! I plan to as well. :) Thanks for the tips about the cereal that works for you - rice puffs was something I hadn't thought about. Unfortunate oat porridge is the stuff she is rejecting at the moment, so we've tried that.

MR - thanks again :) You have so much fantastic info that's really helpful. The info on the salt content is really handy and I'll use that as my benchmark. And I think that may be the best option that you suggested. Just to let it go for now, not stress about it, and try again in a week/few weeks etc., whichever cereal. I do understand that whilst still BF the solids are just for experience, hence I don't really want to keep pushing something she's not interested in, but I do need to let it go now and not stress about it so much, I guess. She's happy eating toast squares and some fruit at breakfast, so that's great and I should be happy with that. We haven't started red meat yet, but I was planning to start that in the next couple of days as we've got fish and chicken going well and I know the iron in the red meat will be great at this point.

Cereal - the bane of my life the past 3 months - DS2 would take nothing at all in teh way of cereal. Until this week - we are taking in about 1 tblspn of porridge WOOOOOOT

However, someone said to me to try rice as well - we just dont think of it in our culture as a cereal for brekky!! With some stewed fruit or something - yum

Does your little girl like sultanas? We put sultanas in our porridge and she loves it. Wont eat it without though!

The Rafferty's fruit things (we call them squeezies) are good for adding some sweetness to cereal, and you can don't have to use it all at once, and they're all fruit, nothing added.
That's how I got DD onto weetbix.

Neither of my kids would eat cereal made with EBM - only water. Maybe try the porridge with just water....gross I know but worth a try. Darcy still eats hers like this at 3+ - no fruit no honey no sugar, just porridge.

You can buy millet in the health food shop- in the ground/powdery form and make a really smooth porridge out of this. We alternate millet and oats (finely ground) during the week and weetbix in the weekend. I just heat up milk in the saucepan and add a heaped tablespoon of millet and stir it while it comes to the boil. It thickens and I add pureed fruit and DD loves it. Actually I have got my mum onto it too! It is also an extremely nutritious grain and not processed.
I would give the cornflakes once a week at a stretch and try and give some other cereals a go. It may be the texture of oats that your DD is opposed to?

i'm struggling to remember what i gave DD at that age now, but i remember her being very nonplussed with the farex, so we switched to a baby cereal, from the babyfoods aisle at the supermarket, it was some kind of baby muesli with apple. Which she loved.

I agree with Falguni, about adding sweet fruit to cereals your bub is not keen on, e.g pureed apple, sultanas, Rafferty's fruit tube contents.

I don't give my nearly 3yo cornflakes (due to the sugar and salt content), but do give her weetbix. I might let her have cornflakes, once she is competent at brushing her teeth. (right now, it's more of a game to her).