Carrot

Carrot can start when your baby is about 6 months old and ready for solids. Raw carrot, baby carrots and carrot sticks above all, is a common choking risk. So cook it soft first.

Carrots are mostly orange and sweet now, but they were not always. The root vegetable began in Southwest Asia. People first gathered the fragrant leaves and seeds for food and medicine. Later they learned to eat the root. Those roots were yellow or purple, not orange, with a thin shape and a more bitter taste than today's carrot.

Carrots of every color provide carbohydrates, fluid, fiber and folate. They also have vitamins A, B6 and K, plus magnesium and potassium. These support energy, hydration, digestion, brain growth and eyesight. They also hold carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin.

Gnawing a raw carrot stick

The source says that, at your own risk, you can let a baby gnaw a thick, peeled raw carrot stick. Both ends should be about 2 cm thick, and the tapered tip, which snaps off more easily, should be left out. Little food reaches the belly at that meal. It does strengthen the jaw, teach the tongue to push food toward the sides where molars will appear, and give your baby touch cues for mapping the mouth.

A baby who has teeth and a strong jaw can bite a piece off. If that happens, keep your fingers out of the mouth. Put a hand on the back and lean your baby gently forward so the piece comes to the front and can be spat out. These moments can be scary, but they teach your baby what is not safe to swallow. This advice conflicts with the existing card's rule of no raw carrot, so it is flagged for review.

When to offer baby carrots

The safest choice is to hold off until your child is nearer to two. Baby carrots are high risk because of how firm and how shaped they are. Cooking until soft and cutting lengthwise into halves or quarters lowers the risk. Never give a baby a whole raw baby carrot. Give it to a toddler only when you trust the chewing skills, around age two or once the child has practiced breaking food down with the molars. Serve it when your child is seated and focused on eating.

After 24 months, a demonstration helps. Open your mouth, set the carrot on your back teeth and say you use strong back teeth and chew a lot. You can hold the carrot at the corner of your child's mouth so the teeth close on it.

Nitrates

Some vegetables, carrots included, hold natural nitrates. Babies who feed themselves rarely eat large amounts of solids. Nitrates in vegetables are mostly not a concern. In a balanced diet the benefit outweighs the unlikely risk.

To limit nitrate exposure, skip well water that has not been tested, and be careful with purées. Do not keep homemade purées of high-nitrate vegetables longer than 24 hours. Finish opened store-bought purées within 24 hours.

Carrots, above all baby carrots and carrot sticks, are a common choking risk. To lower the risk, cook until soft and cut for your child's age. Stay with your baby during meals.

Carrot is not a common allergen. Allergy is rare but has been reported. People with birch pollen allergy may be allergic to raw carrot or have oral allergy syndrome. The mouth itches, tingles or burns briefly, which is usually not dangerous. Cooking the carrot reduces the reaction.

Offer a small amount alone for the first few meals. If there is no reaction, increase gradually.