In Nigeria the usual first weaning food is pap, akamu, ogi, or koko.
Most Nigerian mothers introduce pap to their children at three to six months of age. Pap is made from maize, millet or guinea corn and is usually given to babies with or without milk. Usually the baby is fed on demand with a spoon or a cup.
While our mothers and grandmothers fed us with pap before we turned 6 months, research has shown that feeding your baby foods other than breast milk or formular before 6 months, could lead to diabetes, obesity and other gastrointestinal diseases. This is because a baby's digestive system is not yet ready for anything other than milk.
Research has also shown that pap has low nutritive value and has low protein, low energy density, and high bulk. For example pap has been shown to contain only 0.5% protein and less than 1% fat, as compared with 9% protein and 4% fat in the original corn.
Not getting the right nutrients can make a child very vulnerable to malnutrition.
Once your child is 6 months, you can make pap more nourishing by combining it with groundnut and or soya bean. This is what is found is tom brown. Read how to make tom brown for your baby from scratch here.
When is the best time to wean a child?
Most professionals recommend starting solids at 6 months. Before starting solid foods your baby should be able to sit upright with minimal support, push food from the front of their mouth to the back of their mouth using their tongue, and open their mouth as a spoon full of food approaches. Read about some of the best weaning foods for Nigerian babies here.
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