Milk, water and other drinks

3 min read

Until 12 months, breast milk or formula remains your baby’s main drink and their most important food. Solids start small and slowly replace milk feeds over the following months.

From about 6 months, offer small sips of water with meals from an open cup or a straw cup. It helps your baby practice, and keeps things moving. Do not worry about how much they drink.

Cow’s milk can go into cooking or on cereal from 6 months, but it should not be the main drink until 12 months. After 12 months, whole milk or an unsweetened, calcium-fortified plant drink such as soy is fine, in moderation.

Skip juice, squash, fizzy drinks, tea and coffee, and sweetened drinks. They fill little tummies, teach a taste for sugar and are bad for teeth. Avoid rice milk for young children because of its arsenic content, and never give honey before 12 months.