Introducing Egg to Your Baby

Following on from our most popular post (introducing peanut), let's talk eggs. Egg is one of the most common food allergies in babies and young children, which makes it exactly the kind of food allergy experts recommend introducing early and often, between 6 and 12 months.

Research shows that introducing well-cooked egg early, and then keeping it in your baby's diet regularly, can help reduce the risk of your child developing an egg allergy — particularly important given how often egg quietly shows up in family cooking, from pasta to baking to breakfast.

Golden rule: only well-cooked egg for babies — think hard-boiled, well-scrambled, or baked into something like a frittata or pikelet. Skip raw or runny egg (soft-boiled, runny scrambled, homemade mayonnaise) until your child is older, for food-safety reasons as much as allergy ones.

How to start:

• Start with a small amount — a pea-sized bit of well-mashed hard-boiled egg yolk mixed into a puree your baby already knows and likes.

• Once tolerated over a couple of feeds, introduce the egg white in the same way (a wellcooked whole egg, mashed together). • As with any new allergen, introduce it on its own first — not the same day as another brand-new food — so if there's a reaction, you know what caused it.

• Watch your baby for the first 30 minutes or so after eating. A true allergic reaction usually shows up quickly — stop feeding that food and seek medical advice if you see any signs of a reaction. Early allergen introduction may not be appropriate for every child.

If your family has a history of food allergies, or your baby has eczema or dry skin, they may be more vulnerable to developing food allergies — but the research also shows they may benefit the most from early introduction. Talk to your paediatrician or allergist first if you're at all concerned. Keep it going: once egg is a regular in your baby's diet, keep it there. A soft scrambled egg with grated veggies, a slice of frittata, or egg mixed into rice makes an easy family meal you can adapt for every age at the table — which, as always, is the whole idea.