If you've found conflicting advice online about starting solids and introducing allergens, that's not just noise, guidance has genuinely shifted in the last several years. Here's what Health Canada and the Canadian Paediatric Society currently recommend, and why it changed.
When to start solids
Health Canada recommends exclusive breastfeeding or formula until around 6 months, with solid foods generally starting at that point, guided by signs of developmental readiness rather than a fixed date:
- Sitting up with good head control
- Showing real interest in food
- Able to move food to the back of the mouth and swallow, rather than pushing it back out
Allergens, where the advice actually changed
Older guidance said delay allergenic foods. Current evidence says the opposite. The Canadian Paediatric Society and Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology now jointly recommend introducing common allergens (egg, peanut, dairy, and others) at around 6 months, not before 4 months, the same general window as regular solids, not later.
If your baby is "high risk"
High risk means eczema in the baby themselves, or a parent or sibling with eczema, food allergy, asthma, or hay fever. For these babies, early introduction is especially protective against developing food allergies, particularly to egg and peanut.
How to actually introduce allergens
- One allergen at a time, without long gaps between them
- At home, where you can watch for a reaction, not the first time at daycare or a restaurant
- Once tolerated, keep offering it regularly, a few times a week, to help maintain tolerance
- Pre-emptive allergy testing beforehand isn't recommended, and the risk of a severe first reaction is low
When to check with a doctor first
If a baby already has significant eczema, it's worth a conversation with a healthcare provider before starting allergen introduction at home.