This one surprises parents, particularly those who have older children and are used to snacks being a normal part of the day. For the under ones, the advice is different.

The recommendation

We do not recommend any snacks in the under ones.

The reason is straightforward. Snacking can displace milk, and milk is still important between meals as a source of nutrition and hydration at this age.

Why milk still matters this much

Milk provides the majority of what your baby needs in the early weaning phase. Solids are doing real nutritional work, particularly on iron, but they are not replacing milk yet.

Under the age of one, that milk is either breast milk or infant formula. Cow's milk can be used on cereal or as yoghurt, but not as a main drink until they are over one.

A baby who fills up on snacks between meals takes less milk, and that has knock-on effects on both nutrition and hydration.

The balance to hold

There is a genuine tension here, and I want to be honest about it.

Too much milk is also a problem. Milk blocks iron absorption, and iron requirements between 7 and 12 months rise by around 45 percent. Excessive milk can lead to inadequate iron intake, and too much formula can push protein intake beyond what we would want.

So the aim is not maximum milk. It is that milk sits where it should, between meals, doing its job, rather than being squeezed out by snacks at one end or crowding out solids at the other.

What this looks like in practice

Rather than snacks, the structure that works is a clear routine of meals with milk feeds around them.

Meal frequency builds gradually: around one meal a day at 6 months, two meals a day from 6 to 8 months, and up to three meals a day from 7 to 10 months.

Keeping to roughly the same times each day helps your baby learn when milk time is and when food time is. Babies like knowing what to expect.

Timing matters

Try to avoid offering milk feeds too close to mealtimes, so your baby has an appetite for solids.

As weaning progresses, this often means offering breakfast first and the milk afterwards, rather than the other way round.

If your baby seems hungry between meals

Babies do not like long gaps between meals, and they often want to eat at times that feel early to us. Lunch at 11:30 is common.

Rather than adding a snack, it is usually better to look at the timing of the meals themselves. Moving a meal earlier is a different thing from introducing snacking.

What changes after one

This advice is specific to the under ones. Over the age of one, snacks two to three times a day between meals are fine, and are worth seeing as an additional nutrient opportunity.

So this is a stage, not a permanent rule. It is worth being clear about that, because parents sometimes carry the no snacks message forward into the second year where it no longer applies.

Where it fits with everything else

The reason this matters is the same reason most first year feeding advice matters. This is a period where milk and solids are both doing important work, and the sequencing between them determines how well each one lands.

Snacks disrupt that sequencing without adding much, which is why they wait.