Last night my wife was preparing some mashed potatoes made with red potatoes. When she asked me if I thought that our six month old baby boy could eat some potatoes.

Naturally, I figured that he could eat potatoes. I didn't immediately think of anything wrong with potatoes - that they would have any chemical in them that would hurt a baby or cause an allergic reaction. But I felt it prudent to do a Google search and find out if a six-month old baby can eat potatoes.

Most mentions of potatoes I found on the web were of sweet potatoes, but I just wanted to be sure that regular russet or red potatoes would be safe for a six-month old baby to eat.

The consensus of the Web says it is okay. For instance, an article on Yahoo answers mentioned that "soft foods like yogurt and really fine mashed potatoes, ice cream, pudding, jello..." would be okay.[1]

I'm not sure that I'd be feeding my 6 month old jello, yogurt, or ice cream, but there's one person who says potatoes are ok.

Still, I'm looking for a more reputable source of information on which foods babys can eat.

An online resource from Penn State university recommends feeding "pieces of soft-cooked vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, or zucchini" to 6 month olds.[2]

So after finding a credible source that says that a six-month old baby can eat potatoes, my wife took some of the boiled potatoes before any butter or milk was added, and she mashed them up and put them in a bowl. And our six month old boy did enjoy his potatoes with no ill effect.

Ask your doctor though if you are unsure if your baby can eat a certain food.

References:

1. ?What kind of foods can my 7 month old baby eat? - Yahoo! Answers,? answers.yahoo.com/question/index.

2. ?Penn State: Solution Source - Feeding the 6 month old,? solutions.psu.edu/Parenting_633.htm.