One of the most significant and challenging milestones during a baby’s first year of life is the emergence of their first tooth. While infants typically get their first tooth around 6-7 months of age, the general age range for the appearance of the first teeth is between 4 to 24 months.
Teething often brings about discomfort, leaving the baby fussy and the parents scrambling to find ways to soothe their little one. From over-the-counter medicines to refrigerated teething rings, applying pressure with a clean finger to giving warm baths and massages, vegetable sticks to baby teething biscuits, parents explore various remedies to comfort their baby’s distress. Among these remedies, baby teething biscuits have gained popularity for their potential to provide relief.
Let’s look at the benefits and risks of using baby teething biscuits, along with exploring how to make baby teething biscuits at home.
Are baby teething biscuits beneficial?
Teething biscuits or teething rusks are a preferred option to alleviate a baby’s discomfort due to gum soreness or swelling before a tooth emerges. They have various benefits over other strategies, such as:
- Babies get used to holding solid foods and gnawing on the biscuits helps them learn to chew.
- Assisting in strengthening the infants’ jaws, and preparing them for solid foods.
- Unlike regular cookies, teething biscuits don’t crack or crumble, they dissolve in the baby’s mouth, providing soothing relief and stimulating their gums.
- Babies indirectly benefit from certain essential substances present in homemade teething biscuits. These nutritious ingredients provide several health benefits that other teething methods don’t.
- These biscuits act as tasty diversions that temporarily take away the baby’s mind from teething discomfort.
Are teething biscuits safe for baby’s consumption?
Despite several benefits experts warn against indiscriminate consumption of teething biscuits, particularly store-bought ones, due to various health concerns. Some of these include:
- High sugar content in store-bought teething biscuits can increase the risk of dental caries in babies. To mitigate this risk, paediatricians advise using teething biscuits alongside other teething strategies, such as wiping the baby’s teeth and gums with a clean cloth after chewing and opting for homemade biscuits or those with minimal sugar content.
- Teething biscuits can have choking hazards for babies. Therefore, it’s essential to always supervise your baby while they are eating them and ensure they chew the biscuits while sitting upright rather than lying down.
- When choosing teething biscuits, prioritise those made with appropriate ingredients that are free from allergens and harmful additives. Choose biscuits made from fresh, high-quality ingredients to ensure the baby’s safety.
- Recent studies by the FDA have revealed the presence of high levels of lead in some store-bought teething biscuits. As a result, it’s advisable to avoid store-bought teething biscuits altogether.
Optimal age for introducing teething biscuits
Considering the teething biscuit age is crucial for the safety and development of your baby. Most infants begin their journey with semi-solid and solid foods around the age of 6 months. However, it’s advisable to introduce teething biscuits at a later stage, ideally around 8-12 months of age. This delay ensures that babies have better control over their jaw and helps prevent choking hazards.
Which teething biscuits are safe for babies?
Unsweetened, naturally-flavoured homemade teething biscuits that are prepared using wholesome ingredients such as pulses, whole grains, cereals, millets, fruits, nuts, and seeds can be offered to babies in moderation. Steering away from using any kind of preservatives, additives, salt, refined flour, and sugar ensures teething biscuits are safe for babies.
How to make baby teething biscuits?
To help ease the preparation of these biscuits use the following teething biscuit recipes that are simple, tasty, and healthy.
Ragi Biscuits
Ingredients needed:
- Ragi flour: 4 cups
- Ghee: 2 cups
- Jaggery powder: 1½ cups
- Baking soda: 2 teaspoons
- Cardamom powder: 2 tablespoons
- Mixed dry fruits: 2 tablespoons powdered
- Roasted Sesame Seeds: 2 tablespoons
Instructions to cook:
- Preheat your oven to 320°F (160°C). Lightly grease a baking tray with a small amount of ghee.
- Dry roast the ragi flour in a pan on low heat. Stir constantly until it gives a fragrant aroma.
- Turn off the heat and add ghee, dry fruit powder, sesame seeds, cardamom powder, jaggery powder, and baking soda into the pan. Mix thoroughly until you achieve a smooth, lump-free dough.
- Roll the dough gently between your palms to form small balls, then place them onto the greased baking tray. Use the back of a spoon to flatten the balls.
- Place the baking tray into the preheated oven and bake the biscuits for approximately 20 minutes.
- Once baked, remove the tray from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool completely.
- Transfer the cooled biscuits into an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Ingredients needed:
- Wheat flour: 1 cup whole wheat flour
- Sweet Potatoes: 1/4 cup roasted and mashed
- Unsweetened Almond/Oat Milk: 1/4 cup
- Unsalted Butter: 1/4 cup (softened)
- Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
Instructions to cook:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking tray with butter paper.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, softened butter, and baking powder. Use your clean hands to mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the mashed sweet potatoes and almond or oat milk to the mixture. Stir until everything is well combined, and a thick dough forms.
- Gather the dough into a ball and place it onto lightly floured parchment paper. Cover the dough with another sheet of parchment paper and gently roll it out to your desired thickness.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out biscuits from the rolled-out dough. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until the bottom and edges turn golden brown.
- Once baked, remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Enjoy your homemade sweet potato biscuits as a delicious and nutritious treat!
When used under proper supervision, baby teething biscuits are a useful and safe way to alleviate teething discomfort. It helps introduce babies to a range of tastes and flavours. Always remember biscuits can never be a replacement for fresh, homemade food and should only be given for functional reasons such as teething.
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