Weaning and meals at nursery: when to start according to Swiss guidelines and how to plan with your nursery

For many families, weaning arrives at the same time as the return to work and the start of nursery. In the FSVO's national Swiss Infant Feeding Study (SWIFS) 2024, about half of mothers had gone back to work during their baby's first year, and 45% of them used a nursery among their childcare arrangements. This guide sets out when to start according to official Swiss guidance, how to introduce allergens and how to coordinate purées, breast milk and meals with your nursery, especially if you are used to advice from another country.

When to start weaning in Switzerland

Between the start of the 5th and the start of the 7th month of life, that is, between 4 and 6 months of age. This is the window recommended by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) together with the Swiss Society of Paediatrics (SSP) and the Swiss Society for Nutrition (SSN). For the first four to six months, breast milk, or infant formula, is all a baby needs; at around six months it no longer covers their growing need for energy and nutrients, iron in particular.

If you are used to guidance from elsewhere, you may have read something different. The World Health Organization recommends six months of exclusive breastfeeding. The SSP, in line with the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN), notes that in industrialised countries starting solids in the 5th or 6th month has never been shown to cause harm, and therefore recommends the 5th-to-7th-month window, with breastfeeding continuing for as long as mother and baby wish.

Within that window, the right moment varies from baby to baby. There are three typical signs of readiness: your baby can sit with their head steady, shows interest in what adults are eating and brings objects to their mouth. If they turn their head away or spit the food out, they are probably not ready yet: wait one or two weeks and try again. Most Swiss families follow this guidance: in SWIFS 2024, the median age for first solids was 5 months. Timing and approach are always best decided with your paediatrician, especially if your baby was born prematurely or has health issues.

Which foods, and in what order: the Swiss chart

There is no single right first food. The official chart by the FSVO, SSN and SSP shows which food groups to introduce and when; the table below summarises it, together with the number of meals suggested by Bimbi a tavola, the FSVO's infant feeding website created with the SSN, the SSP and the Swiss allergy centre aha!. Ages refer to completed months.

In practice, start with one food at a time, without mixing it with others: for example a smooth purée of carrot, parsnip, courgette, pumpkin or broccoli, or grated apple or pear and mashed banana. At first a few spoonfuls are enough, topped up with the usual milk. After a few days, offer a different food: trying each new food for several days helps you spot any intolerance or allergy. Once a day, add a little rapeseed oil, which provides valuable fatty acids. Homemade purées and ready-made jars are both good options, and can be combined.

Allergens: what Swiss guidance says today

There is no need to delay them. Until a few years ago, parents were sometimes advised to avoid foods such as fish or gluten in the first year; today the SSP states that avoiding or delaying potentially allergenic foods does not reduce the risk of allergy, even in babies whose parents or siblings have allergies, and that a varied diet in the first year may have a protective effect. Fish in particular may have a positive influence.

• Gluten: the SSP recommends introducing cereals containing gluten between the 5th and 7th month.
• Egg: always hard-boiled or fully cooked; you can start with a quarter of an egg in place of meat and move to half an egg from the 9th month.
• Nuts: in the first three years, only ground or as a smooth butter, never whole, because of the risk of choking.
• Special formulas and diets: partially or extensively hydrolysed formulas are not recommended to prevent allergies, and breastfeeding mothers do not need a preventive diet.

If allergies run in your family or you notice a reaction after a new food, talk to your paediatrician before going further.

What to avoid in the first year

• Salt, stock, spices, sugar and sweeteners in your baby's food, and above all honey and maple syrup, which may contain bacteria and spores.
• Raw animal foods: raw milk and soft raw-milk cheese, undercooked meat, salami and cured ham, raw or smoked fish, raw egg.
• Cow's milk as a drink before 12 months. Plant-based drinks are not a substitute for milk, and rice drinks are not recommended.
• Choking hazards, up to age 3: whole nuts, bread with seeds, whole grapes and cherry tomatoes, fish with bones.
• Some foods up to age 3: game, liver, swordfish, shark and tuna, which may contain heavy metals; rice cakes and rice porridge only in moderation, because of their arsenic content.
• Sweetened drinks and juice: the ideal drink is tap water, which in Switzerland is of very good quality.

Weaning and nursery: how to coordinate

Weaning is agreed with parents. Ticino's cantonal recommendations for childcare settings state that a child's feeding is agreed with the family, particularly for babies and during weaning, and that parents decide which milk their child is given. Up to about 18 months, nurseries also respect each child's individual rhythm, including mealtimes.

• New foods at home first. Introduce new foods at home, one at a time, and tell the nursery which ones your baby has already tried, updating the list as you go.
• Nothing new during settling in. The City of Zurich's municipal nurseries ask parents not to introduce new foods or change eating habits during the settling-in weeks. Our guide to settling in at nursery explains how those weeks work.
• Breastfeeding and bottles. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, introduce a bottle in good time: Zurich's municipal nurseries point out that it can take about two weeks. For breast milk, ask how to label, transport and store it: the cantonal recommendations distinguish between fresh and thawed milk, which must not be refrozen, and for purées or milk brought from home, the nursery agrees with parents how to handle them.
• Documented allergies. According to the Cantonal Laboratory's manual, parents list any allergies on the entry form, and for a child with an allergy they provide a medical certificate confirming it and its severity.

If you go back to work and want to keep breastfeeding, Swiss law protects you. According to SECO, during your baby's first year, time spent breastfeeding or expressing milk counts as paid working time: at least 30 minutes for a working day of up to 4 hours, 60 minutes for more than 4 hours and 90 minutes for more than 7 hours, in a suitable place provided by the employer. SWIFS 2024 found that working mothers breastfeed for a slightly shorter time on average (17.4 weeks compared with 21.8), but that breastfeeding rooms and ways to keep milk cool at work are more common than in 2014.

At nursery, meals are also a time for learning. Children learn a great deal by watching and copying adults and other children, and Swiss guidance suggests that adults decide what is served while children decide how much to eat, without being made to clear their plate.

What to ask your nursery about meals

1. Who prepares the meals? In Ticino, a nursery may have its own kitchen or receive meals from a catering service. Ask who plans the menus.
2. Are menus displayed? The Cantonal Laboratory's manual provides for a weekly menu to be made available, showing where meat and fish come from and stating that allergen information can be requested from staff.
3. How do you handle weaning? Who decides which foods to offer and when, whether you can bring purées from home, and how you keep each other informed.
4. How do you manage allergies and special diets? Which documents are needed, and how cross-contamination is avoided in the kitchen.
5. Can I bring breast milk, or come in to breastfeed? The cantonal recommendations encourage settings to offer a space for mothers who breastfeed during their work breaks.
6. Are meals included in the fee? Some nurseries include them, others charge separately: ask how much they cost and whether this changes with the number of days.
7. Do you hold the Fourchette verte label? For meal quality, the cantonal office that authorises nurseries (UFaG) refers to the Fourchette verte label for young children as a guarantee of balanced meals.

Meals and weaning at Honeycomb

At Honeycomb School in Muzzano, near Lugano, feeding is part of the structured conversation with parents during settling in at the nursery, together with sleep and separation: it is the moment to talk about your child's habits and your family's choices. Mealtimes are also one of the routines in which children live both languages, Italian and English, with native-speaker educators. Meals are charged separately from the fee: CHF 2,400 a year for the 5-day nursery and for the kindergarten, and CHF 1,920 for the 4-day nursery. Full details are on our fees page; a visit is the right time to ask about menus and how meals are organised.

Weaning is not a race: every baby has their own pace, and a good nursery respects it along with your family's choices. For any question about health and growth, your paediatrician remains the person to ask.