Dads: Four foods to never feed your baby

Aside from the risk of choking when feeding solid foods to babies less than 6 months old, here are foods that can be poisonous to babies:

1. Peanut butter - no risk in most children, but highly elevated risk if history of allergy in the family. American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no peanut butter until age 3. For more on peanut butter, click here.
2. Honey - Never give honey to a baby under 1 year old. Honey may contain bacterial spores that can cause infant botulism, a rare but serious disease that affects the nervous system of young babies. For more on why honey is dangerous despite its benefits, click here.
3. Alcohol - Babies and children are much more sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol than adults. Alcohol can cause a child's blood sugar to plunge to a dangerously low level, which can lead to seizures, coma and even death in a young child.
4. Fava beans - Most other beans are fine for kids but there is a strong risk with Fava beans since some people deficient in a certain enzymes are unable to process fava-bean toxins, which begin destroying red blood cells. In babies, this can be fatal.

Obviously, many, many other household products from common table salt to toothpaste to antifreeze can also be lethal to children, but especially the first two items are often thought of as kids' food and might be offered to babies without thinking.

While you are considering what constitutes as "safe" for your child, here's another criterion that is as important: food additives. These include preservatives, colors, flavors and flavor enhancers, and sweeteners, among others. Additives could also come in the form of pesticides that linger on fruits and vegetables long after their application, either in the peels, or absorbed by the plants through roots. Adequate precaution (such as peeling, washing the items well) while serving such food can be an option, or one could try organic food. For more information on food safety, check out the consumer guidelines at Government Food Safety Information.