What is the 3-day Rule For Weaning?

The 3-day rule for weaning is an old recommendation to wait 3 days after introducing a new food to your infant. It involves introducing new food to your baby one at a time and is intended to help parents/caregives assess for allergies and adverse reactions to food. The 3-day rule for weaning continues to be recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics however, it has several downsides.

Downsides of the 3-day rule for weaning

Here are some of the downsides of the 3-day rule for weaning:

1. It’s painstakingly slow. It takes forever to get to the point where your infant has a varied diet. Exposing your infant to a wide range of foods is important for palate training, reducing pickiness later in life, and ensuring that your child consumes a wide range of nutrients [1].
2. It may have a negative impact on food allergy risk. New evidence suggests that introducing age-appropriate allergenic foods early and often may help prevent food allergies [2]. 
3. It is needlessly restrictive. Food allergies are estimated to occur in only 7.6% of children (1/13) and the top 9 allergens (milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, soy, and wheat) account for the large majority of allergic reactions [3]. For most kids, waiting 3 days to introduce new foods beyond the top 9 allergens unnecessarily restricts their intake of healthy, wholesome foods during a period of rapid development.
4. The wait period between foods is unnecessarily long. Food allergy symptoms usually appear within a couple of hours of consuming the food rather than days later. Food sensitivity symptoms can take longer to develop but are unlikely to be life-threatening like allergic reactions. 
5. It’s boring for kids and makes food prep laborious for parents. Following the 3-day rule for weaning means that babies have to eat the same foods repeatedly in the early days of eating. For parents, it means that you always have to have that limited set of foods available rather than feeding your child a modified version of what you’re eating.

Final thoughts on the 3-day rule for weaning

In summary, the 3-day rule for weaning is not practical or necessary for many families. Moreover, infants may miss out on the benefits of eating a varied diet and introducing allergens early by adhering to this method of starting solids.