Can my baby eat cheeseburgers?

Babies can be incredibly sensitive when it comes to what foods they can and can’t eat. Some babies throw up even after eating highly processed baby food, so deciding to give one’s baby a new food can be a stressful experience for new moms.

When eating a delicious cheeseburger, many moms are curious if they can give the baby a little bite. Even adults know that cheeseburgers are unhealthy for us, as they use beef, which is bad for the heart, and lots of oil, which is what makes greasy food so bad for the body. While it might not hurt every baby, moms should reconsider feeding their young children this unhealthy food for several reasons.

It is very caloric.

One reason that babies shouldn’t eat cheeseburgers is the fact that the food is very caloric, meaning it is high in calories. Unlike humans, who can run, swim, and walk around all day at work, babies don’t burn many calories. Just waddling and crawling around doesn’t take much energy, which is why babies primarily eat low-calorie foods like milk and processed fruit. If given high-calorie foods like cheeseburgers, babies can become too fat, which can cause all kinds of problems down the line. Mothers can set their babies up for a healthy and active life by keeping them within a healthy weight while they are still young.

Burgers are full of unhealthy fats.

Another reason that mothers should avoid giving their babies cheeseburgers is that they are full of unhealthy fats like trans fat. Burgers, especially those from fast-food joints like McDonald’s or Burger King or Wendy’s, are stuffed to the brim with dangerous trans fat. This is the kind of fat that doctors warn their patients about because it can easily clog arteries and lead to other dangerous health problems. If trans fat leads to so much chaos in an adult body, imagine what a huge dose of trans fat will do to the body of a tiny baby!

They are full of chemicals and growth hormones.

The beef industry in America is highly unnatural and unhealthy for both the animals involved and the people consuming them. To maximize profits, animals are stuffed into tiny cages together, where disease travels through the group easily. To combat this, farmers pump them full of antibiotics, and not just the sick ones. Every single animal, after they’re born until they are slaughtered, is full of huge amounts of antibiotics. This leads to factory farms becoming the breeding ground for the development of deadly new diseases that are antibiotic-resistant.

Some of these diseases can pass to humans after eating meat. Babies are much more susceptible to disease than adults, as their immune systems aren’t fully developed. So feeding a baby beef like that in a cheeseburger could give them a deadly disease that has been brewing in a dangerous factory farm. Not only is the beef pumped full of antibiotics, but the animals are also given hormones to get them as big as possible in a short amount of time.

Remains of these hormones stay in the meat, and humans consume them, with very adverse effects, including some types of cancer and other terrifying conditions. While these hormones wreak havoc on a healthy adult body, they are many times worse in a fragile baby’s body. They are exposing one’s young child to these growth hormones so early could have devastating consequences for their health in later years.

They contain other unhealthy ingredients in the condiments.

But it isn’t just the beef that is unhealthy for babies. Many of the toppings and other elements of a cheeseburger are just as bad for a baby’s developing body. For instance, the vast majority of babies won’t eat foods with a strong taste. The mustard that is usually put on burgers has a very distinct taste that will be unpleasant for babies.

Ketchup, while more appealing to a baby’s palate, is unhealthy as it often contains lots of sugar as well as high fructose corn syrup. Many babies don’t eat complex ingredients, and this could lead them to have a bad reaction to the burger. All kinds of ingredients that usually go on a cheeseburger are usually not tolerated by young babies.

This list includes pickles, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, barbecue sauce, or strong or uncommon cheeses.

Feeding one’s baby burgers teach it unhealthy habits and set a bad precedent for the mother.

As a mother, one of the most important jobs is to be a shining example for the child on what they should be and how they should act. By giving one’s baby a cheeseburger, this is setting a terrible example to the child on what a healthy or acceptable diet looks like. This will significantly increase their chances of eating unhealthy in the future, leading to all kinds of health and lifestyle problems that could have been easily avoided.

Additionally, feeding a baby a cheeseburger also sets a bad precedent for the mother. After all, if she is comfortable giving a cheeseburger to a baby, she’ll also become more comfortable feeding the baby other junk food. Whether ice cream or chips or soda, these are all terrible for babies and should always be sternly avoided.

While always making separate food just for the baby may be difficult for mothers on a budget and with limited time, it is very important for mothers to always carefully consider what they feed their children. Mothers must consider every ingredient in the meal they might give their babies before doing it, as even one small ingredient could cause a negative reaction.

A cheeseburger, for instance, has many unhealthy and displeasing elements that would make a baby unhappy. The beef in the burger might even give them a terrible sickness or devastating condition down the road. While sharing a quick bite of a McDonald’s burger might not seem like a big deal to a tired mother, babies have very sensitive bodies, and even the smallest bad ingredient could send it into a tailspin.