SAFE FROM
6 months
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age.
CDC
| Age | Can they have it? | How to serve it |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months | Wait | Not yet — see above. |
| 6 months | Yes | Iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed smooth with breast milk, formula or water — but rotate it with oat, barley and multigrain cereals rather than serving rice cereal alone. |
| 9 months | Yes | Iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed smooth with breast milk, formula or water — but rotate it with oat, barley and multigrain cereals rather than serving rice cereal alone. |
| 12 months | Yes | Well-cooked rice, finely mashed. The CDC says to cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels. |
| 18 months | Yes | Well-cooked rice, finely mashed. The CDC says to cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels. |
| 2 years | Yes | Well-cooked rice, finely mashed. The CDC says to cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels. |
FROM 6 MONTHS
Iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed smooth with breast milk, formula or water — but rotate it with oat, barley and multigrain cereals rather than serving rice cereal alone.
FROM 12 MONTHS
Well-cooked rice, finely mashed. The CDC says to cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels.
Cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch. Cut cylindrical foods (hot dogs, sausage, string cheese) into short thin strips — round pieces can get stuck in the airway. Cut small spherical foods (grapes, cherries, berries, tomatoes) into small pieces. Cook hard vegetables and fruit until they mash easily. Remove seeds, hard pits, skin and bones.
Rice cereal is not on the AAP or CDC choking-hazard lists. That is not the same as no risk: any food can choke a baby if the piece is too big or the wrong shape. Cut it to no larger than half an inch, keep your baby sitting up in a high chair, keep mealtimes calm, and watch them the whole time they are eating.
Rice cereal is not one of the common allergens. Introduce it on its own anyway and wait 3 to 5 days before the next new food, so if your baby does react to something you know what it was.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
Rice cereal is not off-limits — but ONLY feeding infant rice cereal increases a child's arsenic exposure, so the CDC says to vary the grain.
Nothing here changes the answer above. A soft-tipped spoon and a catch-all bib are the two things that actually get used at this stage.
Baby-led weaning utensils on Amazon ↗
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never appears on a “not yet” answer, on an allergen, or on a choking hazard, and it never changes an answer.
If you are working through the Grains group, the same serving and allergen questions come up for oatmeal / oat cereal, crackers and barley and whole grains. Each one has its own introduction age and choking guidance — they are not interchangeable.
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age. Rice cereal is not off-limits — but ONLY feeding infant rice cereal increases a child's arsenic exposure, so the CDC says to vary the grain.
From 6 months: Iron-fortified infant rice cereal mixed smooth with breast milk, formula or water — but rotate it with oat, barley and multigrain cereals rather than serving rice cereal alone. From 12 months: Well-cooked rice, finely mashed. The CDC says to cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels.
Rice cereal is not on the AAP or CDC choking-hazard lists, but any food can choke a baby if the piece is too big. Cut it to no larger than half an inch, keep your baby sitting up while they eat, and watch them the whole time.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Offer one single-ingredient new food at a time and wait 3 to 5 days before the next one, so a reaction is easy to trace. The emergency signs are at the top of this page.