Babies and toddlers, feeding, naps and bedtimes in Spain

Key rules

• First foods: Start solids at around 6 months, never before 4 months, and keep milk as the main food until 12 months.
• Allergenic foods: Egg, fish and peanut are not delayed in Spain.
• Late evenings: Dinner and bedtime in Spain run late, and babies often join family evenings.
• Naps: One nap after lunch is normal for toddlers, often until about age 3.

The short version

Feeding follows Spanish paediatric guidance, which is cautious and fairly standard. Sleep is looser. Babies often join the family's late evenings, and you can adapt naps and bedtimes to suit your child.

How feeding works

Give only breast milk or formula for about the first six months. Start solid foods at around 6 months, and not before 4 months. Wait until your baby is ready.

• Introduce foods gradually, one at a time at first. No set order is required.
• Purées and baby-led weaning are both accepted. In Spain, spoon-feeding purées is still the norm, and many families mix the two.
• Egg, fish and peanut are not delayed.
• Milk stays the main food until 12 months.

Typical first foods

Many families start with fruit such as pear, apple, banana or orange. Next come vegetable and chicken purées with potato, carrot, courgette or leek, and infant cereals, often gluten-free first. Meat, fish, egg and legumes follow within a few months. Your paediatrician will often give you a month-by-month schedule, so ask for one at your check-ups.

What to avoid

The timeline and the warnings below list the main risks. In short, follow the Spanish guidance on honey, choking hazards, large predatory fish, salt, sugar and certain vegetables. Ask your paediatrician if you are unsure about a food.

Evenings and bedtimes

Spanish days run late. Babies under 12 months often have dinner between 19:30 and 21:00 and go to bed between about 21:00 and 22:00. That is later than in northern Europe. Many families do a bath, feed, then bed routine. Paediatric advice favours a consistent routine over a particular hour.

Toddlers aged 1 to 3 usually have dinner around 20:00 to 21:00 and go to bed between about 21:00 and 22:00. Bedtimes are earlier on school days and later in summer. Paediatric advice generally suggests earlier bedtimes than is common, so you can keep your usual earlier bedtime and still fit in.

Naps

Most toddlers still nap after lunch, usually once for 1 to 3 hours. This often lasts until about age 3, and sometimes to 4 or 5. Nursery schools (escuelas infantiles, ages 0 to 3) schedule a nap after lunch. The siesta usually stops in the second cycle of infantil (ages 3 to 6), though some classes keep it for the first year or two.

If your child's routine clashes with Spanish timing, see the "What if" section below.

Timeline and deadlines

• Give only breast milk or formula: for the first 6 months

• Keep milk as the main food while solids build up: until 12 months

• Start offering honey and cow's milk as a main drink, and keep added salt and sugar low: from 12 months

What to watch out for

• Honey before 12 months: Honey can cause botulism in babies under 12 months. Leave honey out of everything you give your baby until their first birthday.

• Choking hazards: Whole nuts and other hard or small foods can choke a child until about 5 years. Offer nuts only ground or as a paste, and cut or mash other hard foods.

• Large predatory fish: Swordfish, shark, bluefin tuna and pike are not suitable for children under 10 years. Choose other fish, and also avoid them yourself in pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

• Added salt, sugar and sugary drinks: Added salt and sugar are not advised in the first year, and juices, sugary drinks and rice drinks are discouraged for young children. Cook without salt or sugar and offer water or milk instead.

• Raw foods and spinach or chard: Raw or undercooked meat, fish and eggs, and unpasteurised products, are discouraged for young children, and spinach and chard are limited under 12 months. Cook meat, fish and eggs through, choose pasteurised products, and leave spinach and chard for after the first year.

What if our child's routine clashes with Spanish timing?

Your child can keep an earlier routine in Spain. Nobody will mind, and a few practical fallbacks cover the times when local hours get in the way.

Why it clashes

Spain runs later than much of Europe. Lunch is about 13:30 to 16:00. Traditional restaurant kitchens open for dinner around 20:30 to 21:00 and close around 23:00. School-age children typically go to bed between 21:30 and 22:30 on school nights. Bedtimes are later for older primary children, in the south, at weekends and in summer.

If your child eats at 18:00 and is asleep by 20:00, you are outside the local pattern. That is fine at home. The friction comes when you go out.

Eating out with an early eater

A sit-down dinner before 20:00 is often not possible in a traditional restaurant. Small towns and inland areas are the strictest on hours. Try these instead:

• Make lunch the main meal. The menú del día is cheap and served at lunchtime, so your child can eat a full meal early in the day.
• Have a big late-afternoon meal. A merienda-cena (a large snack that works as dinner) fits well with an early bedtime.
• Use all-day places. Bars serving tapas, bocadillos or raciones, plus bakeries, chains, supermarkets and takeaways, do not follow kitchen hours.
• Pick your area. Coastal resorts, big-city centres and the Balearic and Canary Islands have many places serving food all day or from 19:00. The north, such as the Basque Country, and some chains open slightly earlier.
• Ask first. Book ahead and ask "¿Está abierta la cocina?" (is the kitchen open?).
• Cook at home on the days when nothing else works.

Summer evenings

Children stay up noticeably later in summer, and this is strongest in the south and on the coast. Dinner is often at 21:00 to 22:00. Younger children (3 to 8) typically go to bed at about 22:00 to 23:00. Older children and teens may stay up until midnight or later. Families eat out, walk and meet in plazas and playgrounds well after 22:00.

If your child needs an early night, you have a few options:

• Go out early. Playgrounds are quieter before the evening crowd arrives.
• Eat first, then stroll. Feed your child at home, then join the evening walk for a short time.
• Protect the nap. An afternoon rest during the hottest hours makes a later evening easier, if you want to join in.
• Say no. Leaving early is normal and needs no explanation.

Easing in

Moving bedtime a little later is optional. If your child sleeps badly or is tired at school, keep the earlier routine. If you want to shift toward local timing, move it by 15 to 30 minutes every few days rather than all at once.

Frequently asked questions

Can I give my baby honey or cow's milk before 12 months?

No, honey should wait until your baby is 12 months old because of the risk of botulism. Cow's milk should not be the main drink before 12 months either, so milk or formula stays the main food until then.

Are allergenic foods like egg, fish and peanut delayed in Spain?

No, Spanish paediatric guidance does not delay allergenic foods such as egg, fish and peanut once your baby has started solids. Introduce them gradually, one at a time at first, and your paediatrician can give you a month-by-month plan.

Until what age do toddlers in Spain still nap?

Most toddlers in Spain still nap after lunch until about age 3, and often until 4 to 5, usually one nap of 1 to 3 hours. Escuelas infantiles schedule a nap after lunch, while the siesta is normally dropped in the second cycle of infantil (ages 3 to 6), though some classes keep it for the first year or two.

What time do babies under 12 months go to bed in Spain?

Babies under 12 months in Spain typically go to bed between about 21:00 and 22:00, after dinner around 19:30 to 21:00. Many families follow a bath, feed and bed routine, and you can shift this earlier if your baby needs it.