The best nutrition at the right time
As a new parent, you want the best for your child. And that includes
the best nutrition.
"But the proper nutrition for kids can seem baffling, given the latest health headlines.
An increasing number of adults worldwide are more overweight than ever, and the
trend is spreading to youngsters.
Nutrition experts are seeing more and more children with weight problems - even
preschoolers are tipping the scales on the high end for their age group. And many
children aren't meeting the daily minimums for recommended food intake.
So how do you know your child is getting what he needs in the food department?
AGE MATTERS
For an infant 6 months old or younger, breast milk or formula provides pretty much
all the nutrition the child needs. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends
that infants be breastfed for at least a year. From 6 months to a year, solid foods
are introduced as the child begins to supplement breast milk or formula with extra
calories.
What a child definitely does not need in his first year is cow's milk, experts say.
"It's a poor source of iron, and it can also cause low-grade GI [gastrointestinal]
bleeding," says Andrew M. Tershakovec, M.D., director of the Weight Management Program
at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The combination of those two factors can lead to iron deficiency, he says. The potassium
in cow's milk can also put a strain on infant kidneys.
Solid foods are given to a child beginning at around 6 months of age in part because
the child needs to learn how to eat. If you wait too long to begin solid foods,
the child may refuse to try them. Introduce them at too young an age - under 4 months,
for instance - and your child may not gain enough weight, Tershakovec says. That's
because breast milk (or formula) is more nutritionally dense than solid foods.
Experts also say that introducing solid foods too early can promote allergies later
in life. An infant's stomach is permeable in the first few months of life, and not
able to digest solid foods. Those undigested foods can cause an allergic reaction
and set the child up for allergies, explains Gary Emmett, M.D., clinical assistant
professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
A child in his first year will triple his birth weight, so keeping track of weight
gain during those 12 months will give you a yardstick to tell how well your child
is doing nutritionally. During the second year, from 12 to 24 months, a child's
growth slows. A toddler typically gains only 1.8kg during that time. Eating falls
off noticeably. "Your voracious baby now eats nothing, and that's normal," says
Emmett. But, he says, "is it a balanced nothing?"
The food pyramid is the best guide to follow for a balanced diet, experts say. Emmett
also suggests the Rule of Three: "If three times a week, the child gets protein,
gets three fruits, three vegetables, then you know he's getting enough." The vegetables
and fruits should be more raw than well cooked.
Remember that a toddler's portion will be far different from what you put on your
plate.
American Dietetic Association guidelines say to use the child's age when figuring
portion size: 1 tablespoon for every year of age.
Offer a variety of foods every day, and take a hands-off approach to eating. Allow
your child to decide how much she wants to eat, says Tershakovec. If you try to
put control on her eating - "finish your plate" or "drink your glass" - she will
lose her own "internal control," he says. And that may set her up for an increased
risk for obesity, he says.
MORE TIPS
Don't restrict fat intake for a child under the age of 2. A child that age is undergoing
rapid growth and development. After that, you can switch to low-fat varieties of
milk and other good sources of calcium, including yogurt and cheese.
Do restrict the amount of soda or sweetened drinks your child drinks.