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INFANT AND CHILD NUTRITION - an overview for parents
Vicki Martin - Dietitian
Healthy eating habits start early!
Compared to adults, children have very different requirements
for essential nutrients. They also may need different feeding
times and different types and qualities of foods.
Tastebuds take a long time to mature, so food for children
often needs to be simple in texture, flavour, preparation,
and presentation.
Meal times should be enjoyable and free from stress with
an emphasis on the positive aspects of foods and drinks.
It is helpful if adults present at meals maintain an open
acceptance of all foods rather than expressing dislikes,
or labeling foods 'good' or 'bad'.
Avoid having foods containing high amounts of sugar, salt,
and fat in the house, and set an example by eating healthy,
nutrient rich foods yourself.
Guidelines for the introduction of solids
Do not start solids too early - not until age 4 to 6 months.
Introduce one new food at a time, every 4 - 5 days, and
change variety, texture, and quantity as baby grows.
First foods need to be soft, smooth and warm - use a blender
or sieve and add breast milk, infant formula or water to
make the food soft enough to swallow.
Give infants plenty to drink - warm water, breast milk,
or infant formula, although once given solids the baby will
take less milk.
Do not add extra salt, sugar, spices, butter, or sauces
to food.
Suggestions for meals include soft cooked ground rice
or ground millet porridge, pureed cooked apple, pear, peach,
banana, and pureed cooked kumara, pumpkin, carrot, marrow,
or silverbeet.
Food guidelines for infants to one year
Fine ground oatmeal, rice, millet, or barley porridge
for breakfast.
Soft fresh fruit e.g. segments of orange, mandarin, kiwifruit,
banana, plum or peach.
A wider range of soft cooked vegetables twice a day -
yam, taro, courgette, cauliflower, broccoli.
Protein foods - a small serving twice a day of soft cooked
tofu or egg mashed with veg. Other suggestions include cooked,
pureed lentils or chickpeas, finely minced meat, chicken,
fish or liver, blended cottage cheese, plain acidophilus
or homemade yoghurt sweetened with pureed fruit.
Food guidelines for one to four year olds
At this stage baby may be weaned off breast milk and infant
formulas. They may be beginning to feed themselves or hold
food in their hands, and they may be teething and will enjoy
having something to chew on. At this stage toddlers can
be given similar foods to the family and can try a lot of
different foods, however, avoid small hard foods such as
nuts or seeds which may cause choking.
For breakfast oatmeal or rolled rice, millet or barley
porridges; sugar free cereals with warm cow, goat, or soy
milks.
Up to two cups of whole (not fat reduced or calcium enriched)
milk per day, which may be cow, goat, or soy.
For lunch - small sandwiches made from fine wholemeal
bread with minimal or no butter and mashed egg, cottage
cheese, salt-free peanut butter, plain hummus, plain tinned
fish e.g. sardines or tuna with no oil or salt added, or
plain homemade liver pate.
Protein sources (at least twice per day), these include
cooked beans, lentils, chickpeas, soft cooked tofu, tempeh,
soy sausage, soft cooked or scrambled egg, chopped lean
meat, chicken, or seafood.
Other calcium and protein sources are blended cottage
cheese, or acidophilus and homemade yoghurts (avoid sugar
flavourings).
Cooked or raw vegetables and fruit (no sugar or salt added)
at least twice per day - pureed vegetable soups.
Vegetable pasta, brown rice, or potato with dinner meals.
Soft well cooked semolina, brown rice puddings using fruit
juice as sweetener, or seameal custard for desserts.
Homemade rusks (cut slices of fine wholemeal bread into
fingers and bake in oven. Store in airtight jar); unsalted
rice cakes or corn cakes with honey.
Warm water, or well diluted (quarter juice to 3/4 water)
pure fruit juices such as apple, blackcurrant, grape, or
pineapple - no sugar added.
Avoid all additions of salt, sugar, and fat i.e. oil,
butter, margarines, fried or roasted foods where possible.
Up to age 5 children should not have fat reduced diet foods.
Key Nutrients Required
Children up to the age of five require nearly as much
calcium as an adult for good nerve, teeth, and bone development.
Calcium containing foods are:
Cow, goat, soy milks
Acidophilus or homemade yoghurt
Cottage cheese
Canned fish
Tofu, soy beans
Wholemeal grains and cereals
Green vegetables
Infants require more iron than an adult male. Iron promotes
good brain development and a healthy immune system.
Iron containing foods are:
Red meats, liver
Fish, seafoods
Chicken, eggs
Beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy products
Wholemeal cereals and bread
Green leafy vegetables
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Other Sources of Information
www.cyberdiet.com
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