Toddler nutrition is a very sensitive and an imperative topic of discussion. Being mindful of that, I intend to share my experiments with my second born. Consider this ‘Manual’ as a testimonial from ‘me’ - a troubled mother/myself whose daughter was a poor sleeper and a very loud baby. But since we made changes with her food and her activity time, she sleeps longer, smiles more, claps more…and learns more everyday. She is a different baby altogether!
My Learnings:
| Rule of nature is when the mommy/daddy bird brings food to its young ones, they eat whatever is brought to them…and fight amongst its siblings for more food. Human babies too are born to eat anything that their parents serve them. | As a feeder we need to take care of the food edibility, temperature and hygiene. Every vegetable, grain and protein based food should be offered to the baby irrelevant of the parent liking it or not. | With perseverance any kid of more than 12 months is capable of eating Daliya, moong ki dal, oats, dal /besan cheela, lauki, aaloo matar, paneer, dahi, zuchini, kaddu, torai, palak, poha, sevai, rice sevai idli/dosa, dhokla, pasta, roti, paratha(namak ajwain), khichdi/dal chawal,kadhi, fish, eggs, chicken, mini samosas, thepla, gavaar, cucumber, salad, papaya, bananas, berries, tomatoes, makhaana, wheat/jowar puff, kurmura and in addition to all this she drinks 500 to 600 ml cow's milk everyday. My daughter now eats all these meals. Click here BAAL AHAAR PICS. for evidence. ;) |
Strategies suggested:
| Weigh your child | Weigh your child and then calculate the amount of calories the baby needs at that age. Roughly by the age of 9 to 12 months the baby should be getting anywhere between 1000 to 1200 calories in a day. |
| Study Food group | Study 5 food groups:vegetables, fruit, grain foods, dairy and protein. Study the daily preparation time, availability of food at hand.Make a list of Local and Available resources |
| Say No to Sugar! + processed food | Discard artificial Sugar and include natural. Fruits, sweet dried fruits, jaggery, home made sweets should be offered instead of biscuits and cookies and chips. Extra salt is downer for toddlers. |
| Follow a Pattern | Serve the toddler in a same way,(food chair) at a same time (try to), serve food in bite size, at the right temperature (goldilocks temperature ;), encourage self eating, discount the mess. |
| Don’t Become mother India | Keep emotions aside while feeding, Offer the same food 101 times before making a bias about it. No two children are same in eating habits. Appetite of a child depends on factors like sleep and activity through the day. Show them enough sun and let them play in open spaces. |
Hope you find some foresight here if you are a concerned parent for a picky/poor/fussy eater . My intention here is to kindle the natural instinct of a parent to feed and tap their child’s metabolism to healthy future. Good Luck !!!
