16-month-old child: Developmental milestones and nutritional needs

16-month-olds are adorable little angels. Children at this age gradually learn to walk, babble and bounce to the music, interested in color.

In the following article, we invite you to explore the development and nutrition of 16-month-old children with aFamilyToday Health.

16-month-old baby knows what to do?

At 16 months, your baby will love to hear you sing nursery rhymes and songs or try to sing along with your parents with their meager vocabulary. Children 16 months old will speak about 3 words, many even speak up to 15-20 words.

It will be very easy to guess your baby's preferences because babies tend to like to repeat a few actions over and over.

Although parents may be surprised at what a 16-month-old can do during this time, baby won't be very patient. Sometimes, the little angel easily cries if not satisfied with something.

Development milestone of 16 months old baby

Some notable characteristics of development in 16-month-old babies:

Toddlers: Most children 16 months old are quite proficient in learning to walk. This will be the premise for the next important milestones such as climbing, running, walking backwards, footsteps dancing to music.

Teething: As early as 16 months, your baby's canines can begin to grow.

Training your baby to use a potty: Although your child will still mainly need a potty at this time, parents can still train their baby to use a potty early so they can get used to signaling to adults that they need to go to the toilet or know how to sit on the potty, toilet properly.

Sleep of 16 months old baby

Children 1- 2 years old need 11-14 hours of sleep each day. Usually, babies will always take naps and go to bed early in the evening to be able to develop the best.

Nutrition for children 16 months old

Children 16 years old can be trained by their parents to eat a variety of foods, such as:

Fruit: Fruit not only helps provide fiber but also provides essential vitamins that your baby's body needs. Let your 16-month-old baby try sipping a small serving of fruits such as banana, kiwi, mango, watermelon ... every day to build up the habit of eating fruit from a baby.

Whole grains: Whole grains are still an essential ingredient in building a healthy diet for children. You can prepare delicious dishes such as porridge, crushed rice, bread, soup from oats, rice, rye ... and let your child enjoy every day.

Fat: In addition to storing energy to serve the body's functioning, fat is the factor that helps 16-month-old children to be healthy and older in the coming months. Therefore, you let your baby absorb good fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, avocado ...

Vegetables: To enhance your baby's taste as well as find out which vegetables and fruits your child likes to eat, try giving them boiled or steamed vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli ... Comes with the sauce to help your baby's appetite.

Eggs and Meat: Eggs and meat are both nutritious foods and the best foods for babies 16 months old. A boiled egg with minced meat, vegetables and softly spread rice will become a pretty interesting suggestion for your baby's meal.

Iron: Your baby's body needs iron to support blood production. You should supplement iron for your 16-month-old child with iron-rich foods such as liver, chickpeas, tomatoes, and beef. Besides, parents also need to combine the above dishes with foods rich in vitamin C , because vitamin C allows the body to absorb iron better.

Dairy foods:  Besides powdered milk products, babies should supplement nutrition from dairy foods such as cheese, yogurt, and whey ...

Nuts and legumes:  When it comes to nutrition for your 16-month-old baby, don't ignore the nuts and seeds from legumes, as they contain so many minerals that are good for your baby's development. there. You can try to cook delicious dishes from green beans, black beans, peas, walnuts ...

Finally, parents need to note in the diet for 16-month-old babies, let them eat many meals a day. However, you should not force your child to eat too much to avoid vomiting because the stomach is still quite small and cannot digest food in time.