Nutrition in the first years of life is an important foundation for your baby's development. Besides the variety of dishes, parents also need to pay attention to the nutritional balance, how to make the baby eat "enough" and "right".
Foods needed for 1-3 year old babies
Just like adults, babies need all kinds of food, from foods containing carbohydrates, meat and fish to vegetables.
Starch-containing foods
These foods not only include carbohydrates, they also bring B vitamins and fiber to the baby. They are the main foods that we still eat every day such as rice, noodles, noodles, pho ...
For children between the ages of 1-3 , a serving of main food is only 1/4 - 1/3 of an adult's, that is about 2-4 tablespoons of rice or noodles in each meal.
- Vegetables and fruits
This is an indispensable part in baby nutrition. This extremely rich food group provides vitamins and fiber, including particularly important vitamins such as vitamins C, E ...
Depending on the age, your baby will need a serving of 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetables with each meal. For fruit, babies can eat about 1/4 to 1/2 banana, 1/2 medium sized apple, 1 to 3 small tomatoes, 3 to 8 grapes.
-The foods that provide protein
Meat, fish and eggs are all typical foods of this group. You can also swap foods for your baby from time to time with tofu, beans and nuts.
Depending on the age, children need from 2 to 4 tablespoons of minced meat, 1-2 finger-sized pieces of fish, 1/2 - 1 egg with both the yolk and the white.
Milk and dairy foods
This food group provides an extremely important nutrient for your baby's development, which is calcium. In addition, they also provide protein, fat, vitamin D and several other nutrients. Each meal, your baby needs 1 part of the food of this group, equivalent to about 100 ml of milk, 1 jar of yogurt, 1 piece of cheese.
What is the formula 5-5-3-2?
Formula 5-5-3-2 is the ratio of each group of food that your baby needs each day. Based on this formula, you can make sure your baby is eating well without having to worry that his baby's serving sizes are too small.
Specifically, this formula will be interpreted as follows
5 - 5 Carbs containing food
5 - 5 Serves of vegetables and fruit
3 - 3 servings of milk and dairy foods
2 - 2 servings of protein foods (If your family and baby are vegetarian, increase the amount to 3 servings).
In order for your baby to absorb nutrition well, you need to make them happy and excited in every meal
Note, some babies may eat more or less than other babies of the same age. Therefore, do not apply the formula in a rigid way but need to be based on the actual needs of the baby.
1-3 year old baby how much food is enough? The nutritional needs of 1-3 year old children are not high. Every day, babies need about 40 calories per inch of height. This relative formula will help you calculate the amount of nutrients needed and specific foods for your baby
In addition to adding enough food groups, parents should not forget to give their baby enough water. Having enough water to drink, the baby will not feel exhausted, tired, especially during illness. White water should be used as the main drink because it reduces the risk of tooth decay for your baby.