Reasonable nutrition for children 1-3 years old

Children 1 to 3 years old develop at an amazing rate, because they need adequate calories and nutrients to maintain this growth rate. There are many things you can do to help your baby maintain a balanced diet, even if he is very fussy about food.

What is a balanced diet and why is it so important?

A well-balanced diet should contain a variety of different foods, in the form of different combos (combos are many dishes put together into one dish). This diet ensures to provide your baby with all the necessary nutrients to grow, grow and explore the world around him. Thereby, the baby will discover new flavors and develop long-term healthy eating habits on their own.

However, providing a balanced diet for your baby every day is not easy. So don't worry if you can't maintain it. As long as your baby always eats well, he or she is getting a lot of nutrients.

What foods do babies need to have a balanced diet?

You don't have to always eat the right foods to give your baby specific nutrients. For example, meat provides protein, but do not force your baby to eat meat porridge or rice with meat, but instead with green beans, soybeans and peanut butter also bring the same amount of protein.

You can also give your baby the nutrients he needs by preparing nutritious foods. If your baby likes boiled eggs and milk, try making baby cakes. These are the same nutrients, but diversify your baby's food!

You should give your baby a full range of sweet and savory foods for lunch and dinner, giving your baby the opportunity to eat a variety of foods. Your baby will be more interested in eating if you try to create and diversify meals.

To help your baby eat well, you should feed your baby a full range of foods in the following food groups every day:

Starchy foods (carbohydrates)

You should give your baby starchy foods at every meal along with snacks Starch foods include: rice, cereals, pasta, flour, potatoes and bananas.

Please combine both starches (in pumpkin, potato, bread, ...) and whole grains (such as oats, porridge ...) to create a variety for your baby to choose the food he likes best. Your child may like bread, so why would you only offer sandwiches when both are rich in starch? You can cook pumpkin porridge for your baby to eat, while not tired of ensuring the quality of starch!

Don't just offer whole grain foods to your baby. These foods are more filling than other carbohydrates, which means your baby will likely be full before consuming enough calories and nutrients.

Fruits and vegetables

This is an especially important food because it contains essential vitamins and minerals to help your baby grow. You may find that your baby prefers to eat fruit over vegetables, possibly due to the sweetness of the fruit. But you still have to give your baby enough vegetables to ensure the ingredients are needed in a normal meal.

Mothers should create excitement by feeding children any kind of fruit or vegetable. You can try arranging fruits and vegetables into face shapes, or cut them out and feed them with a sauce.

Colorful fruit or vegetables may also stimulate your baby to eat more. Bananas, kiwis, blueberries and strawberries can be chopped into 1 plate of fruit. Or you can use corn kernels, broccoli and cauliflower to create a colorful salad.

Try to get your baby excited while learning to eat fruits and vegetables. In this way, your baby will realize that dessert no longer means candy, chocolate, or cakes.

Foods rich in iron and protein

Your child should eat a variety of iron and protein rich foods twice or thrice a day. Include meats, fish, eggs, nuts and beans or nut products. Children can choke when eating seeds, so please crush them and mix them with baby food, mom.

Milk Products

Dairy products are high in calcium, which is very important in the development of bones and teeth in babies. You should give your baby plenty of milk every day. Dairy foods include cheese and cheese sauces, milk or yogurt. If you want to feed your baby yogurt, choose plain, high-fat, or low-sugar yogurt. To sweeten your yogurt, try mixing it with fruit.

Milk has always been a rich source of calcium for babies, but babies no longer need to drink as much milk as before. You should give your baby about 350 ml to 500 ml of milk per day is enough. Do not give your baby more drinks because it will reduce your baby's appetite for other foods.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that you continue to breastfeed until your baby is two years old, or even longer. If you don't have enough milk to feed your baby, cow's milk can be used instead.

If you do decide to give cow's milk to your baby, make sure the milk has full fat content until your baby is two years old. Your baby will need extra calories to develop enough push. Whole milk also contains more vitamin A than low-fat milk. As a toddler, you can start offering partial skim milk to your baby if you want, but avoid giving skim milk until your baby is at least five years old.

What food should mothers limit for children from 1 to 3 years old?

Those are some of the foods that are high in calories, but low in nutrients. You can refer to the following foods to limit:

Foods rich in fat and sugar

Your child needs a lot of calories to stay energized, but foods like cakes, cookies or ice cream don't contain many nutrients. Your baby will be at risk of obesity if they eat a lot. You should only offer small amounts of food or try to replace with more nutritious foods.

Candy and chocolate

This is a child's favorite food, but you should not feed your baby every day. These foods contain a lot of sugar and bring very little benefit to the body, possibly even making your baby lose appetite. They can also damage a child's teeth.

Salty foods

Your child does not need more than 2 grams of salt a day. This is quite difficult to control because some foods naturally contain salt. Here are some tips for you to prevent your child from absorbing too much salt:

Offer your baby crispy fries and salty snacks only once a week. A pack of french fries is too much, so give your baby only a little at a time.

Try not to add salt to your child's food by using herbs and spices instead. If you and other family members want more seasoning, separate them from your child's food.

Limit the amount of food available for your baby. These foods often contain a lot of salt. If you feed your baby ready-to-eat food, give him a small amount and eat with plenty of vegetables.

Fish is rich in oil

Fish oil is an excellent source of omega-3 fats, vitamins, and minerals. Fresh salmon, mackerel and tuna are high-fat fish. However, you do not need to feed your baby often. This is because fish oil contains a small amount of toxins that can accumulate over time. A week for your baby to eat 1 to 2 meals of oily fish is reasonable.

However, you do not have to abstain from most white fish for your baby. You can feed your baby fish such as cod, plaice and ray if he likes to eat. However, some white fish have similar levels of toxins as those containing oily fish, so you should not feed your baby more than 4 times a week:

sea ​​bream;

bass fish;

stone salmon;

turbot flounder;

flounder.

Children under 16 should avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin because they contain higher levels of mercury than other fish, hindering the child's body development.

Peanut

If your baby has asthma, allergic rhinitis or a food allergy, you should see your baby before giving them peanuts to eat. If other family members have allergies, the same is true. This way you can help prevent some of the allergic reactions your baby may have. Talk to your doctor for more advice.

Does your baby need a vitamin supplement?

Children from six months to five years of age should take a vitamin A, C and D. These vitamins help prevent rickets, and promote healthy baby's body.

Some cases need special vitamin supplements for children from 1 to 3 years:

Anorexia baby;

Children are less exposed to the sun;

Children with dark skin.

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