Early childhood, especially from the fetal period to the second 2 years of life (1000 days before life), is the most critical period in determining the nutritional and health status of a lifetime. Good nutrition in early childhood is the basis of physical and intellectual development, and the rapid growth of infants and young children determines the special need for nutrition, so it is extremely important for parents to supplement nutrition in infancy and childhood.
Due to various reasons, some children in the process of eating picky eating, partial eating, chasing and other phenomena, "do not feed the child mother kind filial piety, a feed child chicken flying dog jump" has become a true portrayal of many families feeding. Many parents think that babies are born not to eat, is this really the case? In fact, most of the babies' lack of love to eat is caused by the existence of children's feeding misunderstandings in parents. So, what are the common misunderstandings of parents in their usual feeding?
1. There is no need to communicate when your child is fed
Because the baby is too young to talk and communicate, Bao Mom believes that communicating with the baby during the feeding process will not understand, often take reading books, browsing short videos and other ways to pass the time, in fact, this practice is not correct. Studies have shown that parents who actively encourage words, expressions, or actions when feeding cause children to accept more food, and threatening language increases the proportion of children who refuse food. For children with low appetite, parents should give soft words, smiles or touches when eating, which can promote the baby's eating.
2. Add new foods without eating them or give them up
Many parents when adding complementary foods, encounter a refusal to mark the food as not to eat food, in fact, the baby needs a slow process to accept a new food. When the baby refuses, the addition should be postponed, and the follow-up parents should try to feed him 10-15 times to gradually accept this food by encouraging and changing the food traits, and do not force feeding to cause the child to have resistance.
3. As long as the baby can eat, it is acceptable to play while eating and feeding
Parents are worried about the baby's insufficient nutritional intake, there is no fixed seat when the child eats, and they take methods such as chasing and eating while watching TV, which may not have obvious impact in the short term. As everyone knows, as the baby's neuropsychological development gradually improves, attention is excessively dispersed by toys, television, etc. and the attention to food is reduced, which will directly lead to a decrease in appetite in the long run.
4. Children do not like to eat because the meal does not add salt, sugar and other condiments
The complementary food of infants under 1 year of age should be kept in its original taste, and the cooking method is mainly steaming, avoid frying, and add vegetable oil in an appropriate amount. Because the original food can let the baby experience different food tastes, increase the chance of accepting food, and reduce the occurrence of picky eating and partial eating. The natural sodium content in breast milk or formula milk and complementary foods can meet the needs of the baby's growth, and it is not recommended to add salt, sugar and other condiments to the baby under 1 year old. Staying away from condiments at this time can help reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in childhood and adulthood. In order to adapt to the needs of young children, babies after the age of 1 should also consume light family meals.
5. Breastfeeding is good, and the addition of complementary foods can wait for 1 year old
Breast milk is an ideal natural food that can be obtained after birth, and babies up to 1 year old have a limited stomach volume, but the rapid growth and development of energy and nutrition requirements are very high, so they need foods with high energy density. With the development of digestive systems such as the gastrointestinal tract, and the development of various perceptual and cognitive abilities, relying solely on breast milk or formula milk can no longer meet the nutritional needs of healthy growth of babies. Generally speaking, when your baby is still not full after drinking milk or the rate of weight growth slows down, accompanied by a similar "swallowing, chewing" movement, it is necessary to start adding complementary foods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the addition of complementary foods no earlier than 6 months of age, and in 2016, the Chinese Nutrition Society pointed out in the "Guidelines for Feeding Infants and Young Children aged 7-24 months" that complementary foods should be added from the age of 6 months of breastfeeding. Therefore, it is recommended that parents add complementary foods to their babies no earlier than 4 months old, no later than 6 months old, and it is not advisable to add complementary foods too early and too late, which will cause certain harm to the healthy growth of children. Adding it too early may increase your baby's risk of infection, allergies, indigestion, obesity, etc. Adding too late may increase the risk of nutritional deficiency diseases, allergic diseases, diabetes, etc., and it is easy to develop bad eating habits such as picky eating and partial eating.
Feeding, as a core link in the process of child rearing, plays a very important role in promoting the perceptual development of infants and young children, promoting the development of fine motor and speech functions, and promoting the development of children's independence. Parents, as the main participants in child feeding, cannot think of feeding alone as a process of giving food. Feeding is not just about giving, it's about helping children learn eating skills and develop good eating habits.
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[LING Yu, YANG Yanfei, SUN Jingjing, et al.Influencing factors of different eating behavior problems and parenting conditions in children aged 1-6 years[J].Journal of Kunming Medical University,2021,42(09):32-39.
Text | Children's Morning Center Liu Yajing