Is Your Child's Nutrition ...
As a parent I have worked hard to feed my toddler all sorts of foods just to make sure that my child is never empty stomach. My toddler transitioned from liquid diet to partial solid foods and then soon to solid foods with minor efforts. This is when it became a tough task for me to manage his eating habits. With his liking to fast foods and his fussiness around food, my child was starting to miss out on essential nutrients. The problem with fast foods is that they left my toddler with taste but fell short of the essential nutrients.
I was always the one who was perceived to be a resolver when it came to suggesting recipes to my fellow moms for their fussy eaters. However, I was left awestruck, when I had a close interaction with a Nutritionist at a common friend’s party, and she had a chat with me about my toddler’s diet. While it was embarrassing for me to learn about my ignorance, but it turned out to be great as that’s also the day when I discovered the bowl of assurance to foster my toddler’s development. I am thankful to her that she was able to help me reflect on to something that I was overlooking for days. She also suggested me fortified foods to take care of the overall development of my toddler. In hindsight, it was a a great coincidence meeting her that day.
When I switched my toddler from fast foods to this nutrient rich diet, I was confident that this is the right thing for my child as it contains micro and macro nutrients essential to the physical and mental development of my toddler. Sharing them here.
1. Calcium : Calcium is an important ingredient for bone mass development, nearly all of which is built during childhood and adolescence. Calcium deficiency from an early age can interfere with the child’s growth. Hence, it is essential to get your child eat calcium rich foods, which are also rich in vitamin D that helps in the absorption of calcium; very important for a toddler’s bones health.
2. Vitamin E: I didn’t want my pre-schooler to miss out on his regular doses of vitamin E. Fat-free and low-fat foods, which tend to be low in E, a vitamin that acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage. Some food sources of vitamin E are nuts, avocados, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, spinach, tomato sauce and so on.
3. Fibre: Though not digested, fibre is essential for children. Enabling your child to eat fibre-rich food now will protect them from a variety of digestion related disorders in the later stages of life. Children get a generous amount of fibre from consuming breakfast cereals. I learnt that it’s important for my toddler at this age to have at least one fibre rich food every day.
4. Potassium: Children these days are getting less amount of potassium in their diet as their consumption of fruits and vegetables have become low. Mine for sure was low consumer of it as well. Potassium is a key player in maintaining healthy fluid balance and blood pressure and helps muscles to contract.
5. Iron: Low iron is seen more frequently among overweight children, who may have a high-calorie but nutrient-poor diet. Iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen to cells throughout the body and plays a role in brain development. Hence, iron deficiency can lead to learning and behaviour problems. I have always kept a watch-out on iron-rich foods since I discovered this very fact.
Guess what! This Nutritionist was to soon become a friend, who also suggested me the Bowl of Assurance – Ceregrow for my toddler, which has all these nutrients in the right balance and in each bowl of feed for my toddler. I now never miss in giving essential nutrients to constitute my child’s healthy diet. After all my child’s health is my responsibility!
Disclaimer- This Blog is supported by Nestle Ceregrow. A child needs more nutrition than an adult. Each bowl of Ceregrow contains the goodness of grains, milk & fruits and makes up for the lack of sufficient nutrition. Follow Early Childhood Nutrition to learn more.
Calculated basis per kg body weight; ICMR 2010
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