By Emma 
We all know how vital fresh foods are for growth and development, especially fruits and vegetables. But, babies and toddlers don’t understand this and often have tantrums eating nutritional food. They are tricky, but you don’t need to panic. As per the experts, the love for veggies and fruits comes with time and exposure. The more your kid is exposed to healthy food, the higher the chances to develop healthy habits as they grow.
Breastfeeding is vital for babies till six months of age. After that, doctors suggest including solid foods in their meals to meet the nutritional demands of their growing bodies. However, planning a daily diet is a daunting task as it’s not about quantity. It’s about quality. The baby’s food must be loaded with all essential vitamins and minerals so that their body and mind develop healthier. Pediatricians also suggest calcium, multivitamin, and iron supplements for babies for optimal growth and well-being.
If you are a first-time parent and confused about what to give your little munchkin to suppress appetite and import nutrients, then you have come to the right place. In this article, you will find the 13 proven tips for reinforcing proper nutrition in babies.
- Schedule Meal Time
Getting into a proper eating schedule is essential for your baby. Most babies are ready to eat after every 3-4 hours daily. This means that if they start their day at 7:00 A.M., they should eat at 10:00 A.M., 1:00 P.M., and so on until they go to bed. At night, they might be able to sleep for 4-6 hours, but if you start to notice them waking up hungry more often than this, you should add an extra feeding in before bedtime so that their last feeding is closer to sleep.
- Make Healthy Snacks
Many babies will want to snack during the day, especially as they become toddlers and preschoolers and get more active. Make sure that your snacks are healthy ones that will not fill up your child too much so that he or she won’t want dinner later on. Good snacks include fresh fruits, nuts (in crushed or powdered form), and salad (like cucumber and carrot). Avoid giving junk food and carbonated drinks every day.
- Give Them an Adequate Amount of Water
In addition to following a healthy diet, babies must be encouraged to drink water, especially in the summer when high temperatures can cause dehydration. Breast milk or formula milk is not enough; water consumption improves digestion and prevents constipation while improving their overall health.
- Limit Sugary Desserts and Sweets
It is important to limit the amount of desserts and sweets in a child’s diet because they usually do not provide much nutritional value. For instance, candy, cookies, and ice cream contain added sugar and fat but no vitamins or minerals. Unfortunately, it is impossible to cut down totally, as kids love sugary desserts. So, it would be better to give sweets to your babies once or twice a week.
- Avoid Processed foods
Processed foods are often high in trans fats, sodium, and added sugars, leading to health problems like diabetes and heart disease later on in life. Hence it is better to cut down as much as possible from your child’s daily meals.
- Feed Them All Variety Of Foods
Children who are exposed to many different healthy foods early in life are more likely to adopt them into their diets as they grow older. Children also learn by example, so parents must eat themselves healthily.
- Give Them Nutrients Alternatives
Babies are picky eaters, and if you want them to eat the right things, you have to be creative. One way to do this is by giving them nutrient alternatives. For instance, if they don’t like sweet potatoes, give them pumpkin puree instead. They might not even realize that they’re eating something that’s good for their health. Also, there is nothing wrong with giving calcium and iron supplements to babies who turn their noses to healthy foods.
- Be A Role Model
Your child is influenced by you, so the foods you eat can have an effect on their diet as well. If they see you eating healthy, they are more likely to want to eat healthy foods themselves. It’s best to avoid binge eating or unhealthy foods in front of your baby, as this may encourage them to want to do the same.
- Keep Food Fun
Your child is more likely to try new foods if presented in an interesting way. For example, arranging foods on their plate into fun shapes with colorful, edible garnishes can make mealtime much more enjoyable (and appetizing).
- Let Them Get Messy
Allow your child to experiment with different textures and temperatures during mealtime. Consider cutting up finger-sized pieces for them to hold and enjoy on their own.
- Get Them Involved In The Kitchen
Letting your child see you cook and prepare nutritious meals is a great way to get them excited about what they’re eating. From measuring ingredients out to setting the table and even using kid-friendly cooking utensils, there are lots of ways you can let your kid help out in the kitchen.
- Eat Together
Eating together as a family as often as possible is important. It helps kids develop positive food associations and learn good table manners from an early age—and you can use mealtime as an opportunity to talk about where food comes from, how it gets from the farm to the table, and why certain foods are good for us, and others aren’t.
- Don’t Give Up
Children need repeated exposure to a food before they accept it, according to KidsHealth. So keep offering different foods over time. If a child doesn’t like green beans, keep giving them green beans – maybe with a different sauce or seasoning, but keep giving them until they finally accept it.
That’s all about reinforcing proper nutrition in babies. Hope you found the information helpful!!
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