1. INFANT AND YOUNG CHILDREN
A balance diet is not only essential to a child’s good health but it also contributes to the feeling of well being. So it is important to understand the nutritive requirement of infant and young children. It is equally important to know something about their growth and development, although children go through similar stages of development. No two children are the same so a mother should not compare her children and those of her neighbors and friends, because children develop at different rates.
Nutritive needs of infants (0-12 moths)
The food given to infants must be carefully selected: it must be given in small amounts, yet be highly nutritious. Human milk is the natural food for new born babies and breast feeding is the best method for meting nutrient requirements in the first months of life. Human milk is always fresh, available and free from disease-producing organisms; it is also the right temperature and easily digestible. The infant’s requirements increase daily and by the age of two months the babyneeds at least 75 grams of milk per half a kilogram of body weight.
Cow’s milk varies considerably but on average it contains twice as much protein and about half as much milk sugar as human milk. The calorific value and content are similar, but the fatty acid contains differ. Healthy babies can digest both fats. Cow’s milk contains almost four times as much calcium and six times as much phosphorus as human milk. Both human milk and cow’s milk are short of iron and vitamin D. human’s milk is higher in vitamin A, niacin and vitamin C, but cow’s milk is richer in riboflavin and other B vitamins.
If a baby is to be fed cow’s milk in any form, consult a Doctor for a formula. Fresh milk must be sterilized by boiling not only for hygiene but to make the curds of cow’s milk smaller and softer, and thus more digestible.
Additional food
When a baby is about two months old, add other foods to its diet. Since boiling milk destroys its vitamin C , give bottle-fed babies citrus fruit juices diluted with warm, boiled water. Also give some form of vitamin D, such as cod-liver oil.
Diet (in addition to milk) for infants
Age in months | Food | Amount |
1-2 | Fish-liver oil | As prescribed by a doctor |
1-2 2-3 4-7 8-12 | Juices (dilated) | 1 table spoon of orange juice or 3 table spoons of tomato juice 2-3 table spoons 4-5 table spoons 6 table spoons |
2-4 5 6-12 | Egg yolk | ¼ teaspoon ½ teaspoon Whole egg yolk |
4-5 6-7 8-12 | Cereal | 1 teaspoon twice daily 2 teaspoons twice daily 4 teaspoon twice daily |
5-7 8-12 | 1-4 teaspoons 2-4 teaspoons | |
5-7 8-12 | Strained fruits | 1 table spoon 2 table spoons |
7-12 | Toast or biscuit | 1 piece of toast or biscuit depending on chewing ability |
3-5 6-12 | Meat and fish | Liver, minced meat, mashed fish meat of any type, fish |
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