Toddlers & eating part 1

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
FEEDING THE ACTIVE TODDLER

Directions

Whether your child is an infant or a picky pre-schooler, you probably wonder if she's eating well. When she spits out her rice cereal or insists on eating only peanut butter, it doesn't seem that she could possibly be getting all the nutrients she needs.

But chances are she is. Surprisingly, most young children do quite well nutritionally throughout infancy and the toddler years despite their unique eating habits.

Your child's body needs more than 20 vitamins and minerals to function properly. Without them, he couldn't grow and develop normally.

Vitamins and minerals help your child's vision, bone growth, skin and blood, teeth and immune system. It's no wonder that the word vitamin is derived from the Latin root vita, meaning life. In addition to these important vitamins, your child needs minerals to grow.

Many parents worry most about toddlers, who eat and run (but mostly run). These finicky eaters often embark on dreaded food jags, during which their daily menu consists of only one or two foods. Should you be concerned? Not really. "Many kids manage to meet their nutrition needs, even though their eating is a bit erratic," says Sheah Rarback, RD, a child nutrition expert and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Assocoation.

How should you deal with a food jag? Continue to offer other foods, but don't make a big deal about whether or not your child eats them.

"Food jags tend to go away on their own," Rarback says. Consult your pediatrician, howeverm if your child's diet seems unbalanced for more then a few weeks.

Some pediatricians may recommend vitamin supplements for toddlers.

"Children may go through long periods of time when they do not eat properly," says Terry Hatch, MD, FAAP, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Commitee on Nutrition. "A multivitamin that supplies no more than 100 percent of the RDA for children is perfectly safe and appropriate." Of course, consult your pediatrician before giving vitamin supplements to your child.

*Taken from an article by Mindy G. Hermann, RD, out of Spring/Summer 1993 issue of Healthy Kids - Birth to 3 magazine by the AAP* -Posted for you by Michelle Bruce

Submitted By MICHELLE BRUCE On 02-09-95

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