Five useful things for new parents
Becoming a parent is an important event; the feeling is a mix of excitement as well as fear. As a parent, you are responsible for the overall development of your child, so it gets important to take a note of what you are feeding your child. The problem becomes more pronounced when a baby weans off breast milk and starts to eat solid food.
As a parent, you should make sure that your child is getting sufficient nutrients. The need for nutrients will keep on changing as your child will age. A healthy diet is essential as it helps your child to develop and stay on the right weight for his age.
Your child needs a balanced diet with all three food groups, which are vegetables and fruits, protein sources, and whole-grain products. A growing child needs at least three meals and up to 3 times snacking. The importance of healthy snacks cannot be relegated in a balanced diet. A right kids’ diet plan will ensure the overall growth of the kid, along with the necessary mental and physical development.
As a parent, you have some responsibilities like:
- Setting a regular meal time for the entire family and eating with your child.
- Offering a variety of foods from all groups to your child.
- Avoiding using dessert as a bribe and using healthy dessert choices like yoghurt and fruit for your kid. As a parent, you must avoid using food to punish and reward your child. There are many ways that you can opt to change your child’s bad behaviour.
- Showing your kids the way food labels are read so that they can know the nutritional value of the food that they are eating.
- Avoiding fast food restaurants so that your kids can learn the importance of mealtime with family at home.
What to do when your child is a picky eater?
Don’t think much if your kid doesn’t eat his meal. Avoid giving them anything between the meals just to make them eat. Once they are hungry, they will eat their next meal in a better way.
Don’t worry much if your child isn’t eating enough as long as the baby’s growth chart is on track. Just ensure that you offer your kid a variety of food so as to get the right nutrients. Your child’s doctor will monitor the growth of your child and will let you know if there is any kind of problem with his growth.
A child’s appetite varies a lot from day-to-day. With the small stomach, they tend to eat in small quantities throughout the day. Your child will know how much food he needs and will eat according to his body’s requirement.
