Nutritional Counselling for Children
Why do infants need Nutritional Counselling? Every infant must receive proper nutrition for good growth. Moreover, this information must be known to the parents/guardians also. We provide this information through NUTRITIONAL COUNSELLING.
This need is different for every child. The counselling should not be a “One size fits all” approach.
What kind of diet did the mother have when the baby was in the womb? What is the mother’s own nutritional status? Which supplements did the mother take? How mature was the baby when born? Will the baby be fed mother’s milk or formula? What are the family’s eating habits? At what age will the child be given complementary foods?
Or, if older children come, what has been their nutritional history? such as when complementary food was started, how it was introduced, and at what age supplements were given. We provide nutritional counselling only after gathering information about many such factors.
Nutritional Counselling also depends on the direction the child’s weight is heading—whether it’s tending towards excessive weight or if the appropriate weight is not being achieved. After measuring their growth and development, we decide what kind of diet should be provided to the child.
Gist from Dr. Nikhil Gupta's Book - "Nutritional Science Every Mother Should Know"
- Eating for a baby/child should be a happy experience.
- God has bestowed every living being with an active hunger centre and personalized taste buds. Therefore, the baby should be given a full chance to decide what and how much she wants to eat.
- A baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. Complementary feeding should make up for the deficiencies in the breast milk.
- Traditional family food is the first choice as a complementary food. For the sake of introducing taste, it can be introduced any time after four months. Proper eating should start at six months.
- If the family eats spices and herbs, the baby should also eat them. They are credited with health benefits. Avoid hot chillies and peppers.
- Non-vegetarian families commence complementary feeding with fish, egg, chicken and fruits. Vegetarian families start complementary feeding with lentils, fruits and vegetables. Fermenting and sprouting enhance the bioavailability of nutrients in plant-sourced foods.
- Every meal should consist of a variety of foods, just not one single food. The Indian thali system is a good example.
- All babies should eat with family at family time.
- Hygiene should be given paramount importance. Caregivers should maintain strict hand hygiene.
- Food should be fresh. It should not be stalled.
- A baby will get all the required nutrition with the habit of change. Therefore, each meal need not have all the nutrients. Choose food from different food groups.
- Fun foods have an important role. However, these should be made healthy as main meals. But it is not mandatory; now and then, let some enjoyment be part of life.
- Keep a baby on a low salt and low sugar diet. No salt and no sugar will make the food unpalatable.
- Train your baby to enjoy the natural sweetness and flavours of the food.
- Food should not be forced on a baby. Likewise, distractions should not be used to make a baby eat. Instead, the baby should enjoy the taste, love and affection while eating, not the distraction. Adopt responsive feeding, not intrusive feeding.
- All the babies are fun lovers. Therefore, eating should be fun, not a disciplined and monotonous routine. Make eye contact and tell a story while eating.
- Babies eat more when there is a growth spurt and less when the growth is static. Between two and five years, weight gain is slow. So, a kid may not eat as much as parents perceive.
- Babies eat less if they are ill. Eating resumes after the illnesses are over.