After about six months of milk diet, your baby would have started on solid food consisting of pureed fruits, vegetables and cereals before progressing to meat and fish. As a caring mom, surely, nothing would please you more than to know that your little one is well-nourished and eating well for his growth and development. Here’s a rundown of what a growing little body needs to thrive and develop well.

Food texture

A baby’s first solid foods should be pureed or finely mashed. As your baby grows older, food can be blended less to help your baby learn to chew. By around 7 to 8 months, your bub should be ready for roughly mashed foods with small, soft lumps. When introducing a new food into your baby’s diet, only offer a teaspoon at a time. Slowly build up the amount to one or two tablespoons.

Remember, first foods are not meant to fill your baby up, but rather to help him get accustomed to eating. Never force-feed a baby, for that will only lead him to connect mealtimes with unpleasant experiences. Babies have their ways of telling you they have had enough by either turning their heads away or refusing to open their mouths.

Once baby is able to hold things, finger foods can be offered with each meal. By twelve months, your baby should be able to manage chopped or diced foods. To prevent choking, avoid small hard pieces of food such as nuts and uncooked vegetables and always keep a close watch during feeding times.

A toddler needs foods from the same four basic nutrition groups that adults do:

• Meat, fish, poultry, eggs
• Dairy products
• Fruits and vegetables
• Cereal grains, potatoes, rice, breads, pasta

Don’t cut off fat!

Fats are very important for babies and toddlers to aid in growth and development, so they should not be restricted during this period. Babies and young toddlers should get about half of their calories from fat. They grow very rapidly and need the fatty nutrients supplied in whole milk, cheese and yogurt, and in foods such as eggs and meat, to give the energy they need for growth and development. Young children also need a diet rich in essential fatty acids for healthy brain development.

You can begin to decrease the fat consumption once your child has reached the age of two and lower it to about one-third of daily calories by age four to five. While childhood obesity is a growing modern-day issue, it usually is connected to poor, high-sugar diets. If you keep your child’s caloric intake at about 1,000 calories a day, as stated in the following page, you shouldn’t have to worry about obesity risks.

A sudden halt in appetite

Just around your little one’s first birthday, you’ll probably face a bewildering bout of what seems to be a sudden loss of appetite and probably also some really picky eating. Your bub might even seem habitually turning that little head away after just a few bites, or resists being fed altogether.

Although it’s almost natural to feel concerned, especially if you feel that he needs more energy now that he’s so active, there is a perfectly good reason why your little one is refusing to eat as much as you’d like him to. Your toddler’s growth rate faces a slow-down once he’s a year old, and even if he’s as energetic as can be, his calorific needs from food is not as much as you think!

What your toddler needs

Your toddler needs good nutrition for growth, energy and optimum development, and this should come in about 1,000 calories a day, more or less. If you know the calorific value of food, you’ll notice that it doesn’t take that much food to meet the mark. You can easily meet it with just three small meals and two snacks a day.

However, do keep in mind that with toddlers, there should not be any hard-set rules, for they simply would not work and you might come away feeling disappointed or discouraged. Remember, no matter what you’re offering to your little one, the eating habits of toddlers are erratic and unpredictable from one day to the next. He may fare well at one meal and completely shun the next. He might even devour his favourite food with glee for a couple of days and act as if he’s completely repelled by it the following week. Note: Your child’s caloric intake may reach 1000 calories at times, and at other times it won’t, depending on his growth rate, metabolism and how much activity he has going on.

Take it easy, mama!

It’s all too easy to ‘lose it’, so to speak, when you’re trying to feed a picky, fussy toddler, but forcing the little one will do neither of you any good. Do remember that he’s not rejecting the food you prepared for him on purpose, so don’t make it into a personal drama. Try instead to serve a few choices of nutritious foods for him to choose from, each varying in taste and texture.

When bub refuses to eat

A toddler’s refusal to eat is not something to worry about, for his interest in food will naturally wax and wane. He’ll seem to eat less during teething and more during growth spurts, for instance. Toddlers generally consume the necessary nutrients needed to thrive within, and will ask for food (or cry for it!) when he’s hungry. So, as long as your little one continues to gain weight and inches and remains healthy, and as long as his weekly total intake seems sufficient, there should be little reason for concern. You need only worry or consider consulting your doctor if your little one seems unusually weak, is experiencing fatigue, fever, prolonged irritability, or weight loss.

In the meantime, if your fussy child rejects everything you’ve prepared for him, try to keep it together and save the food for later when he’s hungry. Don’t however, give in to any request for cakes, cookies or sweets, for this might help fuel his interest and appetite for empty-calorie foods (those that are high in calories but relatively low in important nutrients to grow and thrive) while diminishing his appetite for foods that matter.

It may seem troublesome to do, but if you make a range of wholesome foods available and without pressuring the little one to eat something particular at a particular time, his appetite (and eating schedule) should resume back to normal.

You can also try the following if you’re faced with a picky eater:

• Keep servings small. A small serving of food might seem less intimidating for a little kid, compared to him having to face a large portion of food to be finished.
• Check your child’s seating comfort. If he has outgrown his high chair, for example, he might be feeling uncomfortable during mealtimes.
• Make mealtimes a pleasant, low-key experience – free of distractions like the TV or siblings playing nearby.
• Talk to your pediatrician about a daily vitamin-mineral supplement for your little one.

Dealing with lactose intolerance

Although rare, lactose intolerance may occur in infants. Both breast milk and cow’s milk are high in lactose, and an intolerance can occur after a severe stomach upset (gastroenteritis). Once your little one has recovered, dairy foods can be gradually reintroduced. Most children with lactose intolerance will still be able to eat at least some dairy foods. Yogurt, for instance, actually contains natural bacteria that can help digest lactose. Cheese contains virtually no lactose and in many cases, small amounts of milk may be tolerated with meals. If you believe your child may be lactose intolerant, see a GP to get a professional diagnosis.

Go easy on fruit juices

Contrary to popular belief, fruit juice is not a necessary addition in a baby’s diet. The nutrients contained in juice are better obtained from fresh fruit, which also adds fibre to the diet.

Set a good example

It is a well known fact that children’s behaviour, including mealtime behaviour, reflect those of their parents. So, set a healthy example by enjoying a diet containing plenty of fruit, vegetables, cereals, dairy foods and lean meats for your little one to emulate!