In my daily practices as a doctor, I encounter so many children with different health issues. Despite the differences in their problems, the parents’ most common complaint is that their child is not eating properly. It pains me to see their anxious faces time and again. So, I feel it’s my responsibility as a doctor to educate parents regarding the problem of their child’s appetite.
When the little angel enters their lives, the parents are overwhelmed with joy. It’s natural for them to expect the baby to be in good health, which is why they provide as much balanced nutrition as possible. However, we should all understand that good health depends not only on food habits but also on various factors such as racial group, gender, genetic disorders, hormonal influences, environment, etc.
For instance, some of the lesser known genetic factors are,
1. Tall parents usually have tall children.
2. Parents with higher intelligence have children with higher IQ.
3. Different racial groups have different race potentials.
4. Pubertal growth sprouts usually occur earlier for girls.
5. Some genetic disorders adversely affect child growth.
Moreover, some other factors on which a child’s growth depends on are,
1. Maternal malnutrition, infections like rubella, syphilis, viral hepatitis etc. may arrest the baby’s growth in the womb.
2. Hormonal factors such as thyroid, insulin etc. also influence growth.
3. Any systemic infection or chronic disease of the child or exposure to any chemical agent can hamper child growth.
4. Anxiety, insecurity, lack of emotional support and love from the family influence the neurochemical regulation of growth hormone.
A Child’s Health Is Influenced By And Dependent On So Many Elements, Not All Of Which Can Be Controlled While Others Can Be Ensured By Us.
Rather than being anxious every now and then, we should stay calm and deal with any adverse effect of the child’s health. What we should ensure is,
1. Ensure breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.
2. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months or more specifically, 180 days.
3. Start complementary feeding after 6 months.
4. Continue breastfeeding up to 2 years.
Complementary Feeding
Now, a question might pop up in the parent’s mind; what is complementary feeding? As your baby ages, they need more nutrition which isn’t met only through breast feeding, so they need other types of food and liquid. Parents should add mashed ripe bananas to the baby’s diet. Gradually, they can start feeding them hotchpotch (Khichuri). It needs to be prepared with rice, pulses, vegetables, oil and with adequate salt and masala. Make sure that the khichuri tastes good because the baby has already developed strong taste buds like adults.
A single weaning food should be started in small quantities and then increased gradually in the first week. The second week should be started with another type of weaning food. In every week’s interval, you can add fish, egg or meat with khichuri. You can also add other homemade family foods if you want provided that it’s healthy for the baby. Start with the yolk first when you’re adding the egg.
The weaning process should be completed within 9 months to 12 months of age. From 6 to 8 months, the kid should be given half of a 250ml bowl of food 2 times per day and one or two snacks (total 200 Kcal/day). From 9 to 11 months, there should be three main courses of a meal, half of a 250ml bowl of food three times a day and 1 or 2 snacks (total 300 Kcal/day). Finally, from 12 to 24 months, they should be given three main course meals in a full 250ml bowl three times a day with one or two snacks (total 550 Kcal/day).
Nevertheless, some parents get anxious about their child’s wellbeing. In that case, they can take advice from their pediatrician on how they can maintain proper height and weight for their child according to their age. Doctors know very well how rigorously a mother takes care of their children and for this reason, they are so anxious. There’s nothing much to worry about until the child’s height or weight doesn’t cross a particular threshold of the growth chart. It’s important that you take care of yourself besides your baby as well. Enjoy your motherhood to its full extent.
(To be Continued)
