Nutrition for Children
From birth to twelve
Mayra Reyes
TECA 1318
Dr. Delahoussaye

Nutrition for Children
Abstract
The nutritional requirements of a person change within the different stages of life. The age from birth to twelve months is very important for a person. During the period from up until 12 months the babies should be properly feed. Similarly, their nutrition needs should be catered in an effective and efficient way. It is the most critical period in a person’s health. If the person does not get proper nutrition from birth to twelve months than he will suffer in later stages of life. Most of the paediatricians consider that the child should be provided breast milk from birth to 6 months of age. the breast milk is very helpful for the babies in the initial years of their development. It contains all the important minerals, vitamins and other important nutrients, which a baby needs. A baby is born weak and healthy nutrition is very vital at age. Although the breast milk is an effective nutrient but the formula can also be a better alternative. Those parents who do not prefer the breast milk should opt for the formula. the formula is also as health y as the breast milk. The only difference between the formula and the breast milk is that the breast milk also makes the immune system stronger whereas the formula does not make it strong. The solid food should be introduced after the six months of the babies growth. However, it should be noted that the solid food is not a replacement for the breast milk or the formula. It is just a supplementary food which should be introduced in the baby’s child along with the breast milk or formula. It is highly recommended by the nutritionists that the milk breast milk should be provided to the children for the 12 months along with the supplementary solid foods. The parents should be careful in giving the solid food to their babies. They should not provide them hard food instead they should offer them such food which can be easily digested by them. The introduction of the solid food among the babies will vary from baby to baby. However, the rule of thumb suggested by many professionals is that when the baby doubles her birth weight than she should be provided the solid food.
Summary
Nutrition is very essential part of the growth. Most of the new parents find it difficult to properly feed their children. Usually the parents get a lot of advice from the relatives, friends and the neighbours. Similarly, most of the parents following the advice of their relatives, neighbours opt for the nutrition plan which is really not helpful for their children. Most of the nutrition research shows that most of the parents are not aware of the proper nutrition plan (Allen, & Marotz, 2009). In this critical phase the parents should only listen to the paediatric professionals who can decide the proper nutrition plan. The parents must listen to the advice of the friends and the relatives but they should stick to the plan as advised by the professionals.
Also, it had been observed by many professionals that every child is different from other children. There are some children who grow too soon. On the other hand, there are other children who do not grow so fast (Allen, & Marotz, 2009). Therefore, the nutrition plan for every children will be different. There are some children who are born strong and require normal nutrition. On the other hand, the children who are born weak require strong nutrition plan (Allen, & Marotz, 2009). Therefore, there cannot be the standardization of the nutrition plan by the professionals. They have to decide the nutrition plan according to the type of child and his general health and well being. Most of the paediatricians recommend that the breast milk is the most needed food by the children from birth to up till two years. Another choice is to rely on the commercial infant formulas. The breast milk is very healthy and it should be