Do You Pay Attention To Your Babies' Eating Habits?

  In life, many parents and friends are worried about the baby's ‘eating problem’. So, how can we ensure that the baby's growth and development of the necessary nutrients on the basis of helping the baby to develop good eating habits?

  Many paediatricians hear the following questions on a regular basis:

1. ‘Doctor, baby needs milk every 1-2 hours, should I feed him immediately or wait until 3 hours?’

2. ‘Doctor, the baby needs to add complementary food, how should I add it?’

3. ‘Doctor, my baby always stops eating, what should I do?’

4. ‘Doctor, baby is not eating .............’

  In fact, focusing on the following points will enable your babies to develop good eating habits.

  1. ‘Three Fixed’ Principle:

  (1) Regular meals: For babies within 6 months, insist on exclusive breastfeeding on demand (insufficient breastmilk can be added appropriately with formula milk); for babies 6-8 months of age, the interval between meals is gradually transitioned to once every 2-4 hours, generally 4-6 times a day; for babies 9-11 months of age, generally 4 times a day, and at the same time, add complementary foods according to the demand. 12-18 months old babies should gradually transition from milk-based foods to meal-based foods, in preparation for the habit of having 3 meals a day. 1.5-3 year old babies, have 3 main meals a day, and add complementary foods according to the demand. dairy foods to meals gradually, in preparation for the habit of having three meals a day. 1.5~3 year old babies should have three main meals a day, with one snack meal in the morning and one in the afternoon, e.g. fruits, yoghurt, etc.; the interval between the two main meals should be not less than 3.5 hours, to facilitate digestion and absorption of the food.

  (2) Positioning for meals: Infants and young children should be seated, from the beginning of the complementary feeding let the baby sit on the dining table and chairs, in a relatively fixed place to eat.

  (3) Quantitative eating: Infants and toddlers should have a certain amount of satiety in their diet, neither too much nor too little.

  2. The ‘Balanced’ Principle:

  (1) Dietary variety and comprehensive and balanced nutrition: As the baby grows in age, cereals, vegetables, meat, eggs and fruits should be included in the daily meals to provide the baby with a rich and varied dietary choice. At the same time, encourage your child not to be picky, not partial, not greedy, not anorexic.

  (2) Do not eat a lot of snacks: Snacks can not replace the main meal, it is best to give a small amount of snacks between meals to avoid affecting appetite. Especially no snacks before meals to ensure a strong appetite for the main meal.

  (3) Develop the habit of drinking water: Water is the best drink for infants and young children, and cannot be replaced by drinks or fruit juice.

  3. The ‘Autonomy’ Principle:

  Guide your babies use their hands to grasp the food at the right time. As babies' sense of autonomy grows, they will show that they want to complete their meals independently. At this time, you can introduce a certain amount of ‘finger food’ (i.e., the food that the baby can grasp with his hands and eat) to the baby in the complementary food, such as steamed potato strips, ripe banana pieces, etc. At this time, parents should remember to allow the baby to eat willy-nilly by himself. (At this time, parents should remember to allow the baby to eat woefully, and just stay next to the baby to ensure safety in case of choking, and at the same time, you can encourage the baby appropriately!) And you can encourage your baby appropriately! This can not only exercise the baby's fine motor and hand-eye co-ordination, but also for the future independent eating preparation.

  In addition, parents can guide their babies to use cups, spoons, bowls, chopsticks and other tableware. Generally speaking, at about 1 year old, babies can practise drinking from an amphora cup by themselves; at 1.5 years old, babies can start practising eating with a spoon; at 2 years old, babies can eat independently with the help of an adult; and at 3 years of age, babies can learn to eat with chopsticks.

  4. The ‘Pleasure’ Principle:

  Babies should be in a happy mood during meals and look forward to eating. Parents and friends can often change the style, colour and shape of the food, so that the baby to eat to maintain a sense of freshness and curiosity, and then full of interest in eating, until love eating.

  5. ‘Role Model’ Principle:

  The ‘example’ principle means that the feeder should set a good example during meals so that the child learns good eating habits by osmosis.

  Hope  your babies could have a good diet habit according these tips.

  I think the most important thing is the first point, that we develop a good habit of positioning ourselves at regular intervals. Timing is something that parents need to be in control of, and fixing the position does have to be done with the help of tools. Now, let's move the conversation to baby dining chairs.

  Once under the influence of the older generation, some parents have always felt that the baby dining chair is the IQ tax, when the baby grows up directly holding and feeding, there is no need to use the baby dining chair, buying a specific chair to the babies is also a waste. Coupled with the baby was born, the use of the room area is getting smaller and smaller, plusing a baby dining chair such a large piece in the home is to take up space, so some parents until the baby more than 5 months most did not prepare for her dining chair.

  6 months old babies began to eat complementary foods, simply did not think that easy, the child simply will not wait for you to feed, especially not honest, complementary foods do not dare to feed too fast, because the small baby esophagus is relatively narrow, I used to read the news to see that there are children choking and choking because of the parents hard feeding. As the child grows up, holding and feeding is really tiring, so every time you feed your baby, you need more than two people to co-operate, one is responsible for holding, the other is responsible for feeding. This can be physically and mentally exhausting for the parents. This is when parents realise that a baby dining chair is not only good for the baby, but also for the parents to feed with less effort.

  So what are the benefits of owning a baby dining chair?

  1. Developing the ability to eat independently

  Babies transition from simply grasping food to eating with a spoon, a process which, if carried out in a dining chair, will enable them to acquire the ability to eat independently more quickly than eating anywhere. I'm sure there are many mums who often complain about their children crawling and running around while eating, and having to chase after them to feed them. In fact, if you can cultivate the habit of eating at the table, how will there be the trouble of chasing and feeding? Children's habits are cultivated by their mothers. At mealtime, sitting in the dining chair, a set of tableware, a food, baby drumming drums, slowly can grasp the method of eating and tricks. Slowly babies get used to it, when it comes to meal time he will know to get on the dining chair. Mum will save a lot of worry, the baby can also enjoy the fun of eating by themselves! The use of children's dining chairs can help baby develop the habit of eating in a dining chair, protect the baby at the same time also exercise the baby's hands, eyes, brain coordination and cooperation ability.

  2. Adjustment of the baby's sitting position.

  The baby's sitting posture on the future growth and remember the changes have a great impact, while the development of the body will also help. Safe and comfortable is the primary consideration point of the dining chair, followed by the ductility, the baby grows day by day (winter also need to wear thick cotton clothes), the back of the chair to the desktop space is best adjustable, can be suitable for the baby's growth needs. Baby generally 3 months to learn to turn over, 6 months to learn to sit and stand, from turn over to sit and stand the process is also the process of growth and development of the spine, can not fully sit and stand the baby that the spine is still very weak need good protection.

   The baby generally 3 months to learn to turn over, 6 months to learn to sit and stand, from turn over to sit and stand the process is also the process of spinal growth and development, can not fully sit and stand the baby shows that the spine is still very weak and need good protection, and 3-4 months the baby gradually began to join the complementary foods, can not sit and stand to solve the problem of eating complementary foods, baby dining chair all taken into account, can be adjusted individually to the backrest to achieve the function of the two sides! Both sides of the function, semi-reclining angle on the one hand to protect the baby has not yet fully developed spine, to protect the spine from the pressure of the body weight caused by the problem, on the other hand, but also easy and safe to help the baby from pure breast milk or milk transition to add complementary foods and then to eat alone to learn to eat the whole process of eating, easy and safe. It's also great for taking a nap after eating!

  3. Baby safety concerns

  The design of the current dining chair has a dining table, armrests, seat back from four directions around the baby, and some styles also have a safety belt that secures the baby and prevents the baby from falling off the chair. These designs are ordinary chairs can not do. And the height of the dining chair is higher than the average chair, in line with the baby's height characteristics and vision needs, so that the baby's comfortable eating.

  4. Nurturing Table Manners in Babies

  Baby grows up, there is inevitably the need to eat out, do not want to take a bear child out? Then we need to train him from childhood table manners, when eating, should sit on the dining chair. Cups, knives and forks and other dangerous objects can not touch, spoons and bowls are used to hold food, food can not be thrown on the ground, and so on and so forth table manners, the baby can be educated on the dining room chair and get.  

  So how to choose a baby dining chair?

  There are multifunctional baby dining chairs, folding baby dining chairs, and solid wood baby dining chairs on the market. We need to pick according to the space situation, practicality and the needs of the baby.

  Firstly, the selection of materials to be beneficial to the growth of the baby.

  1. Baby dining chair is nothing more than leather, plastic, wood, metal these kinds of materials, in these kinds of which we will generally use the good structure and leather, so that easy to clean and bear the pressure balance.

  2. If it is wooden then we will choose those natural solid wood like teak, rosewood. Wooden to have no burrs; if the child is active do not recommend buying that kind of solid wood split, the child will certainly fall down, 10 months the following baby is not recommended to use wooden dining chairs, the baby 6 months to learn to sit and stand, from the process of turning over to sit and stand is also the process of spinal growth and development, but also can not sit and stand up the baby's spine is still very weak and need good protection.  

  Secondly, whether the baby eating help.

  Baby dining chairs will not only help babies develop the habit of eating in a dining chair, to avoid the trouble of chasing behind the buttocks to feed at the same time there is a benefit: the baby sitting in a chair suitable for their own chair, will not be unsteady because of the seat and fall over, the hands can be liberated to grasp the tableware, while also exercising the baby's hands, eyes, brain coordination and cooperation ability.

  Thirdly, whether it is helpful to the baby's sitting posture and whether the baby is comfortable doing it.

  The baby's sitting posture has a great influence on the future growth and remember the changes, and at the same time, it will also help the development of the body. Safe and comfortable is the first point of consideration of the dining chair, followed by the ductility, the baby grows day by day (winter also need to wear thick cotton clothes), the back of the chair to the desktop space is best adjustable, can be suitable for the baby's growth needs.

  In addition, whether it is a one-piece or split, when choosing children's dining chairs, pay attention to:

  1. Pick a stable, wide base, the chair should not be easy to tip over;

  2. The edge is not sharp, if it is made of wood, there should be no burrs;

  3. The depth of the seat is suitable for the baby to use, the baby sitting on it can have space to move;

  4.If the tray and other accessories are plastic products, should choose non-toxic plastic, and hot water scrubbing will not be deformed; 5, with safety equipment.

  5. Equipped with safety equipment. The use of children's dining chairs, each time you must give the little baby with safety equipment, including across the baby's thighs and through the legs of the seat belt and sturdy buckle, the seat belt to be able to adjust the tightness, and each time you adjust, should be firm enough to do. If the child's dining chair has wheels, the wheels should be lockable.