Posted by Table of Contents
Introduction
Until a child is twelve months old, you call him an infant. After twelve months, we call him a toddler. Preschoolers are children who are below six years of age. Look at children of this age group, i.e., between the ages of one and six. What do you observe? From being totally dependent as an infant these children can crawl or walk and talk and also run and play. All these activities will influence the amount of food the preschoolers eat. This is the age when food habits will be formed. The preschool years, therefore, are important in the child’s life they form the foundation for a lifetime of good nutritional and health practices. In this post the developmental characteristics of a preschool child are discussed with special focus on nutritional needs. The preschool age is described as a critical stage for formation of food habits and for proneness to infections.
Physiological Development And Food Intake
From your own experience, you may know that preschoolers are very active. The
preschooler, like all children, is growing and starts gaining control over his body and
movements. These changes ensure three characteristic aspects you can now expect: the child can eat by himself, he can eat the same food that the rest of the people in the family do, and his appetite may be small as compared to that in infancy.
Children of this age have wrist control which means that they can hold a cup and drink and also eat by themselves. Of course a two-year old may not eat as neatly as you [An Adult] do and may spill some food. However, as he gets older he will be able to eat neatly.
By the time he is about one or one-and-a-half year old, your preschool child should be eating the same food as the rest of the family. But you must not give him very spicy food. This is because his digestive tract is still not able to tolerate the spicy food that adults can eat. Most of a preschooler’s nourishment should come from solid foods, though he/she may still have some milk as well. It is not advisable to give oily foods to the child. This is because such foods stay in the stomach longer. As a result the child may not be hungry at the next meal and may eat less than he should.
During the second and third years, preschoolers need less food than you expect. You, as an adult, may think that this is poor appetite. Mothers are very concerned about such a sudden change. You have seen that preschoolers do not grow as rapidly as they did during infancy. Naturally the child’s body regulates itself by having a smaller appetite. The amount of food eaten will vary from one child to another. You may find that the same child eats well at one time and little at another.
As the child grows and becomes more and more active, he will lose some of the chubbiness and become lean. As long as a child is active, healthy and growing at an acceptable rate you should expect these changes as characteristic of this group. You should worry only if the child is repeatedly falling ill, is lethargic and apathetic and has not gained weight for a prolonged period.
Development Of Food Habits
In the preschool years, as you may have seen, food often takes, second place because the child is interested in so many different things. It is at this age, however, that you can inculcate the right attitudes and good food habits. As in everything else, parents and elders are the most important influence in the child’s life because the child imitates his parents and elders using them as models.
As A Parent, You Can Do A Few Things To Ensure That Your Child Develop Good Food Habits:
-
- It is better not to transmit your dislikes and likes to the child. If your dislike certain foods, do not pass it on to the child. In many families, certain vegetables and foodstuffs are not even brought into the home and used, because one or the other parent dislikes it. This is not good. Let your child try all kinds of vegetables and fruits.
- The foods you offer to the child should be well prepared and attractive. This is something that not only a small child, but all of us would like.
- Be patient with your child even when he is messy in eating. If you are impatient you may hinder his ability to eat by himself. Praise him when he eats all his food.
- Let him eat with the rest of his family. Discourage him from having snacks instead of regular meals. Eating too many sweets or snacks is not only monotonous but will give him only energy without the other essential nutrients. Sweets also lead to tooth decay.
- Never use food as a bribe for good behavior or punish the child by not giving him food, especially the foods he likes. Chocolates, sweets, etc. should not be used as bribes. You may unwittingly lead the child to believe that such foods are good.
Many children begin mouthing objects in the middle of the first year. Basically this reflects the normal hand-to-mouth coordination stage of development. This type of activity usually subsides early during the second year.
How Would You Meet The Nutritional Requirements Of A Preschooler
You already know that preschoolers are still growing at a slow but steady pace. Therefore, all the nutrients that were important during infancy are still essential for the preschooler. Thus giving a well balanced diet is a must.
The preschool child, like the infant, needs more protein than adults do. Therefore, his diet should contain enough cereals and pulses and if you are non-vegetarian, you can give him/her egg, meat and fish. Milk should not be overemphasized because the child should be eating all foods and dishes that are prepared in your home. The preschooler’s diet should be varied and have a lot of vegetables and fruits, such as green leafy vegetables, yellow and orange vegetables and fruits like carrot, pumpkin, papayas or mango. Also give fruits like guava, amla, mausambi, orange or mango. Remember seasonal fruits are cheaper in season. Include a leafy vegetable preparation at least 2 or 3 times a week. This is especially important since vitamin A deficiency is a nutritional problem in our country.
Hers Is A Sample Menu For A Toddler Up to 2 Years Old And A 4 To 5 Years Old Preschooler:
Two Years Old:-
-
- Breakfast: 1 Chapati/1 Slice Bread, Egg-1/2 To 1 [Optional] Milk-1 Glass
- Mid-Morning: Chikki-1 Piece, One Piece Fruit [Guava/Chickoo/Banana]
- Lunch: Rice-1/3 Bowl, Dal-1/3 Bowl, Palak Potato Bhaji, Curd-Phulka-1
- Tea: Poha-1/2 Bowl Or Biscuits 2-3, Milk-1 Cup
- Dinner: Khichadi-3/4 Bowl, Papad, Raita, Fruit
- Night: Milk-1 Cup [Optional]
Four/Five Years Old:-
-
- Breakfast: 2 Phulkas/ 2 Slices, Bread, Egg-1 [Optional] Milk-1 Cup.
- Mid-Morning: Chikki-1 To 2 Pieces, Fruit-1/2 Or 1 Small
- Lunch: Rice-1/2 Bowl, Dal-1/2 Bowl, Bhaji, Curd-Phulka-1½ Or 2
- Tea: Poha-3/4 Bowl Or Biscuits 3-4, Milk-1 Cup
- Dinner: Khichadi-1-1½ Bowl, Papad, Raita, Fruit
Role Of Infection In Causing Malnutrition
Preschoolers like children of any other age will have some health problems. Among all the problems or illnesses, you may have seen, Diarrhea and Dysentery are quite common. Most cases of diarrhea are caused by the child consuming some food or liquid which was contaminated by harmful bacteria.
Infections and intercurrent illnesses play an important role in precipitating nutritional
deficiencies. In the first year of life when the child was breastfed, it was protected against disease by its mother’s milk. After 6 months, however, as the child’s milk intake may gradually decrease, the protection it receives is also less. It takes some time for the child’s body to build up its defense systems. Under these circumstances the child in the early preschool years is more susceptible to infection than during later years.
Takes any illness like fever, diarrhea or measles. The illness is a stress on the body and
causes loss of weight in the child. If the illness is severe and of long duration it may slow down the child’s growth. You know that when you are ill you do not feel like eating. Thus, the child may eat less than he does normally although at such a time, he actually needs more food. Some families may restrict food during the illness and sometimes you will find that some people do not even give water to a child suffering from diarrhea.
It is very important that you feed a child during his illness. Give the child easy-to-digest
foods with less spices and oil. Include foods from all the food groups especially from Group 3. You may have to feed the child frequently giving him small amounts at a time. Khichadi, soft cooked rice and dal, vegetable soups, cereal and milk porridge are easy to digest and are foods you must be familiar with.
After the child recovers, care must be taken to provide sufficient nutrition so that the child can catch-up and put on weight. During the recovery stage, the child needs more food to make up and put on the weight he may have lost.
Suppose a child does not get enough food he/she is exposed to infection once again. Before the child has had time to recover and catch-up with the growth that he has not been able to achieve, he will fall ill again. This second illness will make the child weaker than he was before. If this happens repeatedly, the child will soon be underweight and may eventually become malnourished. A malnourished child is more susceptible to infection. So the cycle goes.
Suppose a child in your family has diarrhea, what do you do normally? You may be aware that diarrhea and dysentery make the child lose a lot of body water. It is important, therefore, to give the child plenty of water. Here is a suggestion for making a simple drink for the child. Take 1 glass of water which has been boiled and cooled. Add one tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt to it. If you wish, you can add some lemon juice to it as well. Give this to the child: One glassful for every motion he has, a few teaspoons at a time.
However, this is only a temporary measure. You should give the child other foods also. As soon as you can give the child soft cooked rice, banana, khichadi, rice, etc. It is not
necessary to restrict food to the child when he is ill. However, spicy food is restricted.
Related Posts
Nutrition Through Life Cycle – The School Age
Nutrition Through Life Cycle – Adolescence
Nutrition Through Life Cycle – Adulthood
Nutrition Through Life Cycle – Old Age
Our Food Habits
