Infant and Toddler Nutrition
Javan Jackson
PSY 104
William Ross PHD
September 13, 2009
In this paper I explain the importance of proper nutrition in infants and toddlers will explain what a poor diet can do to a child’s development and what a good diet also can do. I will talk about healthy guidelines for infants and toddlers. Finally I will show some good examples of healthy diets that are, leading parents to change their way of eating for their children.
Many infants and toddlers eat a lot of fast food, if you watch television you will seen the commercials geared toward our children. Many infants and toddlers are lacking vitamin D; this means they do not have enough nutrients to stay healthy. This vitamin is important to maintain healthy bones; foods that have this vitamin are fish and eggs. Parents today give their kids too much fast food and sugar related products, this type of eating leads to obesity and childhood diabetes.
The rates for diabetes in kids are very high because, these poor eating habits started in the infant and toddler stages. By the time these kids get to grade school they are what you call overweight. Overweight has increased in infancy as in all age groups in the United States. In 2000-2001, 5.9 percent of U.S. infants up to 6 months old were classified as overweight, meaning that their weight for height was in the 95 Th percentile for age and gender, up from 3.4 percent in 1980. An additional 11.1 percent were at risk for overweight, in the 85th percentile, compared with 7 percent in 1980 (Kim et al., 2006).
Most children that become overweight usually have an overweight parent in the home. Having at least one overweight parent increases the child’s chances of repeating this behavior. Also when a child is not getting enough nutrients, this affects their performance in school. Kids also develop chronic constipation, abdominal problems, iron deficiency, and type two diabetes. These types of...