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Your Child

Caring for your children requires a proactive approach and collaboration with your healthcare professionals. Our "Your Child" articles present valuable advice for caring for your children from the expertise of our professional healthcare providers. Check regularly for advice to help your entire family stay healthier and happier.

Feeding Your Young Child: The Introduction of Solid Foods

By: Beth Magnuson, OTR

Many parents are inundated with information about feeding their infants and toddlers. Cultural influences, conflicting advice from grandparents, pediatricians and the other mothers in the neighborhood, as well as differences in individual children's developmental skills, may all lead parents in different directions. Add the information available via the internet, and advertising from the baby food companies, and it's no wonder that many are confused.

When to introduce solid foods is a question that stresses many parents. Breast milk or formula does provide the bulk of needed nutrition for an infant up to one year of age. However, the oral motor skills for handling the transition to table foods are developing in most infants well before that time. Some children are ready to start on cereals, fruit and vegetables at four months. Others won't be ready until later. Issues of illness, developmental delays, sensory sensitivities, family history of food allergies all compound the decision. Every child's individual medical issues and growth and development are unique, and specific questions should be routed to your pediatrician. Many early intervention programs in Massachusetts have nutritionists available to assist those families with children with complicated issues. However, there are some readiness cues that typically help parents decide the right time to introduce solid foods.
Physical cues include sitting without much support, and putting hands and toys into the mouth frequently. The child that is able to hold their head up with a straight back when supported on an adult's lap is not going to have to expend energy and concentration on controlling the head and trunk when sitting in a well-fitting high chair. (If your child has a physical disability that prevents this control, talk with your child's physical or occupational therapist about supported seating that provides the needed support.) Likewise, the child that puts hands and toys into their mouth is developing an acceptance of the sensory input entailed in eating. You can help a child with physical disabilities get their hands or toys to their mouth, and look for the response to the sensory input.

For the sake of space, this article won't go into what foods to first offer - see your pediatrician for that. You do want to introduce one food at a time, so that issues of intolerance or allergic reactions can be more easily determined. However, don't think that tastes of new foods have to be given by a spoon, it can also come from small tastes from your finger, or the baby's pacifier. This may be especially helpful for babies who are more sensitive or have difficulty learning new movements. If your baby doesn't enjoy the new eating experience or more food seems to come out than goes in, it's okay to put the food away and try again in a week. There is a wide variation of readiness for first foods, and your respect of your baby's cues will help start you off on a positive note!

For further information, look for:

  • Child of Mine - Feeding with Love and Good Sense, or
  • How to Get Your Child to Eat… but Not Too Much, both by Ellen Satter, RD

Or on the Internet:

  • Ask the Dietician www.dietician.com (click on infants or toddler issues)
  • Medline Plus from the National Library of Medicine www.nlm.gov/medlineplus
  • For children with disabilities or specialty issues: New Vision has a nice site:
  • www.new-vis.com (click on Feed Your Mind for some great articles - "Guidelines for Success - Enhancing Infant Readiness for Supplemental Foods" is a favorite of mine)

 

Nurture a Love for Books in Young Children

By: Melanie Shipon, MEd - Two by Two Coordinator

There are so many conflicting opinions among parenting experts that libraries and book stores are filled with shelf after shelf of books. One opinion is not disputed, however, and that is the importance of reading aloud to very young children. In fact, both reading and early childhood specialists agree that reading aloud is the single most important thing that a parent can do to assure future success in reading. It provides a model for language development, teaches new vocabulary, and expands a child's knowledge of the world. Most importantly, however, is the understanding that reading is fun and worthwhile, especially when shared in the lap of a special person. Here are some ways to nurture a love for books in young children.

  • Begin with nursery rhymes, folklore-such as "This Little Piggy Went to Market".
  • Choose books with large, clear and realistic pictures and short, simple text. Heavy board books are ideal for toddlers to "read" alone.
  • Establish a regular reading time, and be persistent-without forcing the issue. If the child is squirming, just talk about the pictures without actually reading the text. Be brief and listen to the child's cues.
  • Toddlers particularly love repetition, often choosing the same book over and over. Children are comforted by and learn best through repetition.
  • Set a good example. Children of readers are more likely to be readers also.
  • Make regular visits to the local library; many have toddler story times and other age appropriate programs.
  • Put "life" into reading with your voice. Young children love different voices for different characters.

The earlier you start reading to a child, the easier it is to acclimate the child to the sound of the reading voice and the idea that reading books is pleasurable. So… PICK OUT A GOOD BOOK AND START READING WITH YOUR FAMILY!

Flu Facts

Protect yourself and people around you:

  • Wash your hands with soap and warm water.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.
  • Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold or the flu.
  • Be very careful with children, as they are most likely to become sick with the flu.
  • Stay home from school or work if you have symptoms of the flu.

For more information about influenza visit, www.edc.gov/flu/ or www.mass.gov/dph