The Public Health Agency of Catalonia, in Spain, presented a document with the recommendations for feeding children between the ages of zero and three. This document intends to leave behind what was published in 2009 in said autonomous community, introducing several novelties based on the new scientific evidence related to child nutrition.
Among all the suggested changes, the theme of the presentation of food to babies stands out, which is usually crushed, and whose recommendation is contrary. In fact, they have decided to report that parents are taking too long to offer uncrushed food to babies.
Recommendations for children from 0 to 3
The document, presented seven years after the previous one, provides all the recommendations for the nutrition of Catalan children aged 0 to 3 years. They don't say anything, really, that in Babies and more We have not commented before, for example when we published the complete guide for complementary feeding a year ago.
They talk, for example, that it is advisable for babies to start complementary feeding at six months, whether breastfed, already drink artificial milk. That way they will be prepared to start taking food and bringing it to their mouths (something difficult after 4 months).
In Babies and more Supplementary feeding: AEP recommendations on the introduction of food into the baby's dietThey also affirm that food order is inconsequential: Do not necessarily start with cereals, then go to the fruit and then offer vegetables and meat or fish. You can start with the food you want and continue with another that has nothing to do with it.
Even so, they affect the need for limit the amount of meat, fish and egg, which are foods very rich in protein, as a measure to control childhood obesity: the more proteins, the more risk of obesity.
They also explain that parents can decide the order, but we should never decide the amount, because to think that the older they are, the more they eat, is a mistake that could lead them to force their children to eat. This is explained by the fact that there are one-year-old children who eat less than when they were 9 months old, for a clear reason: the year they no longer grow so fast and the caloric needs are equal or less than months ago.
Beware the crushed
Since the appearance of blenders and kitchen robots, children's food is crushed, and sometimes it crushes too much. We get purees and porridge very soft in terms of texture, without any tripping, sometimes closer to the liquid presentation than to a denser presentation, when the ideal is that it be semi-solid.
But this is not all, is that for fear that the boy or girl will be attracted to food, crushing is lengthened, sometimes even too old. When a baby is 6 months old, he is very capable of taking things and putting them in his mouth, and they are also completely curious to do so. Once the year or year and a half goes by, that curiosity disappears to a great extent and then it can be much more expensive to get them to try semi-solid and solid foods.
As recommended in the document:
It is advisable to incorporate different preparations to the crushed. Offering whole foods (or pieces, depending on the type of food) allows the baby to eat autonomously and enjoy the different tastes, textures, smells and colors of the food (this practice is called baby-directed feeding, feeding with solids or, in English, baby-led weaning).
In case they do not catch them, in case they carry it very badly, it should be enough with crush food with a spoon or fork so they don't gobble, but realize that they have to "work" the food a little before swallowing it. Come on, the ideal thing is to see that they have to chew a little what they put in their mouths before swallowing, and so they will have less trouble eating everything when they already have teeth.
Baby-led Weaning, or let the baby eat alone
We often talk to you about the Baby-Led Weaning, a baby-guided feeding method. Through this type of feeding, the baby only has to see the food in front, in a soft presentation, but semi-solid or solid, and take it according to what he calls more or less attention to put them in the mouth.
So they start eating the adults much sooner, to chew, to know textures, flavors and smells and, in short, they are more autonomous before. And isn't parents' education really all that is done until the children manage to do it themselves? Well, this way we ended before.
In Babies and more How do I start Baby Led Weaning with my baby: 11 keys to get started in the methodThe only problem is that this way of feeding the baby, which is the best for them, is "the worst" for the parents, at least in the short term: the food flies, is handled, crushed and thrown away and every meal supposes a good time to pick up and clean, when with the crushed and the spoon only the spoon is stained.
But you know: "If it's for my son, the best".
Photos | Cody, Simon Wheatley, Gall on Flickr
In Babies and more | Complementary feeding: What would happen if we let them eat them ?, Carlos González talks about a food free of porridge in the TEDx of Valencia, Errors in the pediatrician's complementary feeding sheets: placing the food during the day in an immovable way
