Common mistakes when feeding babies solid foods

In Japan-Vietnam seminar on improving weaning practices in the first 1,000 days of life for Vietnamese children, On September 28, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thanh Duong, Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that nutrition in the first two years of life contributes up to 80% of brain weight and prevents chronic diseases in adulthood. If this period is well nourished, the child will likely increase in height by 25 cm in the first 12 months and 10 cm/year in the next year.

“Therefore in the first two years of life, the baby can increase in height up to 35 cm. The child’s height at this stage will be equal to 1/2 of his adult height,” Mr. Duong said. Therefore, you should build a reasonable nutritional regimen, supplementing vitamins and micronutrients through daily meals to help children stay healthy in the future.

Experts admit that the mistake many families make when feeding their children solid foods is feeding them too early so that their children are strong and not hungry, so many babies are given complementary foods from the 4th, 5th month, even from 4 months. 3rd month of age. This not only affects the utilization of breast milk, but the child is also susceptible to digestive disorders leading to malnutrition. In fact, in the newborn stage, the child’s digestive system is not fully developed, there are not enough digestive enzymes and little digestive fluid, the child is susceptible to disorders with symptoms of bloating, loose stools, sour smell. Nutritionists have recommended that children receive complementary foods from 6 months and in parallel with breastfeeding until 24 months of age.

Grinding food too finely will cause the child to choke. Not training the child to chew is also a mistake, forming a habit of sucking. Many families do not feed children vegetables early, or only give them water and not food (lack of fiber); Not having the patience to train children to eat a variety of foods or abstain from certain foods can lead to picky eating and anorexia.

In particular, the situation of children eating while watching TV or eating on the street (eating while going out) makes them lose concentration, prolong their eating time, and gradually cause loss of appetite. In some cases, forcing children to eat leads to psychological problems in children (fear of eating).

Mr. Duong believes that the diet must be from thin to thick, from little to much, from simple with few types of food to diverse types of food. In particular, while eating, you need to encourage children and not force them.

Ms. Chiharu Tsutsumi, lecturer in the department of nutrition and health, Sagami Women’s University (Japan), said parents need to pay attention to their children’s needs when starting solid foods. In the past, there was a period in Japan when people thought that “eating a lot and growing big” was a good thing and held a contest to give prizes to fat babies. However, later, the problem of increasing lifestyle-related diseases changed the perception of the importance of “eating properly”.

Specifically, the appropriate amount of food depends on each child’s physical condition and activity level, which in turn is determined by whether the child’s weight and height increase according to the growth curve or not. If it increases, it is not necessary to increase or decrease the child’s diet. On the contrary, trying to force him to eat more will make the child psychologically uncomfortable.

“It is important to teach children ‘eating is fun’, this makes them excited to eat, thereby forming the spirit of ‘actively exploring new things’ in the future”, Ms. Chiharu Tsutsumi speak.

Mr. Hiroshi Kawahara, Chairman of Asahi Group Foods Joint Stock Company, acknowledged the uniqueness of the Japanese way of weaning, which not only focuses on nutrition such as what to eat and how much to eat, but also takes into account the function of food. absorb nutrition for each child to come up with appropriate cooking methods, as well as focus on forming habits. In addition, from the perspective of food education, the method focuses on communication between parents and children to have happy and warm meals.

Mr. Duong also recommends that mothers should only start feeding their children complementary foods when they are 6 months old (180 days old), using a variety of nutritional food sources with at least 4 of the 7 food groups and oils. daily fat. Complementary foods and adequate and appropriate feeding practices can help prevent stunting.