We continue with our review by the most frequent mistakes in infant feeding, paying attention to fundamental issues such as healthy breakfasts, vegetables and some customs not recommended when offering food to the little ones.
Relegate breakfast
More frequently than we imagine, breakfast is supposed to be a secondary meal, and it is not given the importance it requires. Breakfast is a fundamental meal, the first of the day, which "puts the batteries" and influences in the morning, the physical and intellectual performance of people.
If the children make a good breakfast, they will spend a good morning and grow healthier, because, among other things, it has been shown that children who do not eat breakfast or who do it badly suffer more cavities or have a worse school performance.
Abuse sugary and / or chocolate cereals for breakfast
In recent years, cereal-based preparations have proliferated that are presented as “Breakfast cereals”. These are flakes made from different cereals (wheat, rice, corn) that are usually taken along with milk.
But often, to make them more palatable, they are covered in sugar, honey or chocolate, which are not as healthy as we might suppose. This significantly increases the amount of calories without providing essential nutrients. If they carry chocolate, it increases even more because it contains a lot of fat.
We have already seen some analyzes that highlight the excess of sugars and saturated fats in most of the cereals marketed. It is healthy to take cereals without additives. And at breakfast, the most traditional is the bread crumbs or toasts, very healthy and complete with a little olive oil and cooked ham.
Not offering enough vegetables
Vegetables are as important as fruit for infant feeding, however many times we forget these vegetables. They are an excellent source of nutrients for the whole family, with a rich variety of vitamins, minerals and a lot of fiber. We should include vegetables at least in two of the meals throughout the day.
Vegetables can preferably be fresh, in salad, or cooked as a side dish, but in any case they must be present in family dishes.
To think they don't like a food and "give up"
Babies have a hard time accepting the new flavors. It is logical, they spend months drinking milk and suddenly they begin to discover other foods. The transition has to be smooth and gradual, and above all or we must despair.
Many times we abruptly conclude that children are "bad eaters," but what happens is that they have not had enough time to accept the new foods. Many times, to the tenth is the charm, and begin to enjoy with new foods is a matter of patience.
Not let them experience
When the baby is ready for new foods, we have to let him experiment with the new flavors. Leave within your reach fruits or vegetables, that take them, that smell them, nibble on them ... That does not take away so that, as we said in the previous point, they reject them, but it is normal at first.
What would be counterproductive is that, once your “favorite” foods have been detected, we will not give you different things. Among a range of flavors they will choose their favorites, but in the variety and not being afraid to experiment with the new, the enjoyment of the food is based and that they do not stick to a few foods in their diet.
Force the plate to end
In general, we can allow the little ones to decide how much they eat. They should never be forced to finish a ration, they soon learn to know their limits. Your stomach is small and you have to encourage them to recognize the feeling of satiety so they don't eat more than necessary.
Sometimes you may not feel like a certain dish at any given time, but we can offer you healthy alternatives. If we notice a continuous and noticeable loss of appetite, we should consult the pediatrician.
In short, we hope that these tips help you not to commit frequent mistakes in infant feeding to enjoy the good table with your family in a healthy way.
