by Giselle Bello

With so much information out there, here is a quick guide to help you know what to feed your baby at each month during their first two years:

Pregnancy and newborn stage: Your baby gets their nutrients through amniotic fluid and breast milk, so eat up!

4-6 months: You can start on solids. You can tell when they are ready when they start to sit up by themselves, and grab things to put in their mouth.

7 months: You can start to give lumpier foods. Experts say that eating only smooth purees may lead to pickier eaters later in development.

8-9 months: Time for finger foods! Babies will love any chance to practice grabbing things and pick up small pieces of soft foods. 

10-11 months: Now is the time to introduce a variety of flavors. Experts say that if this isn’t done by age 1, it is likely that person will prefer a more limited, blander diet growing up.

12-14 months: Whole milk and honey are ok to eat now. At this age, both appetite and growth rate slow significantly. Remember to keep introducing your baby to a variety of new foods.

15 to 17 months: Your baby will start to more successfully use their little plastic forks and spoons. 

18 to 23 months: From this age up until age 3, kids start to go through more picky phases. Just stay creative and switch things up.

24 months: Replace whole milk with low-fat diary.

And finally, here are some great foods to be sure to include in your baby's menu: 

Lentils: These have iron, protein, and fiber, all important nutrients for both toddlers and infants. Feed these pureed with brown rice for younger ones, and serve them lumpier as the baby grows older and becomes more accustomed to it.

Fish: The omega-3 fatty acids and protein in fish is great for little ones’ growing brains. Try combining a mild option (such as pollock) with a vegetable he likes in a puree. When he is older, try cutting salmon or Pollock into strips, sprinkle bread crumbs on top, and bake them for a healthy fish stick.

Green vegetables: These provide a variety of nutrients, including folate (which supports healthy cell growth) and beta carotene (necessary for a healthy immune system). For little ones, mix spinach, asparagus, or green beans with cauliflower to make a sweeter puree. For older ones, you can steam green beans, broccoli, or asparagus, adding a bit of garlic or butter for taste. 

Photo Credit: Michal Marcol | freedigitalphotos.net

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by Giselle Bello 

 

How do you cultivate a love of healthy food in your kids? Taste preferences are often established early in life, especially in a baby’s first year. This means parents have every opportunity to teach their kids to both recognize and truly enjoy healthy foods, and avoid ending up with picky eaters whom they have to fight to eat vegetables. The following are some strategies to help raise children who learn to eat everything, and love every bite!

1. First Bites

The best time to feed a baby solids for the first time is right after a nap or in the morning. Minimize distractions such as the TV or older siblings running around. There are no rules about what you should give first. Many start with rice cereal with formula or breast milk, others opt for avocados and bananas, but you can even try meat or vegetables. At first, the baby will likely only take a few bites. 

2. Variety

Get creative with the foods you introduce. Some experts say to introduce something new every day, and mixtures as well. One trick is to go through the colors of the rainbow (apple, squash, banana, broccoli, etc.) to help you think of new foods and give your baby all types of nutrients and flavors.Once a baby enjoys a certain food plain, you can also try introducing it with some herbs and mild spices. 

3. Don’t Give Up!

It may take as many as fifteen tries before a baby accepts a new food. If you try giving them the vegetable puree they hate most every other day, research shows that after a couple of weeks, your baby will most likely love the food. If toddlers start to get picky with foods they used to love, try simply switching up how you serve them. 

4. Help Your Baby Connect with the Kitchen

Kids love things that they can recognize. Teach them the names of foods, show them pictures in books, and point things out at the grocery store. Help them establish a familiarity with the kitchen, letting your baby watch safely from the high chair while you prepare a meal. And as they get older, have them participate through simple tasks like scooping and stirring. 

5. Lead By Example

Having the baby at the dinner table lets him see the family enjoying food. Kids will follow your example, so if you are a picky eater, don’t call attention to it! If you don’t like a particular vegetable, serve another one with it, so that your child can still see you happily eating healthy.

6. Have Fun and Relax

Kids can often be encouraged to eat things that look delicious and fun. Small things like colorful bowls or silly faces on pancakes can encourage kids to try something. 

At the end of the day, all children are different. To raise a good eater takes years, and is an ongoing process. Just keep a good attitude, put the right foods on the table, and they will come around eventually.

Photo Credit: Jomphong | freedigitalphotos.net

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Parents, it’s hard to see your kids pack their bags to leave the nest. The place that kept them sheltered for all of these years is no longer their fulltime home. For some parents, (the luckier ones I suppose), their kids move a few miles or a few hours away. Others aren’t so lucky. These parents have to walk their children to the airport terminal to say goodbye because their kids are going far away. 

My parents were part of the unlucky ones. It’s not like I haven’t been away from the house for long periods of time before. I did go away to college. However I recently took a much bigger leap and decided to move halfway around the world.

I know that my move hurt my parents, especially my mom. Her “baby” was now going to live in a totally different country. But thanks to the ever-growing world of technology and programs such as Skype, we’re able to stay close even though we’re so far away. 

Parents, don’t fret when your kids come home one day to drop a bomb like, “Hey, mom and dad, I’m moving far away.” Please don’t fight them on their decision; they need your support and care. And they also need to hear your concerns. It tells us, I mean them, that you still love them.

Parents, I can tell you from my own personal first-hand experience that travel and experiencing other places and cultures can be a HUGE learning and growing experience for your children. I know it’s hard to let them go. I know the thought of not seeing them for months or perhaps even years at a time seems unbearable. And I feel for you. I do. But at some point, you need to allow them to pursue their own hopes and dreams so that they can become the awesome adults you know they’ll be.

Hopefully, your kids will return from their experiences with a greater love of life and a better understanding of the world we live in. Bless the adventurous souls and safe travels to all.

 

 

Photo Credit: David P. Ball

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The Christmas holiday is drawing closer and closer and your kids are becoming more and more excited for that special day. One of your kiddies asks you the dreadful question “Is Santa Claus real?” You pause for a second to think, “How should I answer this question?” 

The answer to this fateful question could either ruin a child’s imagination or further enhance it. It’s sort of like having an imaginary friend that brings your gifts every year. It seems that there’s no right way to answer this question. The one thing to pay attention to is robbing your child of his or her Christmas cheer. 

Despite how commercialized Christmas has become, I believe that the spirit of Christmas hasn’t left us yet. Do you still play Christmas music while decorating the tree with your kids? Do you still watch those semi-creepy ancient, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, Drummer Boy, and Santa clay animation cartoons? How could you forget the countless letters to Santa? Don’t be ashamed if you actually dropped your letters in the mailbox hoping the deliveryman would deliver your letter to the North Pole. That was all part of the Christmas experience.

For the sake of the kids, let them find out on their own about Santa. Which means, for you, the parent, you’ll have to think of clever stories to tell when they ask about the ever-present mall Santa. How is he present at every shopping mall around the world? 

As a parent, you can have fun with the Santa stories. Flex your imagination as you create stories to keep your children perplexed and hopeful that Santa will pay a visit to their house. 

I hope your family, especially the kids, enjoy everything this holiday has to offer. One thing’s for sure, no matter how hot or cold the weather is outside; hot chocolate with marshmallows always makes for a tasty treat. 

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