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Nutrition for Babies and Toddlers

− CONTENTS −

Check bodily development and nutrition

Breast-feeding

How to prepare powdered milk

Do not feed your baby honey until the age of one

Weaning

Targets for weaning

Transitioning to weaning

After weaning

Dietary habits for early childhood

Check bodily development and nutrition

In early childhood, a child's body will change as it grows. Different children grow differently, and there can also be large differences in how each one obtains nutrition. Regularly measure your child's height and weight and record it on the bodily development curve graph. This will tell you about the child's bodily development and nutrition.

Breast-feeding

The mother's breasts provide basic nutrition for a baby. The first breast-feeding in particular will provide milk which contains a large amount of ingredients that protect the baby from illness. When the mother cannot breastfeed due to her own physical condition, illness, or work commitments, it is advisable to use formula or infant formula milk.

Different babies drink different amounts of milk, so do not force your baby to drink if he or she does not want to. If your baby is happy drinking milk and his or her weight is increasing at a steady pace, you need not worry. If you have any worries concerning breast-feeding, consult with a midwife at the hospital or clinic where you delivered your child.

How to prepare powdered milk

When preparing powdered milk, it is important to dissolve it with the right concentration, which is determined according to the product you're using. Well water and spring water can upset a baby's body due to bacteria. When giving your baby powdered milk or hydrating with water, use tap water, well water which passes a water quality inspection, or water in a container and made specifically for preparing milk.

Make sure to wash your hands before preparing baby formula with powdered milk. Dissolve the powdered milk into water that has been heated to at least 70 ̊C. Cool it down and make sure that it is around body temperature before you feed it to your baby. Make sure to throw away any leftover milk or any baby formula which is more than two hours old.

Do not feed your baby honey until the age of one

Honey poses a risk of causing infant botulism, so do not feed it to your child until after he or she becomes 1 year old.

Weaning

Weaning is when you begin to give soft, mashed food to a baby who has until that time only fed on breastmilk, powdered milk or baby formula. You will gradually increase the toughness of the food you feed and increase the variety of foods you serve. Around the age of five or six months is an appropriate time to begin feeding your baby soft, mashed food.

Note that there is no nutritional value from feeding your infant fruit juice before weaning. Usually, at around five or seven months after birth, if you use a spoon or other such utensil to feed your baby, putting that utensil into the mouth will begin to weaken and eventually eliminate the desire to breast-feed, so you don't need to use a spoon for feeding until you begin weaning the child. Weaning should progress in gradual steps to make sure that your baby properly develops the ability to chew and swallow.

At around the age of nine to 10 months, your baby will begin to grab things to eat. Grabbing things to eat will develop a habit of eating independently and will feed a desire to do so.

Targets for weaning

The timing at which a child no longer needs breast milk varies depending on the child's growth, development, the progress of weaning, and the home environment. Because determining when to stop breastfeeding can be difficult, it's important to make that decision based on the condition of the child and your own situation.

Transitioning to weaning

Wean your baby according to how he or she is growing and developing. In addition, try to acclimate your baby to a daily routine and make eating fun.

* Key points about weaning

i. Food types and combinations

As weaning progresses, increase the variety and quantity of food you feed your baby.

When you start weaning, begin with feeding rice porridge. When introducing a new food, feed your baby with a weaning spoon one spoonful at a time. Observe your child and increase quantity when he or she seems ready. When your baby becomes acclimated, introduce more types of food such as potatoes, carrots or other vegetables, as well as fruits. Later on you can also introduce tofu, white fish meat, hard-boiled eggs and so on.

As weaning progresses yet further, you can switch from white fish to red fish or blue-backed fish and from egg yolk to whole eggs. You can also add variety by introducing to your child easy-to-eat, fat-free meats, tofu, vegetables (such as green and yellow vegetables), seaweed, yogurt, as well as cheese containing little salt or fat.

Save fatty meats for a little later on.

When your baby becomes used to not drinking milk for meals and you proceed to feeding two meals of solid food a day, serve meals with a combination of cereal (dietary staple), vegetables (side dish)/fruit, and protein-rich foods (main dish). In addition, before preparing a family meal, separate the baby's ingredients beforehand and make sure your baby's meal includes foods with mild flavors. When you do that, your baby will enjoy a greater variety of meals and food preparation.

There are reports that babies who are breast-fed develop a deficiency in iron or vitamin D at around six months of age. Therefore, it is important to begin weaning at the appropriate time and to intentionally introduce foods that are a source of iron and vitamin D. Of course, observe your baby's response as you introduce these foods.

There's no need to delay the introduction of solid foods other than the allergenic foods for children with food allergies. Proceed with introducing solid foods as usual while avoiding the specific foods identified by a doctor as allergens.

If weaning does not proceed smoothly, which leads to a high risk of iron deficiency, or you do not observe your baby gaining an appropriate amount of weight, first consult with a doctor, Then, as necessary, consider using follow-up formula.

If you give your baby regular milk (from a cow), you should not do so until after your child is one year old so as to prevent iron-deficiency anemia.

ii. Cooking patterns and food preparation methods

As weaning progresses, prepare easy-to-eat food to serve your baby. Since your child's resistance to bacteria will be weak, make very sure to be thoroughly sanitary when preparing food.

Heat the food so it is hard enough to be mashed down in your child's mouth. Start with mashed rice porridge, and when your baby becomes used to that, give it a coarser texture and eventually proceed to unmashed rice porridge, followed by soft boiled rice. When you start serving vegetables and protein-rich foods, at first prepare it so that it is soft, and then gradually make it coarser. In the middle of weaning, your baby will be used to eating food all at once as he or she will have done with mashed food, so you need to find a way to make it thicker so that your baby swallows it properly.

For seasoning, when you begin weaning, your baby's food will not require seasoning. As weaning progresses, if you use flavoring agents such as table salt or sugar, bring out the unique flavor of each dish to prepare food with a mild taste. Use only small amounts of fat and oil.

After weaning

When you finish weaning your baby, your baby will be able to bite down on and chew solid food and will now be getting the majority of energy and nutrition from food other than breastmilk, powdered milk or formula. This will happen at between 12 and 18 months of age, but this does not mean your baby will not drink breast milk, powdered milk or baby formula anymore. At around this time, feed your baby three meals and one or two snacks each day.

Dietary habits for early childhood

Early childhood is a time to establish the foundation for dietary habits. It is important to get your child into the habit of eating regularly, and to make sure your child is eating food—including snacks—of the appropriate quantity and with nutritional balance, as well as to discourage picky eating.

It's important to create a fun atmosphere when the family sits down for a meal. So long as your child is in a good mood and following his or her typical daily routine, do not force your child to eat, but also do not take too much time feeding him or her.

* For more information contact a dietician employed by your municipality.

(Reference)

・About breastfeeding and weaning (Children and Families Agency)

・Allergy Portal A website that provides "correct information" regarding allergies "Allergy Portal"

・For children who enjoy eating, at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website

・「Early to bed, early to rise, breakfast」National Council Website

		Weaning begins	→		Weaning complete
		The targets provided below are merely guidelines. Adjust according to the appetite, growth and development of your child.
		Early Weaning Age 5-6 months	Middle of Weaning Age 7-8 months	Late Weaning Age 9-11 months	After Weaning Age 12-18 months
Feeding Guidelines		○Start feeding by spoon once a day while observing your child. ○Feed your baby as much breastmilk or formula as he or she wants.	○Get your baby into a rhythm of having meals twice a day ○Add a greater variety of foods to enjoy experiencing different flavors and textures.	○Stick to a dining routine and feed your baby three times a day. ○Dine together to build up enjoyable eating experiences.	○Stick to a routine of eating meals three times a day and get your baby into a daily routine ○Have your baby grab things to eat to make eating independently more fun.
Preparations		Soft and mashed	Can mash with tongue	Can mash with gums	Can chew with gums
Amount per meal
Ⅰ	Cereal (g)	Start with rice porridge. You can also try mashed vegetables. After your baby becomes used to this, try mashed tofu, white fish meat, egg yolk or the like.	100% rice porridge 50-80	90% (rice porridge) – 80% (soft boiled rice)	90% (soft boiled rice) – 80% (regular rice)
Ⅱ	Fruits & vegetables (g)		20 〜 30	30 〜 40	40 〜 50
Ⅲ	Fish (g) or meat (g) or tofu (g) or eggs (quantity) or dairy products (g)		10 〜 15 10 〜 15 30 〜 40 1 egg yolk or 1⁄3 whole egg 50 〜 70	15 15 45 1⁄2 whole egg 80	15 〜 20 15 〜 20 50 〜 55 1⁄2 to 2⁄3 a whole egg 100
Teething target			Baby teeth start to come in	Your baby will have eight front teeth at around the age of one. The back teeth (the first baby molars) will start to come in during the latter half of the "After Weaning" stage.
Eating function targets		Your baby can open the mouth to take in or swallow food.	Your baby can bite down with the upper and lower jaws.	Your baby can mash objects with the gums.	Your baby can use teeth.