When I just stepped on the threshold on motherhood, the only anxiety that always kept pricking me from inside was about understanding my child's growth and development requirements. I didn't fancy any overnight upright change in his physical growth, but wanted him to grow at a steady pace.
Being a parent, it has always been my concern that the foundation for my child's healthy body and mind must be laid in early childhood itself. If the physical, mental, social and emotional development of a child is firmly taken care of in the infancy, it may spell a difference for lifetime on his personality.
Like every parent, I constantly monitored gain in his weight and height presuming these are the primary indices to measure the status of nutrition he is taking. I didn't even think of skipping breastfeeding my child in desire to maintain my figure, but took pride in meeting his needs for boosting his immune function. Staying on the right track of growth of my child, I strongly advocated breastfeeding my little infant for emotional reasons as well, because the bond that a mother develops potentially decides the depth of this affectionate relationship.
As I witnessed my child growing in terms of age when he was around 3+yrs, I used to compare the frequency and tendency of physical changes and it was the time when he turned into a picky eater who would throw tantrums on every meal serving. I had seen the consequences of Growth Failures in kids in my neighbourhood and I literally didn't even want to think of it. As my child's energy level dipped occasionally for different reasons, I had my apprehensions of lost growth or missed development due to any deficit or excess of nutrition in his food and kept on taking guidance from elders or experts about dietary intakes for my child to fulfill the iron, calcium, vitamins A and D and vitamin C requirements for his optimum growth. Infact the eating pattern of whole family got altered to go well with the little baby in the family, so that he could imitate a healthy diet habit from people around him. And the plan increasingly worked as per my expectations.
Being a parent, it has always been my concern that the foundation for my child's healthy body and mind must be laid in early childhood itself. If the physical, mental, social and emotional development of a child is firmly taken care of in the infancy, it may spell a difference for lifetime on his personality.
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Now that my child is speeding up in gaining height and also some weight, I make sure he drinks plenty of fluids, especially when he is physically active during sports and exercise. But as one may expect from these naughty souls, a variety is always needed in children's diet. So other than water based fluids, the fluids such as flavoured milk, fresh fruit juices, lassi, smoothies can be offered to children without compromising in taste or healthy content. My boy loves chocolate flavoured milk mixed with Horlicks that continues supplying desired goodness of calcium, vitamins or minerals & most importantly aids on #CatchUpOnGrowth. And I believe every child deserves to grow comprehensive elements in his personality for the pleasant experience to live life without any regrets. The most valuable gift that the parents can give to their child is not their ancestral property, but a perfect harmony of growth in his body and mind.
Great post Shilpa :)
ReplyDeleteThanku Roma :)
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