Dr. Mahishma K

"We always know and speak highly that children will absorb things better will learn quickly than adults. So these children at this age will require a lot more nutrients and good nutrients to help in brain development. So some of the foods which will help in brain development or now it is called fashionably as super foods or eggs. All kinds of seafish actually they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and coline, iodine and zinc. All of these will help in brain development along with this almonds and green leafy vegetables will help in brain development. Coming to the next question of whether vegetarian children will require supplementation. It depends upon what kind of diet the child is following suppose the child is on dairy food foods and eggs are included in his diet. Usually they do not require any supplementation at all because they will be getting all the nutrients from dairy products and eggs. However if they are off dairy products then you will need to supplement them with milk-based alternatives like soya milk, almond milk. Soya milk will again be an excellent alternative. The idea is to get nutrients from the food mostly and to avoid supplementation for children. So if you're avoiding a particular kind of food like dairy then supplement them with plant-based products the second common thing which will arise for vegetarian children is vitamin B12 deficiency. Because most of the vitamin B12 from diet is animal based so it will be difficult to source or vegetarian based. There are foods which are rich in vitamin B12 which you can get from vegetarian sources also like tofu almonds apples blueberries are all rich in vitamin B12. So the idea is to get variety into the diet and also to source foods which can help in supplementation of B12 for them and also plant based. Otherwise specifically needed or medically needed we need to supplement them with B12 or vitamin D. Otherwise just the diet and alternatives to diet will help them compensate"

"Parent is introducing new foods to the child at 6 months of age. So as everybody knows and that is what we follow regularly till 6 months of age. Breastfeeding is the only food that the child will take not even water is given to child it's only milk. So after 6 months of age we start introducing foods to the child. That is called as weaning. However this beaning does not mean that we stop breast milk. Along with breast milk we'll start introducing new foods to the child. Breastfeeding can be continued till 2 years of age. So foods which can be given to the child at this age is we usually try to keep it simple introduce one item per time so that you don't introduce multiple items to the child. Their gut has to get used to the new foods. So usually we say to give one item preferably start with rice based foods like in Telugu we commonly say it as huku. So rice based cereal it can be made at home or you get a packaged once preferably homemade is very healthy for the child and it will have less side effects too the consistency should be soft initially. Then with growing age we'll make it a semi solid then finger foods and then they can take hard foods like chapati. So the idea is to make the child eat whatever we as a family eat by one year of age but at a softer consistency. So along with the cereal based once you start with rice based cereals then you can go for multi- grain or add millets like ragi wheat or you can add wheat but preferably first start with rice and then go to wheat and then other millets like ragi. The second thing is by 8 to 9 months of age please start introducing the child with finger foods like cut vegetables which are boiled so that they can pick up the food and eat also non vegetarians if they want want to start with non-veg food. You can start introducing egg yolk at 8 months 6 months or 7 months of age and then start introducing egg white by 8 to 9 months of age. Non-vegetarian food like meat also can be introduced by 9 to 12 months of age. However it has to be shredded soft with no bones make sure there are no bones at all you have to double check that and then give it at a softer consistency they can be given water after 6 months of age. But no nuts to be given because usually they're allergic and these are small things which can get stuck in their throat. So we advise not to give any aerated drinks or nuts to the child at this age the idea again is to keep the child eating family food by one year of age by step by step taking and by giving one food at a time or not introducing all the foods in one week we start introducing the child to foods which we eat"

So a balanced diet will essentially include five different groups of food that is vegetables, fruits, dairy products, proteins and grains. So anything which is lacking then we cannot call it as a balanced diet and it will not help in growth and development of the child. The essential need is growing age a child will require proteins. More younger child will require a little less calories than older child. So as per the age the balanced diet will differ and change and we have to keep adjusting with their growing age. However the primary idea is to contain all these five items in your daily diet. If there is any medical need or by choice if you are excluding for say example dairy is excluded then you'll have to put an alternative. For them adjustments be based on our choices and medical needs is the way to go about for a balanced diet. Primarily including all these five groups also the other important things to remember is to limit their junk food because junk food usually contains saturated fats which are not good for their health. Limiting their salt intake and limiting excessive sugars will help in keeping a balanced diet"

"So iron is an essential element which is required for body's growth and development it will help in maintaining our hemoglobin too . So how do we check for iron levels in the child is we do not regularly screen for iron levels in the child until unless there are at risk like preterm babies or those who are a little underweight we then go for screening of iron levels. Testing of the blood levels is the only way which we will know if they're deficient of iron. So how do we prevent is one common thing is in our country especially deworming has to be done regularly every specifically every 6 months or at least preferably once a year at least deworming should be done because if the deworming is not done intestinal worms will cause malnutrition and anemia ultimately. So that is one thing which we have to do to prevent iron deficiency anemia. The second thing is including an iron rich diet iron rich diet will include dairy products spinach green leafy vegetables grains chickpeas. All these are containing rich iron sources. So including iron in your diet will help in reducing iron deficiency anemia atrisk babies like preterm term babies for those who are underweight we usually screen them and then start them on iron supplements at a young age to prevent iron deficiency anemia some of the symptoms which you can identify in children and help them bring to the doctor at an early time is they will become fatigued. Most common symptoms will be fatigue, breathlessness. Severe anemia can cause breathlessness so these are some of the signs which you have to keep in mind to bring them at an early time to the Paediatrician"

"Protein is an essential food that a child will require especially because children have to grow and develop. So the protein is required for their growth their development cell repair growth of new cells and also it will boost their immunity. Protein is an essential element that is required in their diet along with carbohydrates. So some of the sources of protein is as usual again eggs meat sources mushrooms, tofu all these contain excessive proteins. One of the important protein sources will be legumes they contain a lot of protein as our country developed and we are going through changes in economy everybody's income sources have increased. So we are not seeing those very severe protein deficiency cases that have become very less over the years. But severe protein deficiency is a very dangerous condition and it will lead to a lot of problems and also morbidity in the child. So we are not seeing those cases now because of change in economy also. However mild protein deficiencies are being seen even now and they can be very abstract symptoms like poor concentration in the class, always fatigue. Fatigue is one common complaint which they may raise. There may be brittle nails, hair can become brittle. All these are signs of mild protein deficiency which we have to identify and a good protein that diet will help in solving these problems"

"This is one of the commonest problems that is arising past 5 to 6 years.There is an increasing Trend in children becoming overweight or obese and most of this problem is because of their sedentary lifestyle lack of physical activity and sporting activity in children. Especially older children as become older there is increased pressure to study and green time is increased. So there is lack of physical activity along with this there is an increase in consumption of junk food aerrated foods. So all these are causing a trend of increase in obese or overweight children's. So how do we avoid this is always everyday physical activity and exercise is a must in children which it will also not only help in reducing the weight it will also help in their overall growth and development of the child to the physical activity is a must secondly avoiding junk food and aerated drinks in decreasing the salt intake. Salt intake we do not necessarily keep a notice or check on the salt intake but whatever processed foods or packaged foods we eat contain a lot of salt because it is used as a preservative. So keeping an eye on limiting the salt intake and excessive sugar intake will help in reducing their weight and keep checking their weight lastly adequate sleep will help in having a good routine and good appetite too.So limiting the screen time is most important to have a good sleep"