Weaning and nutrition for children

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Weaning and nutrition for children
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Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate the importance of weaning at the
  appropriate time
• Summarise the nutritional requirements for an
  infant when weaning and pre 5 nutrition
• Identify the barriers parents encounter with
  childrens nutrition guidelines
• List the Scottish Governments policy and agenda
  with regard to childrens nutrition in Scotland

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Session outline

• What is weaning when to wean
• Where to start
• Suitable/non suitable foods
• Stages/Mini meals
• Vegetarian
• Vitamin supplements
• General points to remember
• Pre 5 nutrition
• Food diary
• Local agenda/Government Policy on childrens
  nutrition.

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What is weaning?

• It is introducing other foods to infants,
  alongside usual milk (breast or bottle)
• It is sometimes called introducing solids,
  complementary or mixed feeding
• A variety of food should be given gradually
  until baby is eating the same healthy food as the
  rest of the family.

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Why are infants weaned?
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Reasons why infants are weaned

• Nutritional
• Developmental reasons

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When should weaning (stage one) begin?
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What are the Risk of Early Weaning? What are
the problems with Late Weaning - after 6 months.
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Introduction of Solids

• Compared to 1995, mothers were introducing solids
  later in 2000
• In Scotland, by 2 months 7 had given solids (22
  in 1995)
• By 3 months, 28 had given solids (64 in 1995)
• By 4 months, 83 had given solids (91 in 1995)
• This was the guidelines at that time

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Where to start!

• Spoon
• Cups

• Flavours
• Textures

• Relaxed
• Face to face

• Experience
• Time

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• Groups
• List the foods that can be used for weaning if
  infant is weaned at 17 weeks onwards.
• Groups
• List the foods to avoid if infant is weaned from
• 17 weeks onwards

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GOOD HABITS
Babies have a natural instinct to prefer sweet
flavours, so try to discourage a sweet tooth
from an early age. Fruit is an important part
of babys food intake, so choose only ripe sweet
fruit, e.g. pear or mango, so there is no need to
add sugar.
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STAGE 2 moving on

• Most babies will be ready to move on to stage 2,
  around 2-4 weeks after the feeding has begun. It
  is time to establish eating patterns, which
  include a variety of foods from the 4 main food
  groups (2 - 3 times a day)

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Fruit and Vegetables
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Bread, Rice, Potatoes and pasta
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Meat, fish and alternatives
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Milk and dairy foods
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STAGE 3 mini meals

• Foods should come in a variety of textures
  minced or chopped, whole small vegetables, soft
  breads and liquids from the cup
• Baby will eat with her fingers and might want to
  feed independently, using a spoon, finger foods.

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Stage 3 Sample day
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Vegetarian Weaning
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Recommended type of milk

• Up to 1 year breast or formula milk
• (from age of 6 months, full fat cows milk can
  only be used to mix solids and in cooking but not
  as a drink)
• 1 year to 2 years full fat cows milk can be
  given as a drink
• From 2 years semi-skimmed milk can be used if
  child is eating growing well

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.

• GroupWork list the drinks not suitable for
  babies under 1 year old large group feedback

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General points to remember

• Children have high energy requirement for their
  size
• Their stomachs are small they cant manage
  large amounts of food at one time
• Their appetites fluctuate markedly from day to
  day
• Do not add any food to babys bottle
• Do not add sugar or salt to the food
• (babies really are sweet enough)

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General points to remember (contd)

• Always supervise meals drinks, in case of
  choking
• Try to brush your babys teeth or gums twice each
  day
• Jars or packets of baby foods can be useful when
  going out for the day but dont rely on these too
  much as they can be more expensive than homemade
  foods often contain added sugar

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Healthy Start www.healthystart.nhs.uk

• Healthy start vouchers is the new name for the
  Welfare Food Scheme- instead of milk tokens
  vouchers can be used for milk, fresh fruit, fresh
  vegetables and infant formula.
• You qualify if you are pregnant or have a child
  under 4 years AND are
• receiving Income support
• income based Job seeker's Allowance
• receive Child tax credit and have an annual
  family
• income of 14,495 or
  less
• if you are pregnant and under 18 years

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• Useful resources
• Fun first Foods NHS Health Scotland
• Food Standard Agency Website www.eatwell.gov.uk
• Local NHS health boards eg dietetic or health
  promotion department
• Your Childsmile programme pack.

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• A varied and nutritious diet and regular physical
  activity are very important to ensure healthy
  growth and development in young children

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We now know children should be eating from the 4
main food groups

• Fruit and vegetables
• Bread, Rice, Potatoes and Pasta
• Milk and dairy foods
• Meat, fish, eggs, beans

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Some important points

• Milk or water only for between meals
• Pure unsweetened diluted fruit juice at mealtimes
• Cows milk not suitable until at least one year
• Semi-skimmed milk can be introduced at 2 years if
  child is eating growing well

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Some points to remember

• High fibre diet not recommended for children
• Low fat diets are not suitable for healthy Pre
  5 children
• Skimmed milk not suitable for under 5s
• Fizzy drinks tea can prevent the absorption of
  vitamins and minerals especially Iron

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GroupWork Identify the barriers parents
encounter with childrens nutritional guidelines
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Barriers to a healthy diet

• The Scottish Diet Action Plan identified four
  interlinking barriers to a healthy diet
• Access
• Availability
• Skills
• Culture

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Group Activity

• Food plate
• Work in small groups and complete the food Diary
  for a pre 5 child.

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Total Sugars
Extrinsic sugars Sugar molecules outside the cell
Intrinsic sugars Sugar molecules inside the
cell. E.g. fresh fruit and veg
Non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) E.g. table
sugar, confectionery,honey,fruit juice.
Milk sugars E.g. lactose in dairy products (milk)
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Food Labelling
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Scottish initiatives on food

• Community Food and Health (Scotland)to promote
  and focus dietary initiatives within low-income
  communities and to bring these into a strategic
  framework
• Food Standards Agency ScotlandHas a commitment
  to improve food safety and standards in Scotland
  and protect the health of Scotland's population
  in relation to food

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You may be involved in any one of these!
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Questions

• Further reading
• Food standards agency - www.food.gov
• www.healthscotland.org.uk
• www.eatwell.gov.uk
• www.bda.uk.com
• www.takelifeon.co.uk
• www.growingupinscotland.org.uk
• Thank you

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• Almost half of all children (49) ate sweets or
  chocolates once a day or more,
• 43 drank non-diet soft drinks.
• Crisps or savoury snacks were slightly less
  popular - a quarter (25) of children in the
  survey ate crisps once a day or more.

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KEY DIETARY TARGETS

• Increase fruit and vegetable consumption
• Increase intake of bread, especially wholemeal
  and brown bread
• Increase intake of breakfast cereals, rice, pasta
  and potatoes
• Maintain white fish and increase oily fish levels
• Reduce intake of total fat and saturated fat
• Reduce sugar intake
• Reduce salt intake

Scottish Diet Action Plan
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• Schools ( health promotion and nutrition) (
  Scotland) Act 2007
• Healthy Eating in Schools A guide to
  implementing the nutritional requirements for
  food and drink in schools (Scotland) regulations,
  2008