In fact, Caicai is upset because she doesn't know the nutrition that children aged 3-6 need, so she doesn't know what to give them, and because she doesn't know the growth characteristics of children and how to give them food. Knowing these two parts can better prepare a balanced diet for children.
First, the growth characteristics of children 3-6 years old children grow rapidly and have a strong metabolism, which is an important period for the healthy development of body and mind in their lives. Dietary nutrition has a great influence on children. In addition to the physical strength and intelligence in childhood, the physical quality of children in adulthood will also be affected. Parents with children need to pay more attention to their children's diet at this stage.
1, physiological characteristics
Children will have deciduous teeth at the age of two and a half, and permanent teeth will be changed at the age of six. Although children at this stage eat almost as much as adults, their chewing ability is slightly weak. Hard food, children often can't chew, so prepare soft and chewy food for children alone. If you have a cooking machine or a baby food supplement machine at home, you can easily crush the food that children can't chew and let them eat.
The child's stomach capacity is not large, and his digestive ability is not strong. Therefore, when preparing food, it is necessary to distribute it reasonably according to the child's food intake, ensuring that the food is rich in variety and appropriate in weight, which is convenient for children to digest. Help children digest, first, not drinking soup and soaking rice will dilute gastric juice; The second is to chew slowly, and we must pay attention to these two points.
2. Psychological characteristics
The famous educator Tao Xingzhi once said:
"Education before the age of six is too important! Therefore, to cultivate primary school students, we must first cultivate naive students, but also cultivate babies, that is, to cultivate their mothers. That is the fundamental way. "
Children aged 3-6 can basically take care of themselves, have strong initiative and curiosity, and like to imitate.
They are likely to be picky eaters, skip meals and like snacks. Even if parents prepare all kinds of food, their children may be picky eaters, not eating vegetables and meat, resulting in unbalanced nutrition. As parents, we should set an example and decide when and where to eat, including snacks and dinner time. Don't eat at other times, eat with children. Be more patient with children. Don't scold or force children because they don't want to eat. Children will naturally eat when they are hungry, and they should not be afraid to eat.
Children will also eat and play because of distraction. Parents should be prepared before their children eat, eat what they should, and set a good example for their children. Put away irrelevant items before eating and remind children to pay attention in time.
Second, the nutrition needed for children's growth "People's diet should absorb various nutrients from whole grains and vegetables, and can't be partial to food." China educator Xu Teli said. The nutrition of children's growth can be roughly divided into macro nutrients and micro nutrients.
1, macronutrient
Macronutrients include protein, fat and carbohydrates. China Nutrition Society recommends that children should take 45-60g of protein daily. Although protein can be ingested through various ways, the content of protein in animal food, beans and nuts is relatively high. Children need about 4-6 grams of total fat per kilogram of body weight every day. It is recommended to eat nuts such as walnuts and peanuts, fish and green leafy vegetables. Children are advised to supplement carbohydrates by eating rice flour and beans, and not to give them too many sweets.
2. Micronutrients
Micronutrients can be divided into minerals and vitamins. Minerals include calcium, iodine, iron and zinc. To put it simply, dairy products and bean products should be supplemented with calcium, seafood with iodine, iron, and fish, poultry, eggs and meat with zinc. Vitamins that need important supplementation include vitamin A, vitamin B and vitamin C. Supplementing cod liver oil and eating dark green or yellow-red vegetables under the guidance of a doctor can supplement vitamin A; Eat nuts, meat, eggs, milk, animal offal, etc. Vitamin b can be supplemented; Eating fresh vegetables and fruits can supplement vitamin C.
In addition, no matter what kind of vitamins you take, don't take them blindly. You need to refer to the recommended data and take it reasonably according to the data, otherwise it will go too far and even endanger your child's health.
Third, other suggestions 1, do a good diet.
As the saying goes, "color, fragrance, truth, goodness and beauty all exist." The same is true when preparing food. The first is "color". 3-6 For children who are sensitive to color, you can mix different colors of food to arouse children's interest and stimulate their appetite. Followed by incense. Add a little onion, ginger and garlic, and the children will eat it when they smell it. Finally, "taste", sweet and salty, reasonable addition of sugar and salt to satisfy children's taste buds, combined with "color and fragrance", eating will become a favorite thing for children.
Parents should match food according to the season, and eat seasonal vegetables and fruits every season, such as mung bean porridge, tomato and egg soup in summer, with fish, meat, eggs and poultry. First, seasonal vegetables and fruits often grow naturally and do not contain hormones, which will not have adverse effects on children's health; Second, the dishes on the dining table always appear new tricks, and children are full of freshness in eating. Even adults, not to mention children, will get bored if the dishes on the table are almost the same every day all year round.
"flour and rice is to the taste, and coarse grains moisten the stomach." Children's food should not be too fine, but coarse and fine. If the food is too thin, the child may be constipated, and the child's chewing function is not exercised. If everyone eats coarse grains, that won't do either. Coarse grains are often not good enough, and children may lose their appetite.
2. Cultivate children's good eating habits
In addition to setting an example and eating regularly, parents should also pay attention to the fact that children aged 3-6 are in a critical period of growth and development, and may often be hungry, so we should pay attention to increasing the number of meals.
When eating, parents should pay attention to cultivating their children to eat by themselves, which will help to exercise their coordination ability and promote their development.
Some parents are worried about their children's malnutrition and give them a lot of supplements. In fact, this is unnecessary. Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine, and medicine should be your food." Parents prepare meals for their children according to their needs, and there are all kinds of nutritious foods to make their children have a balanced nutrition, and there is no need to supplement nutrition. If all kinds of supplements sold in the market contain hormones, it may have adverse effects on children's growth and development.
Edison said: "Future doctors will not prescribe drugs, but encourage patients to pay attention to health and diet." It can be seen that a balanced diet is an important factor in determining health and strength. As long as you eat skillfully, you will get well. Parents manage the diet of children aged 3-6, which can cultivate strong and intelligent children.