Early Childhood - Defined as the period between 1 to 6 years old
Toddler period - 1 to 3 years old
Pre-school period - 4 to 6 years old
Toddler period increase in gross and fine motor skills increase in independence; exploration of the environment; language skills
Pre-school period - increasing Autonomy; experiencing broader social circumstances; increasing language skills; and expanding ability to control behavior
Weight and Height - steady, slow growth rate, with more or less equal yearly gains of as much as 2 to 3 kg. Height 2-3 inches per year
Early childhood through the teen years is the main bone-building phase of your child's life. This is when your child's body adds the most calcium to their bones to help them become denser and stronger
Brain Growth
Rapid in the first 3-4 years after birth
Brain reaches 75% of its adult size by age 2 and 90% at age 4-6 years
MYELINATION
Myelin forms around the axons in what is often called the myelin sheath; Myelin enables nerve cells to transmit information faster and allows for more complex brain processes.
The myelination process is vitally important to healthy central nervous system functioning.
Changes in Gastrointestinal Tract
Increased stomach capacity - 1/2 of adult stomach capacity
Taste buds sensitive to hot and cold foods as well as strong flavors
Twenty baby teeth come out by age 2 1/2 to 3
Developmental Milestones
Progression of fine motor coordination
Increased curiosity and interest in environment
Aroused by visual, audio and sensory stimuli; shows preference for certain colors
Development of Feeding Skills
12 to 18 months: able to move the tongue from side to side (or laterally) and learn to chew food with rotary, rather than just up and down, movements
12 months: refined pincer grasp that enables them to pick up small objects, such as cooked peas and carrots, and put them into their mouths.
18 to 24 months: able to use the tongue to clean the lips and have well-developed rotary chewing movements.
Energy - Increase in calories - due to the greater energy needed for basal metabolism, increased activity, increased growth of muscle and adipose tissue
1350 kcal (males) and 1260 (females) for 3-5 years old
Protein - Protein allowance of 1.25 to 2.0 grams/kg DBW is recommended to provide for increase in skeletal and muscle tissue and for protection against infection
22 g (males) 21 g (females) 3-5 years old
Calcium and phosphorus - needed for bone mineralization
200 mg and 90 mg (both) 0-5 years old
Tooth formation increases the need for fluorine
Vitamin C is needed for the formation of collagen
Collagen is a protein that provides structure to much of your body, including bones, skin, tendons, and ligaments
Fluids - 60% of the child’s body weight is water. A normal healthy child needs a minimum of 4 to 7 glasses or 1000-1500 ml per day
PSC's Food Preferences;
Preference for energy dense foods; rejects sour and bitter tastes.
Mildly flavored foods rather than strongly flavored foods (except for highly sweet foods)
Plain foods are preferred over mixed dishes
Foods that are softly textured
Soft and moist foods
Food Jags
eating too little and a very limited number of foods
This should not be a problem if the accepted foods are nutritious
Jags do not last long so do not make an issue out of it. It will pass
Dawdling
The child plays with the food during mealtimes
Reasons: the child is not hungry, too large portions, the child is not feeling well or needs attention; asserting independence
Strategy: you offer the food after mealtime
Gagging
(child feels like vomiting)
Kinakain yung food pero binababad sa mouth para di na susubuan.
Reasons: the child is not hungry, too large portions, child dislikes the food/flavor, needs attention; asserting independence
the child may not like the taste of the food; the child may want to attract attention.
Combine foods with other well-liked foods or prepare that food in other ways.
Eating too much
may be due to appetite, heredity, temperament, mother’s insistence of a ‘clean plate’
May lead to overweight and obesity in the long term.
Restrain the child from eating too much rich foods like cakes, pastries, candies.
Management: small frequent feeding of nutritious foods; avoid large portion sizes
Feeding Tips
Offer a variety of nutritious foods
Give child-sized servings
Involved your child
Provide an enjoyable atmosphere
Always encourage
Set a good example
Peer influence - with growth, a child’s world expands, and social contacts become more important
Media messages - food is marketed to children using different techniques such as advertising, in- school marketing, sales promotion, Internet
Illness or disease - children who are ill usually have reduced appetite and limited food intake
Weight for age - index used in growth monitoring for assessing children who may be underweight. All children under two years
Height for age - index used for assessing stunting (chronic malnutrition in children)
Weight for height - Index used for assessing wasting (acute malnutrition)
Wasting is defined as a low weight for the height of the child compared to the standard child of the same height. Wasted children are vulnerable to infection and stand a greater chance of dying
Diarrhea - stools contain more water than normal and are not well formed
Dysentery - diarrhea where the stools contain blood
Constipation - difficulty of emptying the bowel due to poor muscle contraction in the GI tract and/ or lack of fluids to facilitate excretion
Management: High fiber and adequate fluid intake
Exercise and physical activity to promote bowel movement.
Importance of fiber
Soluble fiber allows more water to remain in your stool, making waste softer, larger, and thus, easier to pass through your intestines
Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your fecal material, which hastens its passage through your gut and prevents that constipated feeling
Food Allergy - adverse body reaction after intake of certain foods; allergies to eggs, milk, and seafood may decrease protein intake
Lactose Intolerance - deficiency in lactase; milk is substituted with fermented milk, soy, or other lactose free products
Dental Carries - dentin and the enamel is infected by cariogenic microorganisms