[author image=”http://hunzanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Dr-Sadia.jpg” ]Dr.Saadia khan Department of paeds medicine Children hospital and institute of child health Multan. [/author]
Madam g mera bacha kuch kahta hi nae?
This is the statement we frequently heard while dealing with children at outdoors.
When evaluates child’s 24 hours diet recall its as follows in more than 90 percent of cases whether child comes from rural or urban area.
Feeder, biscuits or Rusks, feeder, pack of chips, feeder, sweets and candies, feeder and feeder for whole night.
What else child takes if stuffed with liters of milk and junk food
I often says that we cannot eat chapatti after taking glasses of milk than how your child with a smaller tummy and caloric needs than your child.
Mothers of this era are tuned and motivated to give powdered milk, commercial child cereal, biscuits rusks, sweets, chips packs along with other junk food items and not give any homemade nutritious diet to their babies that are necessary for their growth and development
According to WHO guidelines breast feeding should be initiated with in half hour of birth of baby and breast milk is all that is required for Initial 4-6months of life.
Ghutti is always there along with feeder and power milk before the birth of child but no one bothers to counsel mother antenataly for breast feeding from doctors to elder at home. Babies often switched to bottle feeding after ghutti.
Same is the issue with the initiation of complementary feeding , one group continues to give milk for 2-3 year in most of the cases powder milk luckily to have mothers feed .Second group start Ss , biscuits and rusks,complementary feed in the form of commercially available favourite cereal of our nation that results in nutritional anemia, rickets, growth ,development failure and low IQ.
Trend of giving homemade complementary diets is vanishing day by day amd mothers are opting easy ready to use commercial diets. The fear of pneumonia by rice, bannana, yogurt are same whether you deals with graduated women or women from rural areas,didn’t understand that how that type of elder gerneration with firm beliefs against homemade diets formulated as I often saw my grandmother busy in preparing khichri, suji or boil potatoes for my younger brother and cousins without the fear of pneumonia .
Some basic tips for your baby are.
2-after 4-6 month start with one diet initially from rice, yogurt and banana in semi solid form and when child tolerates add and other.
3- Try to avoid market stuff for your babies as these commercial feeds are nothing more than a financial burden for you.
4-Donot gives pocket money as a replacement of lunch box and packs nutritious food in lunch box, make a habit of your child together pocket money in a money box rather to spend it on eating junk food.
5-Maintain hygiene of your child.
6-complete vaccination of your child.
These are some easy basic tips that can help I assure and make difference in some one life so be a part of our mission and spread this message to as many as you can. AS healthy children are our future ,cruches of our old age. With love for the Hunza children
