If you just want the one-line answer, know this: you do not need to offer one food at a time for every food, you can and should feel great about starting solids with both single foods and mixed-food blends.If, you like to know a little bit about the backstory, and why, then read on.
Historically, medical organizations have advised offering new foods one at a time, and waiting in between because of the possibility of food allergies. The reasoning is that the wait period affords parents time to notice whether a baby reacts to any foods, and can thus clue you in to any possible allergies.
This sounds sensible enough, but in reality, this doesn’t really align with actual practice. As one pediatrician-mom explained it: This is one of those we’ve always done it this way, but we don’t have evidence to back it up recommendations. Food allergy symptoms usually appear quickly, as in, within minutes (and up to, at max, one hour later) so there’s no need to wait long periods between new foods, and singling foods out one-by-one doesn’t necessarily give you any advantage.
Furthermore, as we continue to learn more about how important it is for babies to try a wide variety of tastes, flavours, and textures in the first years of life, the kind of strict scheduling that the one food at a time recommendations implicitly demand would greatly limit the number of foods a baby would be able to try and that’s a major loss for everyone.
In fact, the most recent dietary guidelines states that babies should consume a nutrient-dense, diverse diet, including foods from a variety of food groups.These guidelines emphasize variety and diversity, and they say nothing about feeding foods one at a time. Even pediatricians and feeding experts now generally treat the old-school advice as, frankly, dated.
Most families do indeed feed their babies all kinds of different foods on any given day and around the world, this is also true. Some families do opt to take a more by the book approach when introducing the big 8 allergens (that is, the most common allergenic food groups: milk, eggs, wheat, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, and shellfish), but unless your doctor has specifically advised you to offer single foods one at a time, there really isn’t any reason to do so and in fact it may result in your baby missing out on a whole slew of chances to taste and experience different foods.
In truth, there are great reasons to offer your babyboth single-food purees and blended ones. That’s why we at Amara offer both! We know that the first years of life are a critical time in the development of eating habits and taste preferences it’s so important for little ones to experience the joy of tasting both single foods on their own as well as carefully curated pairings. All of our baby purees have the same taste, nutrients, and textures as real foods (in fact, that’s exactly what they are!), and every one of our blended purees was designed by both a chef and a team of nutrition experts to deliver the same quality, nutrition, and flavor as a homemade meal without any of the fuss. Plus, Amara’s baby food is free of the top 8 allergens and designed so that you can adjust the texture to the consistency that’s right for your baby.
Modern-Day Parental Pressures Death Knell For Kids Spontaneous Play
Modern day parenting pressures and expectations are leading to the death knell for children enjoying spontaneous play, according to a new study.
While parents have always felt some responsibility for their children’s development, the heightened intensity of parenting in recent years now means parents are expected to spend more time exhaustively watching, noticing and responding to their children’s desires and behaviours.
This, according to researchers, is leaving less time for children to play independently where they learn for themselves the risks and dangers of outdoor play.
The study said that parents are worried that lack of spontaneous play means their children are not as developed and well-rounded as they could be, coupled with the fact children’s play is increasingly more sedentary due to technology.
Until around the 1990s, parents were not expected to endlessly entertain and monitor their children in the same way they are today, so children had greater freedom to play independently, explained study’s author, Dr John Day. But since those children have become parents themselves, society has changed so there is a heightened feeling of responsibility for their children’s development.
One aspect of the problem is increased fears around stranger danger and more traffic on the roads which means opportunities for children to be physically active through spontaneous play have become limited.
So, today’s youngsters are spending less time playing together away from adult care and more time under parental supervision and participating in structured health-focused physical activity settings such as holiday clubs.
Parents are encouraged to spend more time with their children while simultaneously being judged on how independent their children are. But most of the learning about independence takes place when children take risks of their own choosing and these opportunities are becoming lost in childhood, Dr Day added.
The research found that the rise in structured physical activity for children happened at the same time as, and possibly caused, a decline in children playing spontaneously.
Society today positions parents as the sole engineers in their children’s development which represents an unrealistic burden that brings with it unjust pressure and expectation, added Dr Day.
To help address this trend, there needs to be a culture shift where health policy makers ensure children are encouraged to learn about the risks of physically active play, independent of adult supervision.
Oxygen Therapy Can Save Kids In Hypoxic Conditions
If a child shows symptoms of rapid and shallow breathing, restlessness, headache, bluish lips, increased heart rate, coughing and stridor (a high-pitched, whistling sound heard while breathing) it could be signs of pneumonia, asthma or heart disease and swift action is crucial to prevent complications.
Experts in the field of medicine have underlined the importance of ‘oxygen therapy for the management of hypoxic conditions (lack of oxygen) among children under five years.
Director general, medical and health, Dr Renu Srivastava Verma said: Today, our oxygen infrastructure is strong and self-sufficient. While we no longer worry about availability, responsible usage is crucial.
She said to protect children from these dangers, it was necessary to train doctors and paramedical staff, so that oxygen therapy can be given after assessing the health of the child and thus reduce chances of death. She also provided information about the various sources and equipment used for oxygen delivery and monitoring.
Head of paediatrics at Dufferin Hospital, Dr Salman Khan said timely recognition was necessary, and oxygen therapy in the right quantity and time could bring early relief for kids. Early diagnosis key to tackle viral hepatitis, the doctors said.
