No Fruit Juice for Infants

The American Academy of Pediatrics has extended its recommendation against offering juice to all infants from 6 months and younger to 12 months and under. Toddlers should be given no more that 4 oz (120 ml) of 100% juice; children 4-6 years old no more than 6 oz (180 ml) and 7-18 years no more than 8…

Veggies For Infants

Health researchers found a key to overcoming the battle between kids and vegetables: serve them often and early. Researchers gave artichoke puree to 332 children from three countries at various ages and found younger children were more likely to continue eating the vegetable than older children. Even typically fussy eaters will continue to eat the…

Recommended Resource: Vegetarian Infants

Many vegetarian mothers and fathers wonder if a vegetarian diet is adequate for their infant? Vegetarian Infants, a free resource from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides guidelines for vegetarian parents in making healthy choices for their infant. Supplements for mom and baby, guidelines for choosing a formula, and when to introduce solid foods…

Is It Really Safe for Mothers to Drink?

A series of articles by Danish researchers found that when 1600 children at age 5 were tested for intelligence, attention, and executive function, there were no significant differences between children whose mothers had ingested small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy and those who had not. However, the authors still recommended that women should not drink…

Soy Formula Good for Baby’s Cognition

Comparing infants fed cow's milk-based formula or soy-based formula, researchers, using standardized developmental testing found little or no differences. Breastfed infants had a slight advantage on some measures when compared to the formula fed groups, but these differences were very small in magnitude.PositiveTip: If human breast milk is not an option, soy or cow's milk…

Advantages of Baby-led Weaning

When compared with parental spoon-feeding, infants allowed baby-led weaning learned to regulate their food intake leading to lower BMI and a preferance for healthier dietary patterns. When children were introduced to solid foods by feeding themselves, they preferred carbohydrates over other types, as well as protein-based foods and whole grains. If spoon-fed with pureed foods…

Cravings for Salt May Begin in the Cradle

Do you love to lick salt from the surface of foods? That desire may have started in infancy. Babies either dislike or are indifferent to salt when born. In a small, observational study, researchers have found that exposure to starchy table foods such as ready-to-eat cereals (a significant source of dietary sodium at this age)…

Infants and Toddlers Need Adequate Sleep for Healthy Development

The American Academy Sleep Medicine recommends that infants get a minimum of 14 hours of sleep per day and toddlers 12 to 14 hours for healthy development. Parents are urged to make this a priority in starting their child’s health habits on the right foot. Even if your toddler fusses in an attempt to stay…

Infants and Herbal Supplements

Surveys of some 2700 mothers revealed that 9% of their children receive herbal supplements during their first year of life--sometimes as early as during the first month. These products were given most frequently to help with colic, fussiness, relaxation, digestion. Mothers who use supplements themselves were more likely to give them to their babies.PositiveTip: Because…

Bottle-feeding + Early Solid Foods = Formula for Early Obesity

Formula-fed infants introduced to solid food before 4 months of age had 6.3 times higher risk of obesity by the age of 3 compared to breastfed infants. Breastfed infants showed no impact based on the age of introducing solid food (P<0.0001). This research confirms the long-term benefits of breast feeding during the first six months…