New Feeding Guidelines for Infants & Toddlers

Food for Thought:

To lay the foundation for lifelong good nutrition, the ADA recently published feeding guidelines for infants and very young children. “The Start Healthy Feeding Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers” answers frequently asked questions about specific nutrient requirements, food allergies, appropriate portion sizes and food safety in an easy-to-understand manner. Also included is a handy chart that lists expected skill levels, hunger cues and foods to introduce at various developmental stages from newborn to independent toddler. There are also sections on how to feed solid foods to babies and how to monitor that young kids are getting sufficient physical activity.

The full “Start Healthy” report was published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. A truncated version is available at www.eatright.org/Public/Files/gerber.pdf.