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Category: Philosophy and Psychology
Date Submitted: 04/18/2011 02:38 PM
Nutrition during infancy and Toddler -hood
PSY104: Child and Adolescent Development
Instructor: Buthaina Alaloom
Tonya Castorena
1 Mar 2010
Nutrition during infancy and Toddler -hood
Nutrition is very important during an infance's life span. The child not only needs
nurishment, but a healthy lifestyle involving the nuturing of family and friends. As a child
grows, it is very important that it gets the proper nutrition so that its bones developes
normaly. The bones will form and develope in a way that will be unhealthy for the child as
it grows older. Without the proper vitamins and calcium, bones will become brittle and the
child will be prone to cuts and fractures more often than most children of that age. The
first year of life is a period of very rapid growth. An infant's birth weight doubles after
about five months and triples by the first birthday, by which time the infant's length
increases by half. Adequate and appropriate nutrition is essential during this period, for
infants that do not receive sufficient calories , vitamins , and minerals will not reach their
expected growth.
An infant's requirement for calories is determined by size, rate of growth, activity, and
energy needed for metabolic activities. Calorie needs per pound of body weight are higher
during the first year of life than at any other time. Since there is variation among infants, a
range of recommended calorie intakes have been developed. For the first four to six
months of life, breast or formula feeding can provide sufficient calories. Measuring
weight and length, and plotting it on a standardized growth grid, can determine the
adequacy of an infant's calorie intake. (Christine M. (1993)
An infant needs more calorie intake during the first 2-3 nyrs of life than any other part of
their life. If a child does not get the adequate amount of nutrition it needs then it can
probably stop growing at an early age. Not only can a child stop...