Infant: 1 to 4 years old - Christina Cherry

Young children love repetitions. Once your child has discovered something beautiful, they will want to see / hear / do this thing again and again – and drive you crazy with it themselves. Your child will then want to play the same game or articulate the same sound over and over again. Your child will also love discovering new surroundings and doing new things. Take your child on a journey of discovery indoors and outdoors.

It is also a fascinating experience for adults to see the world through the eyes of your child, for whom everything is new.

Subjects:

willful

Sometimes you might think that your dear child has turned into a little monster who deliberately does things that annoy you. Then, for example, he suddenly has a tantrum in a store and screeches on the floor. Or it doesn’t want to come home when you pick it up from a children’s party or kindergarten. Or it protests everything and everyone and throws its food across the room.

Of course, your child’s intent is not to annoy you; in fact, its behavior primarily shows that it is dissatisfied with itself. Such an outburst is often a sign of fainting or defiance. Children aged one and a half to four years develop very quickly in a short time. Emotions such as frustration, anger, fear or even fear of strangers are typical of this age and are part of the child’s development. The child learns new things from day to day, discovers his own will and wants to try everything. If this is not possible (or forbidden), the child can quickly become frustrated.

Every child feels the desire to put themselves against their parents and to do their own thing. In such situations, the child’s main concern is to “No“To express clearly and less about the question of what it actually actually stands against. And although children on the one hand want to be independent and go their own way, on the other hand they need a lot of attention and are particularly creative in finding ways and possibilities to get this attention. It is not for nothing that this phase in the development of the child is also called infant puberty.

Don’t assume that only babies keep their parents from sleeping at night. Small children are also able to do this. The questions most frequently asked by parents about children of this age are still about (not) eating and (not) wanting to sleep.

Nightly feeding and intestinal cramps are now gradually being replaced by bad dreams, imaginary crocodiles under the bed and violent protests against bedtime. The midday naps are getting shorter. Four-year-old children rarely take an afternoon nap.

After the first year of life, your child can eat almost the same as the rest of the family. However, use sugar and salt a little sparingly and make sure that your child does not eat too spicy. Baby milk can now be replaced by ordinary cow’s milk. Breastfeeding is of course still possible.

VITAMIN D

Children up to 4 years old should get vitamin D regularly. Vitamin D is produced directly in the skin cells by exposure to sunlight. However, little sunlight, skin-covering clothing or dark skin tones can cause the production of vitamin D to be kept to a minimum. A toddler cannot get the amount of vitamin D they need from food alone. Therefore, you should give extra vitamin D to a child under the age of 4 all year round. Different multivitamin preparations are available in the drugstore. The brand doesn’t matter as long as it’s a mutivitamin.

"Avoid fat!" Is the well-known slogan of the nutritionists. We are advised to eat especially low-fat products, otherwise we would ingest too much fat with the food, which is then accumulated by the body and can quickly lead to obesity. However, different rules apply to a toddler: A toddler is allowed to consume a certain amount of (healthy) fats. Of course, you should pay attention to how much fat your child is consuming. It shouldn’t eat unhealthy snacks too often, but don’t forget that fat is a nutrient that small children in particular actually need. Whole milk and margarine as well as fatty fish are no problem. It is important that a child ingest a sufficient amount of fat in the diet. A toddler needs fat so that the body has enough energy. The toddler needs energy to grow, to play and to develop. In addition, fatty foods contain vitamin D, which is also important for the toddler’s diet.

I DO NOT LIKE IT!

That the child can now basically eat the same thing as you sounds like his diet is now becoming a little easier. Unfortunately, however, the opposite is usually the case and in many children the eating problems begin when they are two years old. If your child has recently eaten everything you have given it, it is now gradually beginning to develop its own will and to refuse everything that it does not like. Do not give up! Sometimes the child just has to get used to a new taste.

You also need to know that denial of food is a welcome tool for your toddler to test his or her power. So don’t worry too quickly if your child refuses to eat, they’ll get hungry again. Your child’s stomach makes itself felt when it needs food; your child will not starve just like that. As long as your child is healthy and has sufficient body weight, you do not need to worry. If you If the child does not want to eat his vegetables, you should not punish him by refusing him dessert.

A good tip is also to involve slightly older children in the meal preparation. Let your child choose (and limit the choices: "Would you like carrots or cauliflower?") And let them help you set the table. This way, your child will feel a bit responsible and will be more inclined to empty their plate.

EAT LESS THAN THE FIRST LIFE

What is the minimum daily intake for a child aged 1 to 2 years? During the first year of your baby’s life, she grew up incredibly quickly, her body size almost doubled, and her body weight is now about three times that of birth. Children grow fastest in the first year of life. This is why your child needs fewer calories from the age of two. Pay attention to variety when eating; the child should eat enough vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, fat (whole milk products), protein, iron (red meat, green leafy vegetables, beans) and calcium (1 glass of milk a day).

Give your child fruit and a portion of vegetables daily. Continue to take care of your child daily three up to four servings of carbohydrate-rich food (bread, rice or pasta, potatoes). Give your child juice, water, tea, and milk to drink. Be careful not to give your child too many sugary drinks or sweets.

Are you worried that your child is not eating enough? Remember that on the one hand (just like you) your child has an appetite, sometimes more and sometimes less. And besides, a lot usually comes together throughout the day: a slice of sausage at the butcher, a raw carrot while you cook … Keep a book for a week about what your child eats. Most of the time it is enough. If you are still worried, you can contact a mother’s advice center.

Infants sometimes suddenly develop a real disgust before bathing, and it happens that they fight violently against it. Try to make bathing as comfortable as possible for the child – with the help of a rubber duck or colored bath water. Make sure that the bathing temperature does not cool down too much if the child has been sitting in the tub for a while. Never leave your child unattended in the bathtub.

Washing your hair can sometimes be difficult. Most children don’t like having their hair shampooed and rinsed out. Your child may be scared of getting shampoo in your eyes and start protesting violently. It is often helpful to reward the child with a fun game afterwards. You can also give your child a pair of goggles or a wash glove that they can hold in front of their eyes when they rinse their hair. Only wash your child’s hair with water without shampoo, or temporarily do without washing, and instead use a wet wash glove to clean the hair until your child has overcome their fear of bathing. Just try out which method works best for your child.

Your child can and wants to discover more and more now. It thinks it’s great; For children, playing means the same thing as learning. A child is naturally curious about his surroundings and will learn everything by himself as soon as the time comes. Do not force your child to learn things that are not yet mature enough. When your child is ready, it will almost go away on its own.

Stimulate your child to discover their surroundings. Make sure the child is in a safe environment where they can experiment to their heart’s content. Above all, do not forget that the process of playing is more important than the result of the game. Your child does not always have to make the tower out of blocks as high as possible, it is also very easy to knock over a stack of building blocks to see what happens. You can show your child what to do, but above all give him enough space for his own experiments, because that is also important for the learning process.

JOIN IN AND DO IT

A toddler thinks it’s great to be able to help mom or dad and imitate everything. Involve your child in the day-to-day tasks: for example, folding laundry or giving him the task of breaking the beans in the middle while cooking. It is also great to re-enact situations that it has observed: telephoning with a toy phone or maybe even with an empty toilet paper roll.

You should also read books to your child or make music with them. These are very nice and educational activities. Obtain an ID for the library or attend a "Music with Young Children" course.