Marian, Iya and fellow moms attend online crash course on 3+ toddler nutrition

MANILA, Philippines — When your kid is at the tender age of 3, he or she is considered in the magical years of toddlerhood. It’s a formative period in a child’s life that’s riddled with many firsts and other important milestones. But apart from these triumphs, this period is of course not without its challenges, especially in terms of diet and nutrition.

Many of these were addressed during the NIDO® 3+ ExperTips Congress last May 15, with a plenary session that included insightful parenting tips, the latest findings in nutrition, as well as the impact of food on 3+ toddlerhood.

The online session was attended by several child experts, along with NIDO celebrity moms, from the likes of Marian Rivera and Iya Villania, to Say Alonzo, Ciara Sotto and Regine Leano.

Say Alonzo, Ciara Sotto, Regine Leano and other NIDO moms were also in attendance during the event.

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Both Marian and Iya for example, shared first-hand experience in raising their own 3+ toddlers.

“Hindi naman kasi lahat ng bata, lahat gusto. Dumadaan talaga sila sa pagkapamili. Talagang the struggle is real, ‘di ba?” Marian said, revealing daughter Zia’s picky eating phase.

“May mga times na ang hirap niyang pakainin, e hindi naman pupuwede iyon. Kaya ang ginagawa ko, nilalagyan ko siya ng ‘twist.’ May mga panahon na titiyagain mo talaga para makakain siya,” she said.

For her part, Iya shared that she too had a difficult time getting her son Primo to try new foods.

“Kami ni Primo meron kaming ganung mga moments, e. Sa umpisa medyo madali, kasi kahit anong ibigay mo kakainin nila. Pero aabot kasi sa edad na may ‘malay’ na sila—tapos sila na ang biglang pipili ng gusto nila,” she said.

“Bilang mga magulang, kailangan natin silang tulungang ma-overcome ang pagiging mapili nila sa pagkain. Kasi kapag hindi kumain, kawawa naman. Kaya gagawin mo talaga lahat ng paraan para makakain siya nang tama, yung may nutrisyon na makukuha,” Marian chimed in.

Given these, the ExperTips Session proved to be a perfect complement in giving light to dietary concerns among 3+ toddlers, which the experts presented in three important segments:

Survey on national nutrition

Child experts and nutrition advocates led the online congress.

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First up was a survey on Filipino 3+ toddlers’ eating habits and food choices, presented by Dr. Edward Santos, assistant professor and active consultant staff of pediatrics at the UERM College of Medicine.

The survey reveals how Filipino children have been eating copious amounts of salty and sugary foods, but not having enough levels of protein and fat in their diet. Children also score poorly on their intake of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), coupled with declining milk consumption.

Cumulatively, these lead to several issues such as micronutrient deficiency, under weighing and stunting, anemia and overall poor growth and development.

Dr. Santos noted with alarm how all of these are more prevalent in more vulnerable sectors of society, specifically the poor population.

Addressing picky eating

It pays to check the label to ensure that you are getting milk that is appropriate for your toddler's age.

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Dr. Katrina Valera, diplomate of Philippine Society for Pediatric, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition zeroed in on the perennial trials and tribulations of picky eating among 3+ toddlers.

According to her, many factors contribute to this, such as the development of taste preference and food autonomy, beginning from the early years of life, up until the introduction of basic nutrition throughout child growth.

Next, she discussed a series of helpful expertips on overcoming picky eating among 3+ toddlers:

1. Families must have proper meals in a safe environment with a number of meal and snack times throughout the day. Here, she underscored sticking to uniform mealtimes for better habit formation.
    
2. Be mindful of toddler’s sugar consumption especially in milk. This causes undesired weight gain or obesity, tooth decay, and worse, non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease later in life.
    
3. Check the label when grocery shopping, aiming for items with less than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) of sugar and opting out of sugary drinks that have no vitamin nor mineral content.
    
4. Give children affirmative messages as they try new foods in their diet.
    
5. Let toddlers take part in meal planning and prep.

Recipes for children

The last expert segment was down to Ditas Sagarbarria, registered nutritionist-dietician, who tackled kid-friendly meal plans.

For her, a most significant no-no is the lack of variety in children’s diet, as moms sometimes prefer short-order cooks for convenience. Here are her expertips:

1. Be patient as sometimes it takes at least 20 times for kids to adapt to new food in their diet.
    
2. Serve new additions to your children’s diet in the form of finger foods. This way, they get a better sense of control as they engage and examine new food—and a good chance of training their taste buds better. Foods best served in this form are fruits in vegetables, in at least 1-2 medium servings a day.
    
3. Serve soupy dishes in every meal as this not only boosts nutrient intake but also assists in better eating overall as it makes food easier to swallow.
    
4. At the right time, promote self-feeding as opposed to spoon-feeding to increase micronutrient intake.
    
5. Parents must also avoid giving high-calorie milk to their 3+ toddler because it may promote excessive caloric intake or excessive energy intake, including appetite loss.

Age-appropriate healthy goodness

NIDO® 3+ provides all-around nutrition and protection for your 3+ toddler.

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Ultimately, a surefire way to guarantee that 3+ toddlers are getting the right kind of nutrients in right amounts is by supplementing their diet with 1 to 2 glasses of age-appropriate milk daily. Research has shown that 3+ toddler needs are different from other members of the family, and that age-appropriate milk helps children achieve nutrient adequacy for optimal growth and development throughout 3+ toddlerhood.