Roly-poly Not so Jolly!

A Chubby Child is Not a Healthy Child Always

Who doesn’t love to cuddle and kiss a chubby baby who exists as a look-alike of a sumo wrestler? Flabby stomach, rounded thighs and roly-poly cheeks seem to be the best traits of an infant. People across the world feel that fat is how babies should be and are least bothered about the baby’s overwhelming weight gain and health. We are committing a grave mistake by ignoring baby fat assuming it to be a temporary trait but scientifically this never remains a periodic one and neither is it healthy. As parents, we need to protect our baby’s health and ensure that the infant stays right on track. By this, I don’t mean putting our tiny ones onto diets, weight-loss meals or activities. Its just that we need to channelize their eating habits and activities right from a young age.

There is no age barrier to start living healthy. Exercising and eating good food don’t require a minimal age criterion. What is needed is the right frame of mind and willingness from parents to nurture their infants in a nutritious manner and groom them into health-conscious adults. There are a number of simple steps that can be taken by parents to keep their baby on a healthy weight and sketch their path to future wellness.

1. “Arey beta, feed the little one. Look, how he’s been crying” comes the response from our mothers as soon as our infant starts to cry. None of us would have escaped this comment! Remember, babies cry for different reasons. Hunger might be one of the primary ones but not the only one. You baby might feel the need of being held, it might be time for a diaper change or he/she might simply be bored/anxious. If its only a short time after a feed, ensure to probe into other factors that might trigger outcry in your child before feeding again. Hold him/her in your had, kiss and cuddle, change the diapers or try making funny faces. Once the child is habituated to feeding every time he/she cries, the child relates to food even when he/she is bored, sad or tired. This creates an unhealthy association with food in the child’s life forever.
2. Breastfeed your infant as this is the best way to avoid overfeeding. Its acceptable when some moms cannot breastfeed but with the rest of the population it becomes mandatory to breastfeed your baby and ensure that he/she takes the route to a healthy one. Beyond nutrition and health, breastfeeding prevents overfeeding as it is impossible to keep drinking milk continuously. Even if the baby continues to stay there, it might only suckle and not get milk after 15 minutes or so.
3. Its every parent’s desire to help your child finish off the food stocked in the plate completely. When the child leaves a portion of food untouched and signals signs of fullness it is absolutely necessary that you don’t force you child to empty the plate. By doing so, many parents don’t realize that they are slowly moving their child to the clean plate club and preventing them from listening to their hunger cues. Just let the child free to eat based on his hunger/fullness levels as this will serve to be an important lesson for portion control the rest of his/her life. If you are unaware of the disadvantages of the clean plate club, do understand its debilitating side effects from www.firsteatright.com.
4. As soon as the little one starts crawling its time for some gaming sessions together as a family. Crawl along with your baby, encourage them to crawl, help them to learn to walk/run and once they start walking make sure that we walk down to a park, take your child by walk to nearby places and play a game of run and chase with your child. Playing and staying together as a family everyday is mandatory to help your baby stay on a healthy weight and above all, guide them to grow into active teens and adults.
5. Once you baby feels comfortable sitting on a chair, help him/her sit along with you for meals together as a family. Kids who eat their food along with their family are less likely to be distressed and over-weight and likelier to build a strong rapport with their family members. This can also benefit other family members as all of them follow the same ‘healthy food principle’ during mealtimes.
6. Start feeding your baby with healthy solid foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and lean meat. Remember, your baby has not tasted anything expect milk until now and he/she would be surely willing to try all sorts of foods that you feed him/her. Feed the child with various foods before he/she becomes choosy and picky. Its ok to feed iron-rich foods but stick to small portions.
   
   

The best way to prepare your baby for a lifetime of fitness is by practicing healthy habits and sticking to them without any hesitation. A small lag in your behavior and the child is ready to overpower you. Stand by your policies and embrace health. It might seem rude and offensive initially, but the child will thank you in the long run. 

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