TIPS - Table of Contents

Feeding an infant or young child involves much more than just supplying the nutrients essential to sustain life and permit growth.  When this need is met in prompt and nurturing fashion, the child can develop a sense of trust.  When the feeding is offered by the same caring adults, bonding will occur and the child will be better able to form secure attachments throughout life.  Familiar words and routines will be understood well before the child can talk.  Recent brain research indicates that the ways parents and other caregivers relate and respond to young children directly affect the formation of neural pathways in the developing brain.1
When feeding an infant or toddler, think not only of what is fed, but also when, how and by whom the feeding is done.

BE INTIMATE

• Hold, cuddle, and look at a young infant during feeding.  Talk or sing to her.
• Talk with the child about what you are doing and what the child is doing when feeding.
• Have the same caregiver feed the infant each time, if at all possible.
• Be unhurried.  Allow infant to suck with bursts and pauses; do not force him to resume sucking.  Let toddler chew a sandwich as long as she wishes.
• Learn which cry means hunger; don't offer food if diapering, cuddling or sleep is what the child needs.

KNOW WHAT LIQUIDS ARE BEST FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS

• The American Academy of Pediatrics advises continuing breast milk or formula through 12 months.  (USDA guidelines and Wisconsin day care licensing rules only require breast milk or formula through 7 months.)
• Encourage breast feeding until at least 1 year.  Provide brochures or handouts to parents on how to pump and store breast milk.  It is fully digestible, and creates soft easily-passed poop.  It contain antibodies to many illnesses, and good bacteria which inhibit diarrheal diseases.  It lessens the risk of child's developing allergic reactions.2
• Cautions:
  
  • Do not heat breast milk in a microwave; it will destroy the immunizing properties.
  • If a mother has the AIDS/HIV virus, it will be present in breast milk.  OSHA guidelines recommend use of latex or vinyl gloves when a staff person handles breast milk.
• Introduce juice in cup rather than bottle, so child won't want to go to sleep drinking this from bottle.  It could cause tooth decay.
• Do not allow child to walk around with a bottle or sipper cup.  This may cause tooth decay, and could cause injury if the child falls.
• Offer water in bottle for additional liquids.

OFFER OTHER FOODS WHEN AGE-APPROPRIATE

• Introduce very soft food in small amount on tip of spoon before seven months, to accustom infant to its feel.
• Self-feeding can begin as early as six months, as soon as baby can pick up bits of mashed potato or banana, well-cooked thin carrot slices or baby peas, or similar soft foods.
• When baby begins using spoon, offer sticky foods such as thick rice cereal, mashed potatoes, which will not slide off spoon.
• Offer sips of formulas or breast milk in a cup at about 6 months of age.
• Do not give nitrate/nitrate-containing foods and water during first 6 months. (Examples are spinach and beets.)  Child's body may convert nitrates to harmful nitrites.3
• Do not give honey during first year.  It may contain clostridium botulinum, which can cause severe illness or death in infants.4
• Delay offering tomatoes and pineapple until age one; the high acidity can harm delicate mouth tissues.5
• Older infants and toddlers may be offered self-serve snacks at a small table, where they may sit and help themselves when they are hungry.
• Have foods ready to serve before children sit at table or in high chair.
• Realize that appetites typically drop off with one and two year olds, as their rate of growth slows.

BE SAFE, SANITARY AND SENSITIVE IN PREPARING FOOD AND CLEANING UP

• Wash your hands before each feeding.
• Wash top of formula can before opening.  Wash can opener before and after it is used.
• Heat bottles under hot running water, or in a warmer or crock pot rather than a microwave.  Be sure cord is out of reach of child and secured to counter or cabinet.  Do not set warmer or crock pot on a tablecloth or pad which might be pulled by a child, causing the unit to fall onto the child.
• Discard foods and formula once heated and served; discard formula left out of refrigerator for more than one hour.
• Wash child's face and hands gently with a cloth, approaching so child can see you, and talking about what you are doing.  Finish by holding child's hands under running water, making it a fun ending.
• Label bottles and baby food containers with child's name and date.
• Wash-rinse-disinfect all feeding containers and surfaces.
• Keep diapering/toileting functions, including hand washing, entirely separate from food preparation functions.
• Have a small refrigerator in each room for storing bottles and other food for the group.
• Arrange small baskets for each child for storing food jars, spare bottles, etc.
• Do not offer hard candy, nuts or popcorn to children under age four.  Cut grapes, hot dogs, carrots and such into small pieces to avoid choking.

PROVIDE A SUITABLE SETTING

• Have an easy-to-clean floor.
• Tables and chairs, scaled for the very young, allow older infants and toddlers to come to the table independently, and to have the comfort and security of their feet touching the floor.
• Use plates, cups and eating utensils that are unbreakable and easy to handle.
• Use bibs.  Keep a supply of napkins and papers towels nearby.  Have a sponge mop available for big spills.

MODEL GOOD MANNERS

• Say "Please", "Thank you", "Please pass the _____".
• Encourage toddlers to wait until everyone is served.  Small tables for 4 make things easier to do.
• Create routines and rituals for coming to the table, such as washing hands, a special song, setting out plates and cups, taking turns pouring.
• Eat at least some of  the food along with the children.

LET CHILDREN PRACTICE

• Put plates, cups, and eating utensils in the dramatic play area.
• Use small pitchers and cups for water play.
• Provide spoons and bowls in the sensory table with pasta or beans.
• Offer an activity choice such as slicing bananas or spreading cream cheese on crackers.

RECORD AND COMMUNICATE INFORMATION TO PARENTS AND OTHER STAFF

• Maintain confidential daily logs for each child.  Send home with parent.  Keep a copy for classroom files.
• Have information about any special dietary needs readily accessible to all staff and substitutes.

STRIVE FOR A PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS

• Encourage parents who study or work nearby to feed their infants, or join toddlers for lunch.
• Create a private space with a comfortable chair for mothers to nurse their babies.
• See family's preferences regarding food choices and when to introduce them.
• Share information on feeding and nutrition with parents via conversation, brochures and newsletters.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

• Child Care Information Center (CCIC): 800-362-7353 (toll free) or www.dpi.state.wi.us/ccic
• Your local child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agency:  888-713-KIDS (5437) (toll-free) or www.wisconsinccrr.org
• Wisconsin Bureau of Public Health:  608-266-1251

SOURCES FOR THIS PAPER:

• Dombro, Amy Laura, Colker, Laura J, and Dodge, Diane Trister. The Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. Washington, D.C.: Teaching Strategies, Inc., 1997.
• Greenman, Jim, and Stonehouse, Anne. Prime Times. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 1996.
• Honig, Alice S, and Lally, J. Ronald. Infant Caregiving:  A Design for Training. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1981.
• Morris, Sandra L. "Supporting the Breastfeeding Relationship During Child Care: Why Is It Important?" Young Children. January 1995.
• "Feeding Your Baby" and "Feeding Your Child". Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Health POH publications # 4870-4873, 4880-4885, 4908-4910, 1998.
• Shore, Rima.  Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development. New York, NY: Families and Work Institute, 1997.

Footnotes

1. Rethinking the Brain, p. 27
2. "Supporting the Breast Feeding Relationship During Child Care" Resource #4 available at CCIC
3. Infant and Nutrition Feeding USDA Food and Nutrition Services September, 1993, pp 21, 22, 94
4. Source #5-POH#4908 available at CCIC
5. Creative Curriculum, p. 193