Starting at this age, it is recommended for your children to eat a large variety of food from different food groups according to the food pyramid. Supply food while considering the nutritional value and family culinary habits.
Towards the end of your child's first year of life, they should be getting more solid food. It is recommended to serve food at the right size and texture to allow your child to grasp with their fingers, like bread crust, toast, and pieces of soft boiled vegetables and fruit. Fruits and vegetables such as bananas or avocados have a good texture that children like, and at this age, you can let them eat anything from the family's menu as long as it's safe for them. At this age, most children are developed enough to eat alone, and this should be encouraged, even if it means more mess to clean up. Eating habits that are important at this age include eating food with a spoon or with the fingers, chewing and drinking independently from a cup. Teach your child as early as possible to drink from a cup instead of a bottle.If your child is still drinking from a bottle - avoid giving him a bottle before he goes to bed or during the night, and avoid giving any fluid except water in the bottle.
Respiratory symptoms (wheezing, phlegm, and a runny nose) as the only sign of a food allergy are rare, and this is why in most cases it isn't objectively justified to remove specific foods from your child’s diet if who is suffering from these symptoms.
The ultimate amount of fat in the diet is dependant on your child's developmental stage and their energetic requirements. Energy requirements are especially high in the first 2 years of life.
Avoid candies and other sweets that could cause cavities such as sugar-coated cereal, chocolate, cakes, cookies, and sweetened dairy drinks. The etiology of cavities is multifactorial. The “early bottle cavity” syndrome refers to children who are given a sweet drink in a bottle while they sleep or given a pacifier dipped in sugar or honey to calm them down. Covering children’s teeth in fluids with sugar such as milk, fruit juice and sweetened drinks will cause bacteria to flourish in their mouths which will eventually destroy their teeth. When children sleep, the amount of saliva in their mouth goes down and the chance of cavities go up.
Try not to add extra salt to the food you cook and avoid foods that are high in sodium such as salty snacks and processed food. Early exposure to sodium is a risk factor to developing hypertension later on in life.
Last updated: May 2017
Authors - Tamar Sudry BA MED, Dr. Yair Sadaka MD Ph.D., pediatrician, Pediatric neurologist
Sources:
Israeli ministry of health