Nutrition plays an important role in your child’s growth and development. Proper nutrition can provide your child with all the nutrients needed for the key developmental processes in the first years of life.

You can opt to prepare your child’s food at home or choose commercial options such as Little Spoon baby food. It’s a baby food subscription company that offers organic, non-GMO products delivered to your home.

By getting baby food delivered to your doorstep, you can provide your child with nutritious foods while saving time. It will also introduce them to new tastes to help prevent them from becoming picky eaters in the future.

Nutrition and Your Child’s Growth & Development

Brain-Boosting Nutrients & Fats

Rapid postnatal brain development happens during your child’s preschool years, defined from ages one to five. During this period, proper nutrition is very important because it can provide your child’s brain with everything it needs for proper development.

That’s why it’s good to find a formula or baby food that contains high levels of brain-boosting nutrients such as folic acid, iron, zinc, choline, and special fats such as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

During the preschool years, children are also rapidly learning new things. They acquire language and many cognitive skills.

Studies have shown that nutrient deficiencies can greatly impact brain development. But eating nutritious foods, with or without vitamin supplementation, can help improve memory and cognition.

For example, vitamin B9 helps preserve the brain during development and protects memory as the brain grows.

The same study shows that iron is important to ensure proper oxygenation in the brain. 

Iron also helps produce energy in the cerebral parenchyma (a functional tissue in the brain) to create neurotransmitters (the body’s chemical messengers) and myelin (the layer that insulates the nerves).

Although obesity is also a cause of concern, you shouldn’t remove all fats from your child’s diet. So-called “healthy fats,” such as DHA, are important for brain development. However, fatty foods should be eaten in moderation.

Calcium

Ample calcium supply ensures strong bones, especially because children’s bodies are rapidly growing. They need as much calcium as they can get from milk, formula, or baby food.

Your pediatrician can prescribe calcium supplements if your child is lactose intolerant, has cow’s milk protein allergy, or has other dietary issues.

Calcium is important throughout a person’s life. But calcium requirements may be higher in growing children because most of their bone mass is built during this period. This is especially important throughout the growth spurt period in preschoolers, tweens, and teenagers.

Fibers

Fibers also play an important role in your child’s body. Not only can they aid in digestion and prevent constipation, but fibers may also prevent heart disease and other conditions.

Some Advantages Of Little Spoon Baby Food

Little Spoon offers certified organic, non-GMO foods for babies and children up to 10 years old.

Instead of just letting you pick the foods you want to give your child off the menu, Little Spoon’s nutrition experts and pediatricians create a custom menu for each child. 

This can help ensure that your child can get proper nutrition appropriate for their age and developmental milestones.

Conclusion

Numerous studies have shown that proper nutrition is important in your child’s brain and body development. Make sure to provide your child with nutritious foods so they can grow healthy and smart.