21-month-old children: Nutrition and oral care

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Le Thanh Cam - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

The development of babies during the first 24 months of life is extremely exciting with many surprising changes, both physical, emotional, cognitive. Parents need to closely monitor the growth of young children, and at the same time pay attention to nutrition for the most comprehensive development of children.

So the 21-month-old stage: What is the diet and dental care like? The article will help readers have more useful information when the child is 21 months old, the 21-month-old child's nutrition and how to take care of their teeth.

The height and weight table is based on the WHO 2007 growth standards and is currently being applied to Vietnamese children. From there, it helps parents to partly assess whether their child's weight and height is correct at the age of 21 months, thereby finding suitable solutions as well as nutritional supplements.

Nutrition is one of the most important factors determining the physical development, height and weight of children. If there is not enough nutrition for the child, it will lead to malnutrition. Not only does it have a big impact on bone density and the strength of teeth, and the size of vital organs, but it also delays a child's ability to develop during puberty and pre-puberty.
With adequate nutrition, the baby can catch up with the development that he should have achieved before. Therefore, you need to provide enough necessary nutrients for children in each stage, especially calcium so that they can improve their height. Besides nutrition, other environmental factors such as climate and environmental pollution also slow down the physical development of children.

At the age of 21 months, children have increasingly developed and perfected motor skills such as walking, running, jumping, good balance, climbing stairs easily, more firmly than in previous stages. previous paragraph.
Children's hyperactivity and abundant energy at this time help muscles develop strongly, awareness of the world around, coordination of limbs through activities will help children develop comprehensively.
21-month-old baby can distinguish shapes, colors, can play the game of putting blocks in the right shape and color. Curious with ambient sounds, flavors,...
21-month-old baby can show and know when it's time to urinate or defecate to parents through attitudes such as bending down, blushing,. ..
Know how to imitate the actions of parents, want to ask for help from others
The 21-year-old stage is the period when the child is easily irritable, cries loudly with the attitude of lying on the ground to ask for something. In fact, at any age, children still cannot control their emotions or language to express what they want.
Parents need to be patient to find out what the child really needs, gently or because of scolding to avoid scaring the baby.

For 21-month-old babies, parents need to feed them enough green vegetables and fruits every day. After each meal, give your child yogurt for better digestion. Children can eat 2 boxes of yogurt per day.
Provide water for children every day to ensure a smooth metabolism in the body. Mothers should also give children fruit juice to provide vitamins to increase nutrient absorption.
21-month-old baby can already eat porridge or crushed rice, vermicelli or pho baby can also eat. These starches parents can give their children to change to make them more palatable. Children should eat 1 bowl of rice each meal. Accompanied by soft, chopped meats mixed with rice for easy eating
21-month-old baby's body needs many nutrients every day. Feeding your baby a variety of food groups, renewing regularly is essential.
Give children 3 main meals and a few snacks, divided into several times a day. Mother can add dishes for side meals such as yogurt, cheese, cake, ice cream, banana, papaya, grapes...
1.5 - 2 hours before main meal, mother should not give baby Snacking to avoid "brave", making the main meal lose its taste.
During the meal, create a happy and comfortable atmosphere for the baby. You can decorate the food with eye-catching and colorful colors to attract the baby.
If your child eats little flour or porridge, supplement nutrition with other snacks or drink more milk, instead of forcing them to eat all the porridge.

21-month-old babies can't clean their own teeth yet, so parents need to actively brush their children's teeth. When the baby has not yet teethed or has just erupted a few first teeth, mothers need to clean the baby's gums with a soft gauze soaked in clean warm water or use diluted salt water to clean, gently rub on the gums and teeth of the child. However, do not wipe too much because it will hurt the gums.
In addition, mothers can buy specialized toothbrushes suitable for the age of children who can insert their index fingers to clean gums. Buy a child-friendly toothpaste that doesn't contain too much fluoride.
Should clean children's teeth twice a day, morning and night before going to bed.
Through the above sharing, hopefully parents will have more useful information when the baby is 21 months old. Babies are in a period of rapid development, so parents need to pay attention to their nutrition and daily oral care to have good health for their babies.
When a child shows abnormal signs of health, parents can take the child to Vinmec Health system for timely examination and treatment.
21-month-old children need 5mg of elemental zinc/day to eat well, reach the correct height and weight and exceed the standard. Zinc plays a role in affecting most biological processes taking place in the body, especially the breakdown of nucleic acids, proteins... Organs in the body when zinc deficiency can lead to a There are a number of diseases such as neurological disorders, irritability, etc. Therefore, parents need to learn about the role of zinc and guide them to appropriate zinc supplements for their children.
In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... errands.
Please regularly visit Vinmec.com website and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.