o very fine pieces, about 1/8 inch thick. The baby will also like chewing on hard foods, since its teething, but make sure it's something that dissolves easily, like teething biscuits.Infant NutritionChildren must consume sufficient high-quality protein, vitamins, minerals and energy in their diets if adequate growth is to occur. Many factors determine a child's needs for nutrients:body size physical activityillness or injuryAlthough a child experiences growth spurts during the preschool years, the most significant periods of growth occur in infancy and adolescence. Even though growth rate slows during the preschool years, the body continues to change dramatically, and preschool children actually need more of certain nutrients than larger children do. Therefore, every meal and snack is an opportunity to meet the special nutritional needs of the preschool child. EnergyEnergy in food allows children to play, to learn, and to grow. This food energy is measured in calories. Calories come from carbohydrate, protein and fat. It is important for a child to eat enough calories, or the child's body will use needed protein and fat stores for energy. Calories must be provided throughout the day. Because they have small appetites, preschool children generally need two or three snacks in addition to three meals every day. If a child skips a meal, not enough calories or other nutrients will be eaten for that day. The calories from skipped meals are not "made up" at a later meal. Therefore, regular meals and snacks are very important to assure good growth.The caloric needs of children of the same size, age and sex vary. Until the age of ten, there is little difference in the calorie needs of boys and girls. Generally, children between the ages of one and three need 1000 to 1300 calories per day. Older children between the ages of four and six need 1300 to 1800 calories per day. The needs of individual children will vary with the amount of exercise tha...
