At what age can a child add salt to food? Our baby is almost 9 months old.
It is ideal that salt and sugar hit the child's table as late as possible, closer to 3 years. But many parents, guided precisely by their own taste, try to add salt to food even with the start of complementary foods, which is completely wrong. Excess salt will not benefit the baby. The natural taste of products for crumbs is preferable, and those minerals that the products themselves contain are quite enough for him. The norm of salt for an infant is 2–3 g per day, which completely covers complementary foods without additional salting.
Our daughter is 10 months old, her weight is 8100 g, height is 70 cm, she is on breastfeeding. Is this weight gain normal? The girl was born 3500 g, height 54 cm, mom and dad are short. Our pediatrician says that my daughter is not gaining weight well. Over the past month, the increase was 200 g.
For the weight and height that your daughter had at birth, she added very well, her height and weight correspond to the average age norms. Today, the norms of height and weight of children who are breastfed have been significantly revised. Long-term studies by WHO experts have proven that the growth and development rates of infants differ significantly from those of “artificial” ones. Special tables of height and weight of children of different age groups have been developed.
In addition, weight gain in infants in the second half of the year is small, but children usually gain a lot of weight in the first months of life - sometimes up to 1.5 kg per month. As a rule, in the second half of the year, weight gain slows down, so by the age of 1 year, babies reach the average age norms of 9-10 kg.
Our boy is 6 months old, height 72 cm, weight 8700 g. He has 4 teeth, 2 weeks ago he sat down on his own, he is only breastfed. The doctor says that it is necessary to introduce complementary foods, while starting with apple and banana puree and juice. But I read that you can’t start with fruits: there is a lot of conflicting information on this topic on the Internet.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is recommended to start complementary foods with vegetable puree if the baby's weight is normal or overweight, or with gluten-free dairy-free porridge: rice, buckwheat or corn - if the weight is slightly below normal.
The WHO and modern doctors strongly recommend juices to be introduced into the diet of a breastfed child at 9-12 months. The fact is that juices do not contain many vitamins, but they strongly irritate digestion due to fruit acids. Juices also contain a lot of sugar. In addition, they can displace a significant amount of breast milk.
The attitude to such the most common seasoning in the world as salt is ambiguous. It is vital for the human body and at the same time can cause various disorders in its functioning. But is salt good for children, is it permissible to include it in the diet of infants, and why should it not be given too early?
Benefit
In the composition of table salt, the main element is sodium, which is combined with chlorine. Without sodium, many physiological processes cannot take place in the child's body. In particular, this element is important for nervous tissue and muscle function. The main function of the chlorine supplied with the salt is the production of hydrochloric acid.
In addition, including salt in the diet of baby food, it will be useful:
- For the regulation of water-salt balance. This property of salt is used in dehydration, including it in rehydration solutions.
- For metabolic processes in cells, during which nutrients enter the tissues, and the decay products are excreted.
- For the functioning of the pancreas and digestive tract.
Harm
The negative effect of sodium chloride is mainly due to excessive salt intake.
A lot of such seasoning is contraindicated for children, since salt will:
- Retain water in the tissues, which causes swelling, and the load on the excretory system increases.
- Increase blood pressure, making it harder for the heart to work.
- Influence calcium metabolism, as a result of which bone fragility appears and teeth deteriorate.
- Provoke thirst and increase appetite, which leads to overeating.
- Have a stimulating effect on nervous system which is manifested by irritability, restless behavior and nervousness.
At what age can you add salt to children's food?
Babies for the first six months of life receive salt from human milk or from a mixture. In these two products, the content of chlorine and sodium is balanced and presented in a concentration that does not harm babies. AT cow's milk the salt content is several times higher, so it is not recommended as a substitute for mother's milk for babies under one year old.
When the baby begins to try complementary foods, every mother has a question - is it necessary to add salt to food for her daughter or son? Pediatricians do not advise adding salt to children's meals until at least 9 months of age.
It is even better if parents do not salt food for a child under 1 year old. The baby will have enough salt from vegetables, kefir, meat, cereals and other products that are introduced into complementary foods. In addition, infants do not protest against insipid food until they try salty foods. And mom should let the baby get to know natural taste products.
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The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
A well-known pediatrician emphasizes that every baby needs salt, especially if the child sweats, losing sodium chloride with sweat. However, Komarovsky emphasizes that the salt needs of babies are much lower than those of adults. A popular doctor advises mothers, when adding salt to food for children, to focus on their own taste - the dish should be slightly undersalted, but no longer bland.
For a short doctor's comment about salt in children's diets, see the video below.
How much salt does a child need?
Children under the age of 9-10 months should be given no more than 0.2 g of salt per day. Since babies get this amount of seasoning from food, it is recommended not to add salt to the food.
The norm of salt for babies older than 10-12 months is 0.35 g per day- in soups, cereals, vegetable, meat and other dishes, it is advised to add only a few crystals of table salt. For children older than a year, it is permissible to increase the daily dose of salt to 0.5-1 g, and from the age of 3, the amount of such seasoning can be gradually increased to 4-5 g per day.
What kind of salt to give the child?
In the diet of a child older than a year, you can add:
- Rock salt. It is a grayish crystals that include not only sodium and chlorine, but also other minerals (selenium, iodine, zinc, potassium). Such salt is added to dishes for the child after heat treatment.
- Refined salt. This seasoning has a fine grinding and a white tint. It contains only sodium chloride.
- iodized salt. This seasoning is additionally enriched with iodine, and its grinding can be different - both very fine and large. It is advised to give it to children living in areas where the soil is poor in iodine.
- Sea salt. To obtain it, sea water is evaporated. As a result, crystals rich in iodine, calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium are formed. Due to the high concentration of minerals, such salt is not advised to be given before the age of 5.
- hyposodium salt. Its feature is a reduced amount of sodium. Such a seasoning for a child is prescribed only by a doctor.
For the unexpected dangers of eating salt, see Living Healthy.
In the process of preparing food for complementary foods for babies, the question arises whether the child can salt and whether it can be added to vegetable purees, soups, and so on. It may surprise you, but babies are absolutely indifferent to the salty taste. The receptors that are responsible for its recognition are still underdeveloped in children, so they have no need for salt. Therefore, the absence of it in food will not spoil the dish for the baby. A child up to a year can have quite a bit of salt, the daily norm should not exceed 0.3 grams. Exactly as many are able to "process" the kidneys of the baby. Breast milk contains a sufficient amount of sodium, so you can absolutely not worry about the lack of this trace element. And if the baby is on artificial feeding Also, you don't have to worry. Adapted high-quality mixtures contain the required amount of it. Therefore, children under one year simply do not need additional salt, it can be completely abandoned.
Having figured out whether a child can salt up to a year, you should pay special attention to the products that you buy for the baby.
Be sure to read the labels and look at the ingredients. Even in baby food it can sometimes be contained, which is undesirable at an early age.
Hard cheese, biscuits, bread and many other foods contain a certain amount of salt. Therefore, their use by the child should be supervised. They can be offered, but limited.
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Spice sets and bouillon cubes contain a lot of salt. For cooking, a child should not use them categorically.
And if you give your baby food from a common table, be sure to make sure it is safe and ask how it was prepared.
Salt for children under one year old
Let's try to figure out when children can have salt and how much?After 9 months, use is already possible, but absolutely not necessary. It would be better to wait until a year or even longer.
From the age of one to three years, children should receive no more than 2 grams of salt per day with food.
Excess salt leads to health problems in the child. Kidneys suffer, increases arterial pressure and so on.
All this can be warned in advance, and not shrug after problems have already been encountered.
Salt
Salt Properties
- Does not cause allergies (because it is part of all body cells).
- Helps maintain water balance in the body, prevents dehydration.
- Improves the taste of food.
- Retains fluid in the body.
- Increases the burden on the kidneys.
When to introduce salt into a child's diet?
We used to think that salt is a very important component of any diet, so if it is not in the child's diet, parents start to worry.
However, it should be noted that in the diet of newborns and children up to the first year of life, the daily salt intake is 0.3 g (after a year - 0.5 g), which he receives from mother's milk or milk formulas. If, in addition to this, you want to enrich the baby’s diet with salt, then his kidneys and pancreas simply cannot cope with such a colossal load.
Also, one of the reasons for the debate on the topic of salt in baby food is the fear of parents that they are depriving their beloved child, depriving him of the taste sensations we are used to when using this product. In fact, there is no problem here: the receptors that perceive salt are not developed in a child from birth, so he does not understand whether his food is salty or not, and, accordingly, does not feel a shortage. But when you introduce a child to the taste of salt, these receptors will begin to develop and require salt in food in various volumes. In this regard, most pediatricians strongly recommend giving up salt until the child is at least a year old.
After that, parents need to adhere to the following dosage: no more than 0.25-0.35 g of salt (actually at the tip of a knife) per day, then can be increased to 0.5-1 g (up to 3 years) and gradually brought to an adult dose in 4-5 g of salt per day.
What kind of salt should be given to a child?
Buy regular table salt. If you live in central Russia, which is considered an iodine-deficient region, purchase iodized salt (keep in mind that its shelf life is only 3-4 months).
There is also hyposodium salt, in which the sodium content, compared to table salt, is much lower. As a rule, it is prescribed for hypertension, obesity and kidney disease. To determine the type of salt that your child really needs, consult your doctor.
Attention! Sea salt is not used in the diet of children under one year old.
Useful tips for parents
- Salt products "by eye" is undesirable - this can lead to excessive consumption of table salt. For example, 1 tsp. contains 10 g of salt (which is 2 times higher than the adult daily allowance).
- Try to minimize your child's use following products containing salt: ketchup, mayonnaise, canned salted foods, salted fish, sausages, etc.
- Be careful with the fashionable salt-free diet: it is prescribed only in medicinal purposes and carried out under the strict supervision of a pediatrician.
Sugar
sugar properties
- It is an easily digestible source of energy.
- Accelerates many vital processes in the body.
- Promotes brain activity.
- It is an excellent preservative that stops the development of many harmful bacteria.
- It enhances the processes of putrefaction and fermentation in the intestines (which causes bloating), as a result of which the products of incomplete protein breakdown are absorbed into the bloodstream and cause allergies.
- Is one of the main causes of obesity diabetes and changes in the central nervous system.
- Excessive use leads to the destruction of tooth enamel.
- Causes errors in proper nutrition: sweetened food gives the illusion of satiety, from which the child begins to eat less.
- Causes addiction: the child experiences an emotional upsurge from the received glucose, but when the blood sugar level drops, reaching the norm, the baby begins to lack a sense of joy, he begins to ask, and then demand sweet food.
When to introduce sugar into a child's diet?
A child under 1 year old needs only 4 g of sugar per day (this is a little less than 1 tsp), respectively, if the baby does not have allergies, you can add sugar in the indicated amount to sour fruit drinks. However, many pediatricians argue that up to a year a child can not be introduced to the taste of sugar.
A child from 1.5 to 3 years old needs 6 g of sugar per day, and from 3 to 6 years old - 7 g.
Rules for introducing sweets into the child's diet:
- From 1 year - sweet pastries and jam.
- From 1.5 years - marshmallow, marshmallow, marmalade.
- From 2-3 years old - caramel, toffee.
- From 3 years - ice cream (cream or milk).
- From 3-4 years old - chocolate (20 g or one candy per day), cakes and pastries (with whipped cream or fruit filling).
- From 3-5 years old - honey.
- From the age of 5 - chocolate sweets with filling.
Useful tips for parents
- You can not sweeten complementary foods: this can lead to the formation of bad eating habits. Pediatricians recommend starting the first complementary foods with vegetable purees, and not with sweeter fruit purees.
- Doctors recommend adding natural fruit sugar (fructose) rather than ordinary sugar (sucrose) to baby food. natural springs glucose and fructose - vegetables and fruits.
- Do not give sweets to children for breakfast: sweet cocoa or tea is enough for them in the morning. Pamper your baby with dessert during an afternoon snack, but at the same time control portions of sweets.
- The following unhealthy sweet foods are banned: sugary sodas, chewing gum, goods near the supermarket checkout, sweet chocolate substitute bars.
Food for adults is hard to imagine without the addition of salt and sugar. What about baby food? Can a child under 3 years old eat salty and sweet foods? And will they harm a small growing organism? Four mothers spoke about such nutrition.
First opinion: Salty and sweet foods should be accustomed immediately!
Elena, 27 years old, mother of Ilya (1 year 3 months)
Every mother must feel what to feed her baby, at what time and how. I gradually added salt and sugar to each dish as soon as I introduced complementary foods. I believe that salt is needed to maintain the water-salt balance in the body. Well, no sugar!
Think for yourself, a child drinks from birth breast milk which is sweet in taste. Will he eat fresh food after that?
From the age of 10 months, my Ilyusha already eats any dishes from the common table, sometimes I even add a little pepper. Here is what is included in our diet: borsch, kharcho, pilaf, buckwheat with meat and vegetables, pickle, dumplings, pancakes, pies, fried potatoes, stewed potatoes with meat, cheese, cookies, etc. It seems to me that if a child is limited in food from childhood, then when he grows up, then, on the contrary, he will pounce and begin to abuse junk food. Just don’t immediately attack me with reproaches, because I’m not talking about stuffing the baby with endless sweets and drinking carbonated drinks. It’s just that I think it’s complete nonsense to stand in the kitchen all day and cook steamed turkey cutlets and broccoli.
Natalia, Olya's mother (1 year 11 months)
While still pregnant, I read a bunch of smart books and articles and decided for sure that I would not give salt and sugar to my child. But in reality, everything turned out to be much more complicated. My daughter refused to eat such food, she spit out any vegetable puree, both homemade and purchased from various companies. And when I was already completely desperate, I decided to try salting the mashed potatoes with sea salt, it was about 7 months old. She ate it with pleasure! It was from that moment that I realized that there is no need to think that salt and sugar will harm your child, because today they are found everywhere - in children's yogurts, canned meat purees, cookies. As soon as Olenka turned one year old, we completely transferred her to the common table. Of course, at this time we had to slightly reduce salt and sugar in dishes and abandon hot spices.
Now my daughter is almost two years old, and I can proudly say that she is growing up as a healthy child. We have no caries and no problems with the kidneys either. By the way, she herself doesn’t beg for sweets from us, but half a year ago she fell in love with pickles :). If you really want it, then her body needs it?!
As for sugar: many of my friends replace sugar with fructose, but I personally am not a supporter of this. I read a lot of information that fructose is a concentrated substance, which means that it contains more calories than regular sugar. And this can lead to obesity. So it's better the old fashioned way - we were raised on salty soups and sweet cereals - and I will do exactly the same, because we grew up alive and healthy!
Dr. Komarovsky: At what age can a child have sugar and salt?
Dr. Komarovsky tells at what age you can give sugar and salt to a child:
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Another opinion: Salt and sugar should not be used in baby food!
Svetlana, mother of Vladislav (4 years old) and Arseniy (1 year old)
I will never understand and will always condemn those mothers who give their baby borscht at 3 months, sausage and salted fish at 6 months, and chocolate stuffed with chemical additives at a year, while they are glad that their child is so pleased with everything it eats! Of course, the above is an extreme, but I believe that a child under 3 years old, in principle, does not need salt and sugar.
Some make the argument “this way the child tastes better”, but, dear parents, let's not forget that the taste buds and capabilities of the kidneys of children cannot be compared with adults. In childhood, there is no need for salt and sugar!
A prime example of this is our family. We don't eat salt and sugar. All meals are prepared fresh and natural products. For adults, we replace sugar with stevia, and salt with kelp powder, we use good spices from spices. By the way, healthy eating and sports training can work wonders! Often outside strangers take me for the elder sister of my children.
Both of my sons have never tasted salty or sweet food in their lives and do not ask for it. This is the most main reason the fact that I have my children with their kindergarten meals.
Nadezhda, mother of Violetta (2 years 7 months)
My daughter has tried both salty and sweet food from our adult table several times, but usually I cook her separately and only unleavened dishes. We immediately excluded a common table, since our husband is Georgian and prefers spicy oriental cuisine with all kinds of seasonings, adjika and red pepper. And my daughter has atopic dermatitis, so I need to be very careful and careful in choosing food for her, because food with salt, sugar and spices immediately causes an exacerbation of the disease. I want to start adding a little salt and sugar to dishes only after 3 years.
For me, it is not difficult to prepare a child separately. I try to prepare more cutlets and meatballs from chicken, turkey and rabbit in advance, I freeze them, and then I steam them in a double boiler or steamed slow cooker, I add vegetables. It remains only to boil rice, buckwheat or cook broth with noodles, and this also does not require much time and effort. My daughter accepts such food well, except for the moments when her teeth erupted, so I think that it is not necessary to intentionally improve the taste of food for a child with salt and sugar.
We also read:
Professor of pediatrics Sergey Nyankovsky: salt and sugar in complementary foods. Do I need sugar and salt in the diet of a child up to a year?
Do I need sugar and salt in the diet of a child up to a year? How does eating sweetened or salted foods in a child's diet affect their health and development? Professor of Pediatrics Sergey Nyankovsky answers the questions of salt and sugar in baby food: