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Help Your Child Develop Healthy Habits

November 8, 2023 Children

Setting an Example

All parents want their children to grow up strong and develop healthy habits. Learning how to make healthy choices begins from the moment your baby is born – they look to you to learn! One of the best ways to help your child develop healthy habits is to practice them yourself! This means getting enough sleep, limiting screen time, being physically active, and eating your fruits and veggies.

Having your child at the table while eating together as a family is a simple step that can benefit them in a big way. Eating together has been shown to:

  • Improve eating habits
  • Increase the number of words that children know
  • Decrease the risk of becoming overweight
  • Help kids do better in school
  • Encourage kids to stay away from drugs

Being a “Just Right” Parent

There are many different parenting “styles” or ways to act as a parent. While some parents are very strict and never budge on family rules, others are very easy going, having few (if any) rules for their children. Authoritative or “just right” parenting, is a parenting style that’s in between these more extreme styles. This type of parent sets rules and guidelines but is willing to be flexible about the rules when needed. They use discipline that focuses on helping their children learn to follow the rules, more than punishing them for not doing so.

Research shows that parenting styles make a difference to a child’s happiness, self-esteem, and weight.
In particular, parents who practice “just right” parenting have children who have a healthier weight, eat a more nutritious diet and are more active. When it comes to feeding, these parents:

  • Offer regular, healthy meals and snacks.
  • Offer food, but don’t force or bribe with a treat to finish it.
  • Let their child be “in charge” of how much to eat.
  • Don’t get upset when their child doesn’t like a new food and instead offer it many more times to get them used to the flavor and texture.

The healthy habits you have, show your child how to develop healthy habits of their own. They look to you to learn how to be healthy. Remember, you will always be your child’s first and most important teacher!

Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.

Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

Tips

Mom new born home

Breast milk and formula feeding:

Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

feeding solid foods

Feeding solid foods:

Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

  • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
  • Opens their mouth when they see food.
  • Can close their lips around a spoon.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter or nut butter thinly on a cracker.  Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

Feeding Cues

Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

Growth Spurts

Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

They often happen at these ages:

two-three-weeks

2 to 3 Weeks

6 Weeks

three-months

3 Months

six-months

6 Months

What foods can I get?

Authorized Food List
Authorized Food List

Where can I shop?