What is the ideal diet for a one year old?
Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist,
Sunderlal Jain Hospital,
New Delhi
Q: My son is 13 months old and weighs 10 kgs. I have doubts regarding his diet. He frequently suffers from indigestion. Sometimes he passes oily stools and the recent stool test showed presence of fat globules. What is the ideal diet for a 1 year old baby boy? His present diet: We give him diary milk (6% fat). I dilute the milk upto 30%. At the end of the day he takes around 450oz of undiluted milk. 6:00 Am - 7oz milk 8:00 Am - Idli(2)/dosa (1 small)/pulka ( 1 small) or bread with 1/2 omlette (2 slices bread). I add 2 tea spoons of liquid form ghee in any breakfast. 11:00 Am - 3 - 4 oz of orange juice 12:30 Am - 4 teaspoons of rice (unboiled rice measurement) with 1 tea spoon dal and 4 leaves of green leafy vegetables and 2 table spoons of curd . I add 2 tea spoons of liquid form ghee. 4:00 PM - 7oz of milk 6:00 Pm - banana (1) / sapota (2) 7:00 Pm - 4 teaspoons of rice (unboiled rice measurement) with any one vegetable and 2 table spoons of curd.I add 2 tea spoons of liquid form ghee. 10:30 Pm - 7oz of milk. Do I need to improve his diet? Can I give him Threptin biscuit and corn flakes? If yes how much? How much of green leafy vegetables can I add daily? Why does he get frequent indigestion as I feel I am giving him very light food. Also he passes slightly hard stools. Stopping banana helps a little in loosening his stools. What other food will help loosen the stools? Also what other fruits can I give him keeping his hard stools in mind?
A:From the description of the diet details, I feel he is getting adequate diet, which is also seen in his weight. You should try giving food from family pot at least twice a day. Any vegetables which get mashed properly is ok, amount will depend on how he accepts it. You can add fruits like banana, pudding -suji kheer, wheat porridge, custard etc to give him wider variety of food, there is no need to add threptin biscuits, you can give any biscuit for chewing habit. Why do you add extra ghee to each of three main meals, if you cook with some fat for the family, there is no need to add extra ghee, you can give him buttred bread slice, or add fat 1/2 tsp to one meal. Your child is fine, extra fat in diet causes fat globules, do not worry.