Your child’s first 1000 days of their life are a great opportunity to establish their eating habits. Listen in to learn why this time is so important and hear strategies for making the most of this important time!
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Your child’s first 1000 days of their life are a great opportunity to establish their eating habits. Listen in to learn why this time is so important and hear strategies for making the most of this important time!
Send us an email: parenting@iastate.edu.
Find us on Facebook: @scienceofparent.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider. For the full non-discrimination statement or accommodation inquiries, go to www.extension.iastate.edu/diversity/ext
Welcome to The Science of Parenting podcast where we connect you with research based information that fits your family. We'll talk about the realities of raising a family, and how research can help guide our parenting decisions. I'm Mackenzie Johnson, parent of two littles with their own quirks. And I'm a parenting educator.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:And I'm Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt, a Professor of Human Nutrition, guest co-host and a mom to one sweet angel baby and one young, joyful eater.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes, and we love having you here this season, Lyndi, talking all about kids and food, a great opportunity for us to dive in. And we love having you as our guest co-host. Or maybe I should speak for myself, I love it. I feel like Barb and Mackenzie do feel the same way. So last week, you might remember we were talking about temperament and food and kids and how they impact each other. Temperament does influence what our kids eat and it also influences what practices are effective and what we choose to do as parents when it comes to food. So temperament is a factor here.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:So this week, we are going to be talking about feeding our kids, but in the first 1000 days of life. So this would be pregnancy through two years old.
Mackenzie Johnson:And so this first 1000 days, let's dig right in. This is kind of a definition, still kind of following my usual vibe, love a definition. But if you have worked in the Child Development realm, or are in a field that's adjacent, right, that kind of works in some adult like version of what kids do and what kids need, you've maybe heard this term before - the first 1000 days. But just in case, we also know a lot of people haven't heard it. And so what's the big deal? Why are we talking about first 1000 days?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Okay, well, it's a big deal. And a lot of people will tell you, but the American Academy of Pediatrics told us that the most active period of neurological development, aka brain development, occurs in the first 1000 days of life. So that's the beginning, beginning with conception and ending at the start of the third postnatal year, so pregnancy through two years old. Yes.
Mackenzie Johnson:And I remember, you know, in one of my undergraduate classes, learning about child development and stuff, and they talked about critical periods or sensitive periods. And I remember it was almost kind of this urgency, right? Like, this is your chance, don't miss it. Oh, yeah. And so I feel like that can sometimes put a lot of pressure on us as parents, right? Sometimes like, okay, well, I didn't notice when they were that age, I missed the critical period, right? And it's like, okay, hold on. I really liked the way that Cusick and Georgie talked. They kind of phrased this idea of a sensitive period, they talked about, let's think about it in a positive manner, that it can describe a time when the brain is particularly receptive to positive input, like nutrition or social stimulation. And so this idea instead of like, it's urgent, it's critical, don't miss it. But like, hey, this is a great opportunity of a time when we can have great impact because of what's happening in the brain. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And I liked that positive swing, right. It's a critical period. It's a sensitive period. It's a opportunity period.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yes. Yeah, I think again, just being very clear that just because you maybe didn't do too many things as the parent, you did not ruin your child. They are likely totally fine. But we're just going to share some information about the first 1000 days of life and what you can do or maybe share with someone else to do.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. And yeah, so if you are listening to this episode already, and you're like, oh, first 1000 days, missed a chance. If you're listening, continuing to listen to make yourself feel bad. We don't like that. We don't want you to do that. So you can continue to listen and be like, hey, this is interesting to share with a friend or family member. The goal is not to make anybody feel bad. We're talking about how can, the word that comes to mind is optimized. Like, how can we make the most of it? These first 1000 days? And yeah, we still have wonderful, beautiful, healthy kids, even if you didn't know all this information. So let's talk a little bit about why. So it's like, okay, first 1000 days, a sensitive period, lots of brain development happening. Why nutrition, why do we have to think so much about food during this first 1000 days?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Well, I mean, we always want to think about food, right? I'm always always wanting to think about food. We know based off of a wealth of scientific literature, specifically the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which is a federal report that is a cumulative review of all of the most recent scientific literature in the last five years, looking at nutrition and feeding. What it tells us is the time from birth until the child's second birthday, is a critically important period for proper growth and development. It's also key for establishing healthy dietary patterns that may influence the trajectory of eating behaviors and health throughout the life course. So this is like you said, this opportune time where we're really seeing a ton of growth and development, specifically brain development. So, other literature has said that up to 80% of brain development happens within this first 1000 days. So making sure we're adequately and properly feeding our kiddos and then also offering that opportunity to really influence their eating behaviors for the rest of their lives. Yes, it's important. And then I'm not going to get into the weeds on this because it can go there. But there's a thing known as epigenetics, which is what we eat, other environmental factors influence our genes or our genetics, right. And so food can do that. And during pregnancy, it's really cool to think about that. What you're doing is affecting, obviously, what your baby's doing. But then also to think about that influence that you have on your baby, and what you're eating during pregnancy is also going to have an influence on your baby's baby. So your grandchildren.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes, that what we're doing, epigenetics, what we're doing can be passed down to generations. And again, not meant for pressure but meant for an opportunity. Right? Like we have an opportunity. How cool. Yes. So there are there benefits of nutrition affecting our brain development, right? That's a part of what we're taking in and then epigenetics. Cool. And then, another study that Lyndi had shared with me talked about how adequate macronutrient nutrition, aka like our big food groups, proteins, carbs, fats, vegetable consumption, right, things like that, in general, that when we get adequate nutrition, it has an impact on IQ scores. It can influence our school success and even our behavior regulation. We heard all about that in season nine. We didn't even talk about how food could have a role. So there are these abstract, and these long term impacts of this awesome, sensitive period. When it comes to food, we can have great opportunity for great impact, right?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Definitely. And something that I think we're going to point out now because we're gonna talk about it throughout, but children in this age group consume small amounts of food, right? So it's very important to make every bite count. So we have the ability during this period to make those small little bits of food they're eating or the introduction of this food really matter.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yeah. When they're not taking in very much and when there's such important things they need like fats and vitamin D. I mean, it could get really specific and I know you could. But when there's so much they need and there's only so much space in those little stomachs, we want to make sure that we make it count, get lots of good stuff in there that they need. Awesome. So okay, we understand why the first 1000 days, what we are talking about with that big opportunity for brain development, all kinds of development. Nutrition is an important part of that, right? An important part of how we help grow healthful kids. Let's break down this first 1000 days a little bit, right? We'll talk a little bit about the research around some recommendations that are research based. But we'll also talk about some of the reality of these different stages. So we'll break it down into pregnancy, the first year and then I mean, the rest of the days. So let's start with pregnancy. Okay, now, I kind of want to kick it off by just like, let's acknowledge the reality that you may have in pregnancy. Okay, we are going to talk about the recommendations. But some of the things that could impact food consumption when we're pregnant, sometimes cravings, right? Sometimes people have a big hangry. And one of mine, it was short lived, but a blueberry pie. I don't know if I'd ever had it before that. But like, it's not that I want it all the time. I wanted it once. I just really needed to have that one time.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Cravings are bad. It happened to me with blueberry muffins. And I was at like, 10 o'clock in the morning. It was during COVID. I was working from home, I went and made blueberry muffins immediately in that moment, and then I did not probably eat them the rest of my pregnancy.
Mackenzie Johnson:I didn't even need to finish it, right? I didn't need a hold up, right. Oh, but yes, so the cravings are Yeah, yeah. So pregnancy is a really fascinating time for me a component of pregnancy. And sometimes the flip side is food aversion, right? I literally heard a story last night of someone talking about my coworker eating her boiled egg. Oh, right. And then nausea, right. Similarly related, somewhat often referred to as morning sickness. But if you've been pregnant, which, you know, if you're listening, you may have fallen in that category. That can be tricky. Not always in the morning. Right. So nausea being another one. You know, also sometimes the reality is not everyone's always aware they're pregnant right away. So as you think about this recommendation is information may have not even been prepared. Like well, I wasn't thinking this is what was happening. And so we can acknowledge that that is sometimes was the case, too. And then also exhaustion. You know, I have a good friend who's expecting and they're like, you didn't prepare me for how tired I would be. And so literally, as you think about planning meals or preparing meals, you know what your lifestyle looks like when this huge increase for sleep that your body is screaming at you, can impact what you eat. And so there's just a lot that's happening during pregnancy that can impact how we can take in this these recommendations and what we do and choose to do and sometimes almost like default into pregnancy. So that's a little bit of reality, we want to acknowledge that all of that can be happening. And even like perinatal depression, right, there's all these different things that can be a role. But let's look at why pregnancy, right. There's written recommendations that are important, but also just some cool things about pregnancy from our perspective as educators too, right? to talk about because one, I've been pregnant. But also, during grad school, I worked in a research lab that did a lot of stuff with pregnancy. And we always talked about the power of pregnancy, because it is this time period that we also call a teachable moment. So what this means is, because of that special moment in time, someone's more likely to adopt a new behavior and just maybe sustain that behavior. So in this case, they're more motivated to do so because you're growing a baby. It's this time of, you might be more motivated to do something, not only for yourself, but because you're growing a little baby inside of you, and you want that baby to be strong and healthy and happy. And then yeah, as a parent educator, I also think about we often talk about the transitions that happen in parenting are times when we have questions, right? And when we're seeking more information. And so we also call it a teachable moment, because we have questions. We're looking for information. And hopefully you can find it right here. So a lot of power in pregnancy. So what are the recommendations? You know, in particular, I know we're looking at some recommendations from Pet??? and Aug??? And I loved that they talk, they were talking about childhood obesity in the paper, but they talked about it in a way of obesity is when there's a mismatch of energy consumption and energy expenditure. And I love that that was a better whole picture. We're not just talking about body size or weight or things like that. But how we're balancing energy consumption and energy expenditure when we think about childhood obesity, and that we have opportunities, even in pregnancy, to positively influence it. So what are some of those recommendations? Lyndi?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Well, the first one kind of overall, in general, maybe not a surprise is you're expecting parents' behaviors are important. So the food that you're eating, especially when you're pregnant, think about what you're eating. A balanced meal, considering you know, you're getting enough food, but not too much food. So this is kind of another area that I like to think about a lot. And a little bit of a pet peeve of mine is when people say in pregnancy they're eating for two. Well, that is not quite true. I mean, you're eating for two but you're not eating double the amount of food you should be eating. So the actual recommendations for how much increased calories you should be having is about 300 calories for both second and third trimester, you don't increase your caloric intake at all in the first trimester. Which is maybe not a bad thing if you're experiencing nausea or exhaustion. But that's something I always talk about and eating for two does not mean the expectation is to eat double.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yeah, that's a good thing. I feel like that's a cautionary tale of the dietitian, right? We all have these occupational hazards and pet peeves we have. One of yours is eating for two, good to know.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, it is. So if you say that to me, you will likely get a very angry stare back at you but you know another thing during pregnancy is looking at how much you're gaining. Too little weight has been shown to lead to poor outcomes for both mother and baby and too much weight has also been shown to lead to poor outcomes or not as beneficial of outcomes for mom and baby. So that's just something that you're gonna see throughout pregnancy as well.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes, and so going to those doctor's appointments and measuring for yourself that you can be healthy as you experience pregnancy, and then also measuring for the babies. So hitting those doctor's appointments even though sometimes I remember feeling like I was grateful to have the opportunity of asking questions. I never had a shortage of those, you know, grateful to have the opportunity and access go into the doctor but sometimes it was like, okay, again, taking off from work or whatever. But they are important. We do want to track our growth and development as well as our baby's.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, definitely. And it's an opportunity again, I feel like the word this episode is opportunity, opportunity, opportunity for you to ask your doctor all of those questions about everything you need to know at those appointments.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yeah, all the is this normals? Someone was just talking about the other day, they have a stuffy nose. That was like their pregnancy symptom. They just have a stuffy nose, the whole pregnancy. And so yes, there's a lot of reality happening. So different reasons. Yeah. So yeah, we wanted to kind of wrap in this episode, we're flipping things around a little that we're wrapping in these strategies alongside the specific kind of age segment we're talking about. So yes, lots of great recommendations for pregnancy. And again, we are kind of skimming the surface in terms of recommendations and food and pregnancy. There's lots of information, but we wanted to get through it all here today. And so we're gonna move on to this.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:I do want to share one thing before you move on. There's a good one that is more of just an interest area of mine. Science is still emerging in this area. So take everything I'm saying with a small grain of salt and know that a lot of the studies in this area have been in animal models. And it's hard to do any research in pregnancy, right, and especially what I'm going to talk about now, but there have been studies that show that flavors in a pregnant mother's diet can make their way into the amniotic fluid. And the resulting exposure could influence a child's flavor preferences after birth. So they've particularly looked at things like garlic and carrots. So those were the things that were studied. But I just think it's fascinating to think that what I eat during pregnancy, my child may actually be exposed to and then be predisposed to like that later in life.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. Well, even though I think of you talked about bitter, that bitter is typically a flavor that has to kind of grow on us. And I'm like, oh, that can be an opportunity. I mean, and we don't know for certain, right? The science isn't totally solid and clear. But there are some indications, right? Some studies are showing some promise of like, hey, this could maybe help. I love that. Yeah, I'm so sorry. I almost skipped that. Wow, what a detriment that would have been.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:I wasn't gonna let you. We were gonna say it.
Mackenzie Johnson:Awesome. Okay, well, now, moving on to the first year, you know, thinking about zero to 12 months. And there's a lot in this age, too, right? You are just moving into this here with your little one. And so some of the things in this age stage can be the realities, again, still, weirdly, exhaustion, right, whether we have a baby that doesn't sleep well, or a newborn that doesn't really know how to sleep yet. That hasn't been regulated and things like that. So there's still some tiredness. I also think maternity leave, right? So that's something, or hopefully family leave or parental leave, that you can have some time where you're maybe not working. We know that's not a reality for all families. But for some also talking about childcare, right? If you have your child and childcare, they can be eating several meals a day at your childcare. And so what is the food that's offered, there can be a reality of what's happening around your kids and food. Of course, a big one is related to the whole idea of breastfeeding and formula for some families tube feeding, right? All kinds of feeding. That's always a big question in this first year. Another big one, starting solids, right, Lyndi? And I had a really great discussion on this in our baby led weaning conversation, a bonus episode that we offered, you can go hear all about that. We definitely couldn't get into that one today. That'd be the whole episode again. Yes. But yeah, conversations around how do we start solids and thinking about the highchair? What does that mean? How do we use it effectively? And you know, I had my own personal experience with postpartum depression as well. That was a reality that was affecting feeding for me and for my infant. And so there's a lot that happens in this first year.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes. And a lot that happens in terms of feeding. And I think this period of time, I think, well, we're almost at the end of it for our son. He's 11 months old, but this period was hard. Even though I came into his life with this depth of nutrition and feeding knowledge, I still had questions and was unsure about what I was doing and how to do it. So I feel like you can be an expert in it and still not know what the heck you're doing.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yeah, that's fair. So it is a time when we will have questions, even the most informed of us. There's lots of questions. Yeah. And I mean, and I do think, you know, the huge conversation often comes down to like how we feed our really tiny babies, right? The conversation around breastfeeding and formula feeding and tube feeding and what that looks like. So tell us about some of those recommendations.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yeah. So we know that you will read out there everywhere guidelines are that we should support breastfeeding for infants during the first year of life. And then in general, as a parent, we just have more oversight over the quality of food that our children are offered from one to three years old. They have a little bit, you know, obviously less autonomy. They can't go into the pantry for the most part, I guess. I'm not there yet. Maybe I'll start doing it. But, you know, we control more of what actually is being done to a degree, right? But you've already talked about your breastfeeding experience a little bit here. But the recommendations are to provide breast milk during that first year of life. But we also know that it's important for your baby to eat. So the phrase I always go by is breast is best.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. And yeah, I've shared in previous episodes. You're right about my experience with breastfeeding in that we were breastfeeding, and I was so set on it. And I thought there was no other way, right? Research said that there were benefits to it. And the realization that, this isn't working for my baby and for me, and that I wasn't able to be the parent. I want it but the impact of it not going well and me forcing myself into it, was having. And my child wasn't growing. My child was not getting adequate nutrition, even though we had a lot of support to try to breastfeed. And so I always like to say, these are recommendations meant for universal consumption, right? They're meant, in general, for all families, here's a recommendation. And luckily, we as parents can decide what's best for our family, for whatever multitude of reasons, for your health, for your baby's health, for your mental health, for your access, your time availability, so many factors to consider. This is a general recommendation that you can decide what makes the most sense for your family. Absolutely. Yeah. And yes, and I will say we feed hungry babies.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Hungry babies, yes, yeah. And there are supports. If you are feeling like you are struggling with breastfeeding, and you do want to continue on that journey to the best of your ability, you can always reach out to lactation consultants, or WIC is a very good resource that is provided to anyone in need. And whether it's help getting the tools and tips they need to breastfeed or access to formula, which we know in the recent time has been a difficult thing as well. So if you are struggling, look up that resource and see if it's right for you.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yeah, so lots of things related to breastfeeding and formula. And yeah, tapping into those resources we have available so that we can feed those hungry babies. So in addition, right, once our kids get a little bit older, we're talking about some food beyond just bottle, breast, tube feeding. Talk about some of these, I mean, what we like to call table foods, right?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yeah. So this is a fun or scary moment in life, right? So what about four to six months of age? It really depends on if your child is meeting those developmental milestones that are necessary for them to start getting fed table or complimentary food, you can start introducing that food. And then we know that up to one years of age babies should really be reliant on either breast milk or formula for their main feeding source. That table food is called complementary feeding because it's in addition to providing either breast milk or formula and then we should avoid cow's milk until they're at least one year old.
Mackenzie Johnson:That makes sense, yes. And so that opportunity to offer complimentary like this comes alongside the bottle or breastfeeding and so then thinking about the types of table food that are offered in our baby led weaning and you know, starting solids kind of bonus episode, we talked about some of the criteria when you might know when it's time to start feeding your baby solid food but what do we want to be thinking about as we offer those first foods?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:It probably won't come as a
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes, yes. But does he eat it now? surprise to any of you that I'm going to say fruits and vegetables should be introduced early and often as well so
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:No, he has not yet, not quite there yet providing them daily and having variety is in there as well. So always variety in color, variety in choice, diversity in the type yet.
Mackenzie Johnson:But maybe yet is the key word. of food you're offering and then repeated exposure. We talked about this before but you know, offering and offering again. This is something I struggled with my own son is like, oh, well you know, with first that we tried curry with him or like, oh, he doesn't like curry and then I had to remind myself, okay, we should maybe introduce it again and again and again.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yet, yet. But those are just some strategies that we can use. And then also just kind of getting into the the weeds just a little bit here. But after six months of age, you do have to be really aware of providing an adequate amount of iron for your baby. So that's a nutrient need at after those six months specifically, because especially for breastfed babies, that's when mothers' iron stores start to deplete a little bit. And so they might not be able to provide it through breast milk. So this is when you want to start looking for other sources that specifically obviously from food, which would be meat, seafood, iron, fortified cereals, those types of things. So that's something to definitely prioritize. It's something that I prioritize with our son. But then there are things, too, on the flip side that you really should avoid. So that's things with added sugar, salts, any kind of sugary drink, it's really recommended. American Academy of Pediatrics Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend no sugary beverages before the age of two years old.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. And so yeah, as we think about are under one year old. Yeah, that we're thinking of fruits and vegetables, a great place to start and then looking for sources of iron in the mix of that table food. And like you said, yeah, complimentary. So I guess okay, now, I'm curious. I have heard the phrase, food under one is just for fun. What are your thoughts on that?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:To a degree, right, like I just said, food is important especially if some formulas could have some fortified with or have added iron, right? Yes. But if your baby is breastfeeding, they might not get as much iron. So that table food, that complimentary food is really important, because that's where they're getting their iron. Right. So yeah, it is fun, but it's also necessary as well. And then going back to not only are we talking about their physical growth and development, we're thinking about their behavioral growth and development, introducing, you know, food for fun. It's like, okay, well, let's introduce, you know, this is an opportunity to introduce fruit and vegetables and start to acclimate them to those tastes that, you know, like that bitter that we talked about. So that they can, you know, hopefully grow up to continue to eat and enjoy those types of foods as well.
Mackenzie Johnson:And even their gross and fine motor, right, we talked about their pincher grasp, and those are skills they develop from eating table food. That's part of their development. That's not just food consumption. So yeah, okay, I just thought of it on the spot. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna ask Lyndi's thoughts on this? Right here now.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yeah. Oh, I like that you ask that. Yeah, there's a twofold answer that you hopefully get to introduce and encourage lifelong love of this type of food, too.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. Awesome. Okay. So then that moves us in to kind of the rest of the 1000 days. Our young toddlers, as our kids get a little bit older, looking at some recommendations and strategies. But first, let's talk about some of that reality. Yes, we may still be experiencing exhaustion. Yeah, you're getting ready. I think I said it before that you were transitioning into this stage. Yeah. You're transitioning into this stage, right?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:This is where we are at. And it is, it is still exhausting. Yeah, if not more exhausting.
Mackenzie Johnson:That's a whole just, I don't want to be like, oh, this just sticks around forever. But it's just different. It's just different. You know, one of the big ones in this stage where you think about phasing out bottles early in the stage. That's a big feeding thing. When I think about our young toddlers, we start to see more food preferences in our kids. You know, in their kind of toddlerhood and still child care. You know, and I do, I talk about when my daughter started preschool, so like I have to be in charge of your breakfast. Okay, that's new, I'm gonna have to figure that out. And we did. That was new for us, because I was used to my kids getting when
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:How often they give the food to the they were in full time childcare below that age of like three or four, breakfast, lunch and a snack. They got all of that at childcare, which really meant I was feeding them like one meal a day. And so what childcare was offering for food was the majority of what they were consuming. So yes, what childcare offers is a big component. Another kind of reality at this stage is that our kids are getting mobile, whether they are crawlers or climbers or I had a butt scooter which still just like, oh my gosh. Or they're walking, whatever that mobility might look like. We're looking at that and toddlerhood that can impact how they eat, where they eat, if they can sit long, right, how they sit long enough to eat and those things. A lot of reality. dog.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. Yes. My dog has set up permanent residence next to the youngest child. Very adept little creatures, those dogs are. Yeah, so there's a lot happening in these young toddler years. Let's look at some of these recommendations again. So what are some of the strategies and recommendations for our young toddlers?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:So probably not unfamiliar if you listen to the other episodes, but a lot of the strategies are going to persist for this age through older ages. But one of the things that we want to do and start doing at this age is respect the child's appetite. So provide them that autonomy support. And then also avoid those coercive clean your plate restrictive, you know, all those practices that we have talked about previously. And then also, you want to think about providing your child the right portion of food. So I know this is a hard one, I think, for me, because I feel like every parent who goes to your pediatrician is like, is he eating enough? Is he eating too little? And they're like, well, is he growing? Is he thriving? Is he healthy? I'm like, yes. They're like, well, then, you know, there are standards around portions of food, but also, you know, you can fall back on, is their proper development and growth. So that's one and then the last I'm gonna say here is, again, I think we've said this a lot. But please, try to avoid using food as a reward for good behavior, whether that be eating food that you want them to eat, or if they don't cry, and you give them food, just beware of using food as a reward.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. And you know, of all that, I think the thing that really stood out for me when my kids were in this stage was that food portion, right, like not an adult size, and especially as I think about not trying to coerce them into foods that were unfamiliar, that yeah, sometimes it was literally like a single green pepper. That was like the portion they were offered, because the goal was to get started. And so thinking about a not so overwhelming plate of food to their tiny little stomachs, was really, I mean, even still, I feel like a learning process. We are at the stage now where we ask our kids a little or a lot. Would you like a little of this? If it's a food that they can serve themselves, we try to let them but yeah, if it's something really messy, or really hot or whatever. And asking, Okay, do you want a little or a lot of this? And during this stage was when, my oldest never really took the baby signs but my youngest did a little. And so during this stage, we tried to do more or all done. Those are basically like the only two signs we used with our child. But yeah, could he tell us, okay, I want more of that, or I'm all done with this food? Things like that. And so that portion and yeah, how can we honor their cues at this age with this feeding?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes. Yeah. And maybe their cues, we tried to do some baby sign language, our son decided to make up his own sign language and more just meant slamming his hands on his high chair. Here we go! I want more!
Mackenzie Johnson:Yep. Oh, so what else are we looking at in addition to like, portions? Okay, so what are some other recommendations?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Other recommendations, I'm going to shift to, so this is again, we're thinking about transitioning away from bottles, right? Phasing out of bottles, going to a different source of liquids, per se. And then also, you know, changing where our focus of where our nutrition is coming from. So for one to three years old, this is when they transition to whole cow's milk. So the recommendation is whole cow's milk for a lot of reasons. One is going to have the fat and protein content that you're going to want to see for your little baby. I know that our society has, a lot of people will push skim milk, 1%. For babies, you want to do whole milk. Don't don't skimp out here, it's really important to provide that. And then also, a lot of whole milk milk in general is fortified with vitamin D, which is another vitamin nutrient of need for those kiddos.
Mackenzie Johnson:And I do need that fat content, they do need that vitamin D that's important to how they grow. So yeah, it might be counterintuitive in some ways, but that's what our kids need at this age.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yes, cow's whole milk. And if you do decide, whether it be for reasons of allergies or personal preferences, to do a plant based milk, I would recommend talking to your doctor, your dietician or healthcare professional about it. Right now the only substitute for cow's milk for plant base would be soy milk, and even then just look at the protein and fat content of it. See if it's comparable, if it's fortified with vitamin D, but those are really the only really the recommended alternative to whole cow's milk at this age.
Mackenzie Johnson:Okay, that's good to know. There's a lot of milk alternatives nowadays and so like which of these is okay. So soy milk is currently the only recommended alternative.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Well, I mean, I know plenty of kiddos Good to know. with allergies. So it's not to say there aren't those out there as well. Just make sure you're talking to a doctor or a dietitian that would be an expert in this area to find those best brands for your kids and not just buy something right off the shelf. Unless you feel like you're very confident about reading nutrition labels, which I would say a lot of people might not feel confident enough.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes, yes. And well, even just some conversations that we've had, you've talked about, like, the profile of what's in it, right, the balance of fat, vitamin D, you know, all the things they need. I can't even list them all, right? I've been doing this podcast with you and I don't remember all of them. But yeah, the profile of what's offered within that milk alternative is important to keep in mind for sure. One of the things I loved about these recommendations, you know, yeah, I love that it got into some of the specifics of which milks and thinking about some of the strategies we talked about and some of the practices in previous episodes. But I liked that it also talked about kind of just like non food feeding recommendations, which sounds a little like, what would you say, like an oxymoron, but some of the strategies beyond just what we feed our kids. Kind of the how that was important too, right?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yeah, definitely. I think screentime is a big one that you'll hear a lot of pediatricians and nutrition experts talk about. Because, one, you want to make sure that your children are able to focus on their feeding, right? If they're going to learn those hunger, those fullness cues, and maybe they won't be able to do that if they're in front of a screen. And then it also, in addition to that, offers that opportunity to sit with a parent and have them model the type of eating and feeding behaviors you want them to have.
Mackenzie Johnson:Oh, yeah, well, I mean, I think, yeah, if we sit down with a bag of chips in front of the TV, you know, how quick is that bag of chips gone? It's like, I really wasn't planning to eat the whole bag or I wasn't that hungry. And like, yeah, is that the modeling I want to be doing? Maybe not. But yeah, so it makes sense that a screen can be a distraction for adults too, from listening to those hunger fullness cues. So yeah, that's interesting. And then there was a little bit around like sleep and moving our body too, right?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yeah. So encouraging kids to be physically physically active and then get, you know, an adequate amount of sleep if, you know, that's possible. I know it's not always. You know the parents want it, it's just the child at this age, but really supporting the environment to allow them to do that. The activities will help one with that, you know, you talked about energy in, energy out that that energy balance, but it will also help your kiddos if they're active, and they get enough sleep, then they will be hungry. And they will, you know, eat the food that they should be eating.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. One that I think of the overall, you know, regulation that goes into how their body regulates with that energy consumption is energy rest. That doesn't make any sense. But like sleep, that's what I want to call it, energy consumption, eating food, energy output.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:We're no longer calling it sleep. It's energy rest. Now. Yes, energy rest.
Mackenzie Johnson:Makes no sense but that's what feels right. Energy consumption, energy rest, energy output is like the regulation cycle of the body now. Okay. You heard it here. I feel like no researchers will buy into it, but we're gonna go with it. So, yeah, that all those things kind of work together and do impact our child's overall health, which is the goal, right, when we're talking about healthy independent eaters, healthful kids. Okay, so we've covered pregnancy, we've covered the first year, and then the rest of the 1000 days. As we think about that, I just want to, we kind of wrapped in our strategies at each age, but I just want to give you like one more chance, if you're gonna give final advice, final words of insight and wisdom to parents thinking about this first 1000 days and food, what would you say? What will you say because I'm asking.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yeah, I mean, it's 1000 days, which sounds like a long time, but you know, it's not a lot of time. But it is, again, this opportunity, this window to have this impact on your child's life and offer them the foods that are going to benefit them for forever, not only in terms of their physical growth, but their behavioral growth as well. And just to reassure you that there's lots of resources out there to to help you navigate this that we didn't talk about today, because we don't have the time. So Dietary Guidelines for Americans is one that I recommended. MyPlate associated with dietary guidelines, the American Academy for Pediatrics all have really great tools and tips to help support your journey in the first 1000 days of life.
Mackenzie Johnson:Oh awesome. Yes, so many great resources. And I think, okay, I asked the question but, I'm like, I want to answer it, though, too. Offer my food expertise. But just from a balanced perspective, I think, or I hope it's balanced. You know, as a parent myself and thinking about the feeding and the pressure we often put on these, you know, first 1000 days and the transitions we're experiencing, and that all of these decisions are wrapped in, I mean, those nesting dolls of like, who is my child? Who am I? What are our values? What are our practices? What are the realities of the support that I have, like my mental health and the community around us and where we live and food. There's these huge things that all influence what our kids eat, like, let's not forget, and that we make food decisions within that reality. You know, like how much food we have access to, where we get our food, what type of food. And I also like to remind parents, your experience as a parent is an important decision factor in these things too, right? That like your own mental health, your own sanity, and those things, not that one is the biggest priority, and that none of the rest exists. But these all coexist, so make decisions based on all of them together. So yeah, as we share guidelines, I was like, okay, and, right, not saying we don't want to fallow, but like, we can take them in to help make our decisions. And I think that's what is important. So I think that brings us, I asked you a last final advice. And now we're going to bring in Mackenzie DeJong, our podcast producer, to ask us, hopefully not too tricky, but a question about our topic today.
Mackenzie DeJong:Actually, the funny thing is, I think that the question that Barb and I, Barb, came up with was, it's kind of along the same lines. It's kind of like an add on to that I actually want part it was going to be a two part question. You kind of answered some of it. But so if, say I'm a parent, and whether it be in the breastfeeding or bottle feeding stage, or as I'm starting to introduce table foods, even as I'm introducing, like cow's milk, and that if I noticed that like there's an issue, if I have a fussy baby that, you know, it's continued. My baby is continually like seeming to, you know, that food's not agreeing with her. My baby, they're starting to show, you know, maybe those dietary issues. First, I guess the two part question is, first of all, like, where do I start? What do I do if all of a sudden, I'm noticing one of my nephews is lactose intolerant? Where would you start as you start introducing that cow's milk? What do I do if I don't know and if I don't have those resources or formula, those sorts of things. And then the other side of it is, what can I do to support my own mental health? Because that is really, really tough and really, really stressful. And II'm not a parent, yet. But for those parents that are dealing with this, what recommendations would you give?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Well, I feel more prepared to answer the first part of that question. And I feel prepared to answer the second part. I would love to hear what you say about that second part. Because yeah, we all need that. But for resources, I mean, I think the first line of defense for any of that is to go to your pediatrician, and ask them, ask that healthcare professional, and then they might send you to an expert in this area. So there are wonderful pediatric dieticians and I'm a dietitian. So I'm biased here that I'll provide tips and tools and resources and are just, you know, have the toolbox prepared to guide parents through allergies or intolerances, those types of things. And there's some great, even reputable resources on social media that, you know, I think you can find, but again, look for someone who's a pediatrician or a dietician or has that background to provide that information. But I would say go go to your pediatrician and ask them for that advice first, and then they will provide additional resources. And then I already mentioned this, but I think WIC, you can use that from pregnancy all the way to up to the age of five, a family can use it. So that is a great way because not only will they provide you supplemental funds to go buy more food, to go buy the type of food you need. They're also going to, you know, provide you some nutrition screening and some education and things like that as well.
Mackenzie DeJong:Um, quick question about WIC. WIC is Women, Infants and Children, right, is what it stands for. And it's a federal program available to basically anyone pregnancy through five, right? Where are the other guidelines?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:There are some other guidelines largely around if you need it for like a nutritional inadequacy reasons or income reasons. And it is a federal program that's facilitated and administered by the state so you would go through your state to get on WIC.
Mackenzie DeJong:All right. Thank you.
Mackenzie Johnson:All right. Yeah, in speaking to the kind of mental health side of these decisions, one, the variety of emotions of like, guilt, of shame, of is this happening to my child because of what I did? Right. So there's this huge variety of emotions we can experience when there are challenges with feeding because it is critical, right? Like they need to grow and all those things. And so I think one part is acknowledging, like, you're allowed to have those feelings. Don't should yourself, as Mackenzie DeJong has taught us to say. Right, validate those feelings, that you're allowed to feel them. You know, seek support, whether that's a mental health professional, a family or friend, but someone that can kind of validate what you're experiencing, who can be supportive of the decisions that you're making. Another thing that I hope can kind of provide you some optimism as a listener, if you're experiencing this too, there are some studies that show that basically, it can be more complex than this, but essentially, that when parents have a concern, they tend to be on the right track. So if you have a feeling, you have these instincts, you know your child, not necessarily like I had a concern and it was because of this huge thing. But if you have the concern, ask the question, is kind of generally what I would say. And so trusting that you do have good instincts, that you do know your child, what they're typically like, trusting yourself with that. And then yeah, I always say, seeking out that support for mental health. I'm in therapy, I've been in therapy at lots of different points of my life. I'm a big proponent of it. I know access to that can be challenging, you know, but that there's a lot of information and trustworthy information from different organizations too, that becoming a parent is a huge transition time in your mental health and your hormones and all these things. And so that it's okay to seek professional help for those things. And especially as you think about supporting it, so you can be the kind of parent you want to be. And there's been times in my parenting journey where I haven't felt like the kind of parent I wanted to be because of my mental health. So big proponent. Your life matters, too, and the experience that your kids have. So if you're having a hard time, like you're not able to parent the way you want, so that's my soapbox. Your mental health is definitely a significant thing and lots of emotions that go with it.
Mackenzie DeJong:Yeah, and just as an aside, I totally didn't mean to set this up for this, but we have done a season on self care for parents. Season, was that two? You know, if you're looking for ways to better take care of yourself, go back and listen to that and look for other resources. We have lots of resources through Extension, or like Mackenzie said, seek out a therapist, but sometimes it's hard to start there. So sometimes those easier, more public resources might be easier to access. And an easier bite to take of those resources.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Good food pun.
Mackenzie Johnson:She said a food pun. I've wanted to say low hanging fruit,low hanging fruit, and I didn't even mean to. Mackenzie's in the tally.
Mackenzie DeJong:I'm gonna have to as I'm editing all these episodes, you know, just keep adding. Well, thank you.
Mackenzie Johnson:Yes. Thanks for the question, Kenz. There's a lot of good stuff on feeding in this first 1000 days. I mean, thanks for sharing lots of great recommendations with us, Lyndi and thinking about there's different stages, there's reality that impacts it, ultimately, you know, kind of this idea of variety, that division of responsibility that we get to provide our kids with lots of important nutrition for their growth and development in this first 1000 days. So that's what we were looking at today, and where are we moving next, Lyndi, what's next week?
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Okay, so next week, we're just moving up in age. And we're going to look at preschoolers and school aged kids and talking about, obviously food.
Mackenzie Johnson:It's still, still food. Yes, we're excited to dig in to kind of this older age. So thanks for joining us on The Science of Parenting podcast today. If you haven't heard, we are available for questions. If you have them, you can email us at parenting@iastate.edu with your parenting questions and this season, even with your food questions, we'll pass them along to our expert, Lyndi.
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt:Yes, yes. Okay. So come along with us as we tackle the ups and downs, the ins and outs, and the research and reality all around The Science of Parenting.
Anthony Santiago:The Science of Parenting is hosted by Mackenzie Johnson, produced by Mackenzie DeJong, with research and writing by Barbara Dunn Swanson. Send in questions and comments to parenting@iastate.edu and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. For the full non-discrimination statement or accommodation inquiries go to www.extension.iastate.edu/diversity/ext