The human brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of poor nutrition during the early years of development, and most preschool diets are either average or impoverished.[1]

Young brains need many nutrients for learning. Food additives and Deficiencies in some nutrients have been linked to ADD and ADHD.

Some guidelines that can help are:
No Soft Drinks - At least till the age of 5, and then only as an occasional treat. Replace Soft drinks with Water, Natural Fruit Juices (Without corn Syrup or Fructose Sweeteners), and Low fat Milk.
Limit Potato Chips, Donuts, Pop-Tarts, and Cookies. These should be a treat and healthier alternatives like whole grain pretzels or baked chips, fruits like bananas, sliced apples, grapes, and watermelon are ideal snack choices. ... read more >>

Mince Baskets

Suitable for toddlers

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Basic Mince Mixture - Ingredients

1 Tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
500g lean beef or lamb mince
2 Tbsp tomato purée
420g jar pasta sauce
1 tsp mixed herbs or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (optional)
8 slices fresh bread, crusts removed

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan, and cook the onion gently for 5-6 minutes, until tender. Add the mince, breaking up with the back of a spoon to form small pieces until cooked thoroughly and no longer pink. Stir in tomato purée, canned tomatoes and herbs. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes until reduced and thick, but still moist. Set aside. ... read more >>

This is an area that i struggle with – cooking for a 10 month old and a couple of 30+ year olds. Its a little easier with a 10 month as Im not going to cook an Indian Vindaloo of some sort but surely veges just don’t cut the mustard anymore!

So what I have is a recipe that I believe Dad’s can cook and make not only for the adults but their little ones also!

Meaty Hot Pot
Suitable from 6 months

Ingredients
• 500g diced beef or lamb casserole meat such as beef chuck, blade steak or boneless lamb
• 420g can baked beans
• ½ small swede (or kumara), peeled and cubed
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato purée*
• 1¼ cups water
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp oil

Method
1. In a large casserole dish, mix together the meat, beans, swede or kumara, carrots, onion and tomato purée.
2. Stir the water into the casserole mix. ... read more >>

My little girl is becoming vastly progressive with her toleration for foods, or rather her intoleration for some foods. We have a very basic foods strategy which is make sure she tries as much as possible within reason and hopefully she will like it, I think there is too much pressure on both parents and child to like all the things that they give!

So what are some tips that I have found work for us when you have a 10 month old who thinks all food is not equal and will eat what she likes.

• Offer a variety of different food’s
• Keep them on a particular food for a few days so that they know what they like and don’t like
• Fibre comes from fruits, vegetables, breads and cereals
• Children do like fat in their diet and burn it off quicker then adults do
• Water is a great thirst quencher at all meals – avoid fruit juice and carbonated water drinks
• From 12 months on children can drink cows milk or toddler milk. ... read more >>

Becoming a father again, I would had thought I would already know many tips and tricks with looking after and raising a baby, and I do...

However getting wind out of Ava has proven to be a struggle, normal techniques of patting and rubbing her back while over my shoulder while gets some results after some time is not enough, to clear the blue colouring around her face (sign of gas in the body). Even the football hold with Ava lying face down on my arm then patting her back gets more farts than burps... farts are ok too I guess.
Changing her position from horizontal to upright over the shoulder sometimes helps shift the gas inside her. ... read more >>

Now that our little champ has pushed out his first two teeth and we are (anxiously) awaiting the next ones to emerge I was wondering what the usual sequence for teething is anyway. Well - as it turns out the good people of the "Journal of American Dental Association" already did some research back in 1974 to answer exactly that question.

[image by sedron.com]

Eruption Sequence of baby teeth (also called "Deciduous Teeth" or "Primary Teeth") in months after birth:

By Bill

As the parent of a toddler I’m continuously shocked by my misconceptions of what kind of parent I was going to be back when I was yet to have one. It’s something we all go through when we start thinking about kids. I remember seeing a parent lose control once at a retail store and thinking “If that was my kid there would be none of that. No sir! My child will know who the boss is” Which didn’t turn out to be too far from the truth, because let’s face it we both know he’s the boss. I’d visit friends with children and look around in amazement at the warehouse of toys that dared to take over their entire home. Again I’d say, “My child will know the joys of playing outside. Forget video games and personal DVD players. My child will like to read and will be able to carry on an actual conversation without referring to Pokeman or Yugi-o” Two years later Blue and Steve seem to be on an endless hunt for the latest clue and it’s a wonder the wonder pets ever get turned off. ... read more >>

My 9-month old son has developed a new habit - eating. Apart from eating food he also eats lots of other things ... here's my top 10 list of things he has been trying to eat lately: ... read more >>

I have just watched a must see for all expecting and new fathers.

“Seven Steps to Baby Bliss” from www.dadstheword.com is not only very practical for expectant and new fathers it is also pretty funny too.

I felt it was totally aimed at fathers as the target audience, but I also believe it would have great benefit watching this DVD with your partner.

The role of the dad is highlighted says the back cover, and I completely agree.

In 28 minutes the “Seven Steps to Baby Bliss” DVD shows you how to:
* Settle a crying baby
* Bathing a baby
* Step by step guide and tips on nappy changing for both baby girls and baby boys
* Feeding a baby
* Baby massage
* Dressing your baby
* And SIDS prevention
* Relationship after baby

from www.dadstheword.com ... read more >>

I was really looking forward to the day when we could finally start feeding our little one other foods (other than breast milk) … and he took to it really well! The problem is at the other end though – we’re back to the constipation scenario now. After the usual trial and error process we found out that baby rice really isn’t great for our baby’s bowel movements.

We’ve had a history of constipation with Noah over the last few months. Apparently it is unusual for breast fed babies to have this problem but well … it just happened. Fortunately it usually cleared again after a week or so and using prune juice certainly helped. As soon as we started with baby rice that strategy went down the toilet … or actually it didn’t. The stuff is literally like glue – no matter how much water you add it always ends up sticky after a given period. I tried this out by just letting it sit in a cup with water for a while and baby rice really has an amazing capacity to absorb water. Obviously it keeps doing that even after it’s been swallowed! ... read more >>