Define Growth and Development of Infants and Preschoolers?

In this unit, we learnt about the various aspects related to the growth and development of infants and preschoolers. We had a brief insight on their nutritional requirements starting with energy, the proximate principles, vitamins and minerals. We also got to know about the diet and feeding patterns. Here we got some handy tips about this nutrition as well. We also learnt about the benefits of exclusive breast-feeding and different stages at which different types of foods to be given,

In case of preschoolers, we learnt why this stage is crucial from nutritional standpoint. We saw that how parents and caretakers can participate in forming/developing the food choices of children. Here also we got to know about handy tips on how to feed preschoolers keeping in mind their special needs, likes and dislikes and imitation behaviours. Finally, we had a look at the nutrition intervention programmes launched by Government of India to meet nutrition and health objectives particularly for these age-groups, we also had a brief discussion on the common nutritional problems that need to be looked into along with their preventive measures.