The concept of "nutritional standards" has existed for a long time, however, the norms themselves are constantly changing.
So how then to understand how much cottage cheese can a child have?
When to start introducing it into complementary foods, and to what extent can children not be limited in their consumption of cottage cheese?
World Health Organization Nutrition Standards: How much cottage cheese can a child have before one year and after?
Nutrient feeding institutes of the Institute of Nutrition imply the absence of complementary foods per se for up to 6 months. At this time, the baby eats only breast milk from the mother or the adapted infant formula. From the moment the baby is 6 months old, his body can already begin to be prepared for the transition to "adult" food.
In particular, we consider methodological recommendations for the WHO European Region with a special emphasis on the republics of the former Soviet Union “Feeding and nutrition of infants and young children”.
According to this scheme, it was found that starting from 6 months of age, children can be given a small amount of cottage cheese diluted in kefir. Lure should begin with the introduction of kefir (no more than 3-4 teaspoons). With a normal reaction of the body to a new product from the next day, you can increase the amount of kefir in 2 times and continue to gradually add up to 150 ml. After the child begins to eat 150 ml of kefir, 1 teaspoon of cottage cheese can be diluted in it, the next day 2 teaspoons, etc. up to 30 g per day.
Received a full meal (150 ml of kefir + 30 g of cottage cheese) is stored until the child reaches the age of 9 months. From 9 months you can increase the amount of cottage cheese up to 50 g per day. This amount of cottage cheese contains the necessary trace elements for children under the age of 10 years. From 10 years, the consumption rate of cottage cheese increases to 70 g.
Particular attention should be paid to the fact that children under 3 years old are recommended to give only natural (home) cottage cheese or cottage cheese from dairy cuisine. At this time, the children's body is extremely susceptible to various additives that are used in store cottage cheese, and can react with the appearance of an allergic reaction to the components that make up the cottage cheese.
How much cottage cheese can a child have? Practical Pediatric Tips
If you ask the local pediatrician about how much cottage cheese can be for a child up to a year and after, the doctor, of course, will answer the question as recommended by WHO. However, there are many nuances with the introduction of complementary foods and the subsequent organization of nutrition of the child. There are children who categorically refuse to eat cottage cheese, or, conversely, love it very much and ask for more than is prescribed in the norms. Practicing pediatricians in this case recommend not to insist on a daily intake of strictly 30 g of cottage cheese, but to diversify the menu and offer an alternative to the baby.
The main criterion to be guided by is the physical health of the baby, normal weight gain, psychomotor development according to age. If all these indicators are normal, then only reasonable restrictions should be introduced on the content of cottage cheese in the diet of the child. For example, if a child does not eat cottage cheese on a daily basis, and this does not affect his growth and development in any way, one should not worry too much about this. Children over 12 months old can be offered processed cottage cheese dishes: lazy dumplings, cottage cheese pancakes, soufflés and casseroles.
Limiting the maximum amount of cottage cheese per day for children should still be. If we are talking about the norm of 30 g for children under 9 months, this means that 30 g is the maximum amount of cottage cheese per day that a child can eat without harm to health. For children from 9 months to 10 years, the consumption rate ranges from +/- 10 g from 50 g recommended by WHO. Children over 11 years old can eat up to 100 g of cottage cheese per day, provided that the norm is not exceeded daily.
The well-known Ukrainian pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky holds the same position. When parents ask him how much cottage cheese a child can take up to a year and after, he replies that the concept of "norm" should not be considered too literally. If the institute of nutrition has established a daily norm, this does not mean at all that the child's nutrition should become uniform in the quantity and quality of food. On one day, the baby can eat less cottage cheese on a spoon, on another day, do not eat this product more or even within a few weeks. With a healthy child, due to such deviations in nutrition, nothing terrible will happen and will not harm his health.
Pediatricians pay special attention to the appearance of deviations in the development of the child. If the dentist noticed white streaks on the child’s teeth, this means that the child does not receive enough calcium with food. In this case, it is simply necessary to introduce cottage cheese into the daily diet of the child. Other signs of calcium deficiency can be poor sleep, excitability, a child’s moodiness, cramps in the limbs, complaints of pain in the gums.
What can replace the curd? How much cottage cheese can a child with allergies
The basic rule for the baby’s parents should be the principle of a varied diet rich in vitamins and microelements, which includes a sufficient amount of vegetables, fruits, cereals, meat and dairy products. Children must receive a balanced diet in accordance with age. However, a balanced diet is not even determined by the daily intake of a certain amount of products, but by the content of trace elements in them. Cottage cheese is a source of milk protein, calcium, phosphorus and the amino acid methionine, which is important for the body.
If for some reason a child cannot eat cottage cheese (does not like or has an allergic reaction to cow's milk protein), this does not mean that the absence of cottage cheese in the diet will necessarily lead to a lack of other substances in the body. A large amount of calcium is found in eggs, fish, shrimp and even vegetables (carrots, cabbage, onions).
In children under the age of 3, allergy to cow's milk protein is by no means a rare occurrence, so you should not experiment with a child. It is better not to give cottage cheese at all if the body reacts in this way to dairy products.
