This is the one thing health experts advise parents to do at mealtimes

Manners might be very important, but they should come last for baby say health experts.

Parents know all too well how difficult it can be getting wholesome and nutritious food into baby at meal times. But there’s one thing we parents need to let babies do in order for this to happen. Let them play with it!   New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) gave some pointers as to how we can make mealtimes that bit better for baby. This particular advice came about due to a concern for kids who are underweight or suffering from faltering growth. Faltering growth – or slow weight gain in early childhood – has been linked to a higher risk of infections and lower IQ. Direct causes can be difficult to pin-point but the root of the problem often relates to behaviours surrounding feeding time as well as diet. Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE said,

“Having a child with faltering growth can be distressing for parents and carers. However, simple things such as encouraging relaxed and enjoyable feeding and mealtimes, eating together as a family or even allowing young children to be ‘messy’ with their food can help encourage them to eat.” “This guideline should also help healthcare professionals identify more complex cases of faltering growth for referral to specialist services. This should give all infants and children with faltering growth the best chance of reaching a healthy weight.”

What relaxing and enjoyable for baby? Playtime of course. If we can manage (without entirely losing our minds over the mess) to make food fun - pull it apart, explore it, taste it and amuse ourselves with it - baby is sure to enjoy that nutricious stuff so much more. After all, who really needs napkins or cutlery? Further advice was to not make mealtimes too short or too long and to avoid giving kids sweet treats and soft drinks, not only because they are unhealthy but because they can kill appetites. If any parent suspects their child might be underweight you should contact your doctor. A child’s weight is measured using a chart which compares weight and height to infants of the same age and gender. Measurements might be slightly off but if it’s over two centile lines (unit of measurement used) further action may need to be taken. However, providing nourishing foods and bringing the fun back to mealtime should have baby fit and happy no bother.