The importance of nutrition during infancy and toddler hood period should not be undermined. Every individual requires proper nutrition starting from birth to ensure proper development and health. The right balance of micronutrients during infancy and toddler hood is important for having healthy blood, neural development, and formation of bones, healthy vision, and healthy skin. Hence, parents should be extremely careful about what foods the infants and toddlers eat to ensure that all is well with them and that they get the right amount of micronutrients.

Usually, it is recommended that infants be breastfed to ensure that they get the nutrients from the mother's milk. In addition, breastfeeding also ensures that the infant gets the immunity to fight diseases and illnesses. Usually, when the baby is in the womb, it gets protected by the mother's immune system. After birth, the baby has to get used to the life outside the womb and this can lead the baby to become susceptible to infections and diseases. Having mother's milk offers the immunity to fight several infections and diseases as it maintains the maternal-fetal immunological connection even after birth. As the infant keeps getting immune agents through the mother's milk, is less prone to get infections that the immature immune system of the infant does not have the ability to destroy.

When the infant reaches 6 months of age, it is time to introduce solid foods that are rich in iron. These foods promote the growth and development of the infant. Usually, kids grow the fastest in their first 3 years and this growth has to be supported by proper nutrition and diet. When the infant and toddler have proper nutrition during the first 3 years of their lives, it will promote health in the later stages of their lives.

In addition, it has also been seen that kids tend to develop taste for food in their infancy and toddler hood. Hence, giving the right kinds of food is very important. Kids who are given fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates and lean meats will develop taste for these kinds of food and later in life they will continue to select these foods which are high in vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, kids that are fed with foods that are high in sodium and fats and have low nutritional value will tend to select these foods later in life and end up with health problems like obesity.

Hence, the importance of nutrition during infancy and toddler hood period should be considered carefully by parents and only foods that have high nutrition value should be fed to infants and toddlers.

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