Abbott brought together leading experts to form India’s first ever Grow Right Guild that developed the Grow Right Charter guidelines across four critical growth parameters – nutrition, play, nurture, and impact. The Grow Right charter defines right growth as a combination of physical, cognitive and mental progress that should be observed carefully and holistically during the foundation years of childhood. The guidelines include:
- Right Nutrition guidelines will help parents better manage mealtimes and ensure a complete and balanced diet for their toddlers.
- Right Play addresses the growing concern among parents about unchecked screen-time and inadequate playtime by defining appropriate ways to creatively engage with toddlers.
- Right Nurture guidelines are designed to assist evolving behavioral trends in response to increasingly dynamic influences a toddler faces in today’s digitized world.
- Right Impact guidelines will help toddler parents identify and manage red flags in key growth and development markers.
Dr. Irfan Shaikh, Head Pediatric Nutrition – Scientific & Medical Affairs, Abbott Nutrition said, “Problems with eating habits may lead to significant negative nutritional, developmental and behavioral issues in toddlers. Early recognition and management are key to addressing this concern. During early childhood, the brain develops rapidly and is particularly sensitive to the external environment. WHO also recommends 60-minutes of vigorous physical activity or play per day as it provides additional health benefits. It is alarming to see that most Indian children are not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity*.”
Addressing a frequently asked query by toddler moms, Grow Right Guild member, nutritionist Dr. Eileen Canday, decoded micronutrient deficiency saying, “Hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiencies are the most common issues we see in toddlers today. As foods become more accessible outside homes — at malls, restaurants, and through online food delivery, parents’ job of ensuring that their toddler is receiving the right nutrition becomes tougher. While these make the child seem full, they lack key micro and macronutrients. One way to deal with this is to, pick the occasions carefully to eat out! You can eat out, but make sure to choose healthy foods, and let the selection of the meals be guided by the ingredients.”
Dr. Suman Poddar, emphasized on the importance of understanding growth in toddlers, “Childhood is a period of rapid growth and development and is a critical phase, which lays the foundation for markers of a healthy adult life. The average growth* of a child from the age of two till the growth spurt at puberty continues at a rate of approximately 6–8 cm per year, and 2 kg per year. However, every child has a unique pace of growth which may vary, and parents must rely on established standards – like the World Health Organization growth charts for growth measurements.”
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