Every mother knows about the importance of meat products in children's nutrition. From meat, babies get important nutrients, including proteins, iron, amino acids, calcium and some vitamins. Insufficient use of them can provoke developmental delays and various health problems. So there is no dispute about the advisability of including chicken or beef in the children's menu.
However, many adults choose sausages and other sausages as a substitute for meat products for their diet. And when a baby appears in the family, they are interested in whether it is permissible to give sausage in childhood, for example, to a one-year-old child.
Benefit or harm?
Foods like sausages and sausages are enjoyed by most children. They are quick and easy to prepare, but does the child need this semi-finished product?
To determine their attitude to sausages in the nutrition of children, every mother needs to know about such nuances:
- Although sausage is considered a meat delicacy and meat is indeed the main ingredient of this product, the composition of almost all sausages and sausages includes many other components. among which there may be harmful for children. Leather, soy, dyes, preservatives, and flavorings are added to the sausage. A child may be allergic to any of these added ingredients.
- For a rich, pleasant taste, various chemical compounds are added to the boiled sausage, as well as a lot of salt and spices. These foods are undesirable in the children's diet. In addition, due to the pronounced taste of the sausage, the child may refuse natural meat.
- Sausage is permissible in the diet only as an emergency replacement for meat products, for example, if mom didn't have time to cook dinner. Therefore, you cannot regularly feed children with sausages.
- When buying sausage in a store, mom is not insured against buying a stale product, after all, the shelf life of high-quality sausages is short. Symptoms of poor quality sausage poisoning include nausea, weakness, vomiting, loose stools, and abdominal pain. If they appear, the child should be immediately shown to a doctor.
The assortment of sausages in stores now includes sausages and sausages labeled "for children" or "for children". These foods are lower in salt, nitrates and fats. In addition, baby sausage is regularly checked for various toxic compounds.
How old is sausage
The opinion of most pediatricians, from what age there are sausages, even if they are intended for children, provides for the limitation of such semi-finished products to the age of 2-3 years.
When a child tastes sausage, it should be included in the diet no more than 1 time a week. At the same time, sausages are generally not recommended for children with obesity, diseases of the digestive tract or allergies.
Blood sausage, even if made at home, should not be given until age 5. Smoked or dried sausage should not be given to children under 7 years old.
How to choose a sausage for a child
- When buying sausages that a child will eat, you need to carefully study their packaging.
- Choose a product with a low fat content and a minimum list of ingredients.
- In the diet of children, chicken or turkey sausages are more preferable.
- If it is not possible to buy sausage labeled "for children", you can purchase a product with "doctor's" or "dairy" in the name.
- Try the sausage yourself before giving it to your child. If the food is sour, salty or spicy, it is not suitable for baby food.
- Pay attention to the expiration dates of the sausage products. Keep an open package of sausages in the refrigerator for no longer than two days.
How to cook at home
If the mother is worried about the child's great love for sausages and is thinking about how to wean the toddler from sausages, you can try replacing the sausages from the store with a homemade analogue.
The recipe for homemade sausages involves the use of chopped natural meat (often chicken fillet). Minced meat is mixed with a few tablespoons of milk or a beaten egg, and then salted to taste. Sometimes other foods are added, such as pieces of boiled vegetables or cheese.
The finished minced meat is wrapped in foil or a baking bag cut into rectangles. The ends of the packaging material are twisted to form a "sausage". Next, the semi-finished product is boiled or baked until tender.
This homemade "sausage" can also be frozen to quickly cook for a child for lunch or dinner, if necessary.
For the dangers of purchased sausage products and the provocation of cancerous tumors, see the program "Live Healthy".
Find out if your child's weight is normal using the following calculator.
