SCI-228 Week 7 Lab Assignment:Toddler – Graded An A+

SCI-228 Week 7 Lab Assignment:Toddler – Graded An A+ For this week’s nutrition topic of the different stages and lifecycles I chose a subject that hits close to hom e due to having one of them running around with me at home; a toddler. For this reason, I thought it would be not only fun but personally beneficial to further explore and discuss the toddler stage of the life cycle. The toddler stage is one that follows the transition out of infancy and opens new exciting doors to endless adventures due to their newfound abilities such as walking, talking more and being able to be a bit more independent with their motor skills and activities. The age period that the toddler stage falls into is the second and third years of life and usually results in the toddler growing anywhere between 5.5 to 7.5 inches in height and gaining an overall average of 9 to 11 pounds. Due to the transitional growth spurt, toddlers can burn through more of their overall energy than they did during their infancy. The overall needed nutritional values constantly change throughout each and every lifecycle and progresses just as we do as we make our way through the lifecycle. While this stage in the life cycle is a bit slower than the others it still requires more amounts of energy as well as nutrients due to the overall body mass being larger and the energy required to fuel this larger mass is significantly higher than that of an infant due to its lack of mobility and overall physical activity. One of the main concerns and potential nutritional challenges that some toddlers can face is not getting enough of the needed nutrients and minerals into their body such as calcium and iron. Calcium is a key necessity due to it being what promotes optimal bone mass to make sure the bones are not only healthy but growing strong. Iron is important for the growing body and its lack of presence in the body can result in lack of energy and which can also negatively impact overall moods as well as attention spans in the growing toddler. While a toddler’s body is less likely to lose fluids than it did during its earlier stages of infancy their bodies are also seeing more physical activity which can result in the loss of some hydration within the body. For this reason, it is important to ensure toddlers are getting the recommended intake of proteins, minerals, and nutrients in their daily diet and maintaining the proper hydration levels for the body. Some physicians recommend some additional support to the diet such as multivitamins due to the overall unpredictive nature of a toddler’s eating habits as well as potential new allergies that can develop and surface over time. Below you will find a recommended dietary meal plan as well as overall nutritional guideline to that would be most beneficial to a growing toddler as it provides the recommended amount of nutritional values to help fuel the body as well as offering additional key elements to assist in their overall growth and replace what is lost throughout their daily physical activity