Parents, caregivers and new families got an opportunity to learn more about feeding with their infants at an information session at the Moose Jaw Public Library on Thursday.
They were able to receive notable tips on Feeding Baby Family Foods in a session led by Melanie Warken, registered dietician and public health nutritionist for the Moose Jaw area.
Warken talked about developing a healthy feeding relationship with your baby and how this deepens parent/child bonding. She discussed how to feed babies and children — the feeding relationship, food exposure and eating structure for babies. She also talked about what to feed babies — textures and types of foods to offer and protecting the baby while doing so.
She says sessions like this one is important for the community in order to provide important information and answer critical questions parents may have.
“We find that parents usually have a lot of questions about introducing solid foods to their babies and when they’re developmentally ready. Therefore, I think it is important to be able to have some of that best practises information available to them, so they feel confident in being able to safely feed their babies.”
During the session, Warken emphasized the importance of developing what she calls a ‘feeding relationship’ with your infant. She noted that the interaction(s) between you and your child during meal and snack times influences how your child develops and their attitudes towards food and eating.
“One of the most important things that we wanted to bring across in this session is the importance of establishing and maintaining a healthy feeding relationship between you and your child so that children can learn how to have a healthy relationship with food as they grow older,” Warken said.
Breanne Brooks, who attended the session with her three-month-old, said the meeting was very helpful and her questions were answered.
“I enjoyed being at the session today. It was really informative. I thought it was important to get some of the questions I had answered and to be able to talk to someone about it.”
If parents or caregivers want to access this kind of information and resources locally, Warken says, “persons can do that through one of two ways; a public health nurse is always a good point of contact surrounding infant feeding. So, if anyone has questions, they can contact their local public health nurse or unit. They can also contact locally, the Moose Jaw South Central Early Childhood Coalition and follow its Facebook page online for upcoming events like this one that facilitates any questions families may have.”
