“Good Nutrition is a foundation of a child’s survival, health, and development”
The 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday offer a brief but critical window of opportunity to shape a child’s development. This time is considered to be the chance for potential and at the same time a period of vulnerability. How well or poor the nutrition the child receives during his/her first 1,000 days can equate to the difference between a bright future he/she will experience or one characterized by struggle.
Nutrition has been called the greatest influence on babies in the womb, during infancy, and throughout the first years of life. In the first 1,000 days of a child, good nutrition is important for it provides the fuel that drives a child's early development. Also, it is considered to be the bedrock of the child’s survival and development due to the reason that the brain grows rapidly during this time and a child needs the right nutrients at the right time to feed her brain’s rapid development.
Pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood are the three important stages in the child’s first 1,000 days. In each stage, the developing brain is susceptible to poor nutrition. The absence of the right nutrients essential for cognitive functioning and neural connection may cause an adverse long-term effect on the child’s health. As the effect of poor nutrition in the child’s first 1,000 days is long-lasting, the family must understand the importance of good nutrition and how to ensure that the children will get the nutrition they need.
References
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2009). Five Numbers to Remember About Early Childhood Development (Brief). Retrieved from www. developingchild.harvard.edu.
Think babies. (n.d.). Nutrition in the first 1,000 Days. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://thousanddays.org/wp-content/uploads/1000Days-Nutrition_Brief_Brain-Think_Babies_FINAL.pdf
UNICEF. (n.d.). Nutrition. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/nutrition#:%7E:text=UNICEF%2FUN0253412%2FPasquall,Good%20nutrition%20is%20the%20bedrock%20of%20child%20survival%20and%20development,need%20to%20survive%20and%20thrive.