NUTRITION: A BOON TO HEALTHY EARLY CHILDHOOD

Food!! The word food itself holds a very important role in everyones lives. The food we eat gives us the needed energy to pursue our daily activities and gives us the necessary strength to help boost our immunity. The importance of an adequate nutrition for children below three years cannot be ignored or cut short. The early nutrition practices in a childs life decides, the how the latter years of life turn out. Therefore, it should be a fundamental right of a child to have good nutritional practices from day one. Exclusive breast feeding since very long has been emphasized upon by Governments of various countries, medical practitioners and other involved in maternal and child health sector. If a child gets exclusive breast feed for six months, experts believe that it helps a child to grow healthy and also contributes to overall development of the child. Healthy Nutritional practices play a vital role in health of children especially in children below three years. Healthy nutritional practices are like the steps of a ladder, the stronger the steps the better is the climb for the child. Mothers or the primary care givers are like poles of the ladder which holds the steps together. Therefore, educating a mother or primary care giver about healthy nutritional practices becomes utmost necessity for any society.