“The first step towards good health Pay attention to every word, important for the future.”

'Today's children are tomorrow's adults' Our world is entering a state of declining population. This can be seen from the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) or a number that represents the number of children a woman can have during reproductive age.

Data from the United Nations reports that in 2024, the world's total fertility rate was 2.2 per woman, while Thailand's was 1.20. There are few of them. It cannot replace the number of the original population. Therefore, children are a very valuable resource of all countries. This year's World Health Day is "Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures", which focuses on taking care of the health of mothers and babies so that children grow healthy and develop appropriately according to their age. Therefore, it is important to take care of children's nutrition from infancy. The principles of taking care of baby food are as follows:

Age - The baby's body systems are not fully developed. Babies have a small amount of gastric juice that is used to digest starch, fat, and protein, and the kidneys are only 15% more capable of filtering waste than adults, and increase to the same level as adults by 2 years of age. Babies should only drink breast milk until they reach 6 months of age, and then they can start eating at other ages along with breast milk.

Adequate - Babies have limited stomach capacity, so they should be fed according to their age with sufficient energy concentration to meet the needs of the body at each age. In addition, it is necessary to have complete nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, and should not be flavored with additives such as sugar, honey. MSG Seasoning powder, etc. 

Safe – Food preparation and storage should be in accordance with hygienic principles. The equipment used must be clean, hands are washed before preparing and feeding food, care is taken not to choke on food, and food should not be forced or overfed. The texture of the food should be fine and age-appropriate so that the baby has a better chewing and swallowing development. 

It can be seen that baby food has important details for growth and development. Choosing the right foods in terms of quantity and nutritional value can have long-term health effects. 

On the occasion of World Health Day on April 7, 2025, everyone is asked to be aware of the importance of paying attention to the composition of the baby's diet so that children can grow up healthy. It will be an important foundation of the nation in the future.