[Gigi's Mommy]

So, another question.<br><br>
From somewhere I got the idea that dietary fat for little ones was important. But now I'm thinking that maybe it's just the milk that needs to be full fat, since that's what mainstream parents are advised?<br><br>
Longer version - ds (16 mos) nurses 4-6 times a day but also eats a good amount of solid food. How important is fat content in the solid food portion of his diet? I have been thinking it matters, but maybe the breastmilk is sufficient?<br><br>
He eats avocados very happily (usually a whole one for lunch) and I make some stuff with coconut milk, and cook with some oil, and he does eat some meat, so he gets a decent amount of fat from his food diet too. Now I'm second guessing myself that maybe he's getting too much fat....<br><br>
My gut says, don't worry about it so much, he's happy and growing, and burning lots of calories running around. But I'm still wondering.

 

[KariM]

I don't have an answer that comes from documented sources, but my general thought is that as active as they are and as much brain tissue as they're building, fat is a good thing for toddlers to have.

 

[birdie22]

I'm curious about this too.<br><br>
I've been operating on the assumption that ds needs a higher percentage of fat than I do, but that we all should avoid saturated and trans fats.<br><br>
Nobody ever told me to do this, though.<br><br>
ETA: Our ped told us we could give ds nonfat cow's milk starting at 2 yo. Our family drinks milk, so now we all drink the same kind.

 

[alegna]

I would not worry about a toddler getting too much fat from healthy foods.<br><br>
-Angela

 

[paquerette]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>birdie22</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7902152"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I've been operating on the assumption that ds needs a higher percentage of fat than I do, but that we all should avoid saturated and trans fats.</div>
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Trans fats, absolutely. Saturated fats, no. We all need saturated fats as well.<br><br><a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/import_sat_fat.html" target="_blank">http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...t_sat_fat.html</a>

 

[hubris]

I just quoted this in another thread, here you go!<br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">Many nursing moms are told that they must introduce cow's milk at a year. Your nursing toddler is already getting the best milk he can get - mother's milk! Breastmilk has a higher fat content than whole cow's milk (needed for baby's brain growth), and all the nutrients of human milk are significantly more bioavailable than those of cow's milk because it is species specific (not to mention all the components of mother's milk that are not present in cow's milk).</td>
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More here: <a href="http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/toddler-foods.html" target="_blank">Kellymom on cow's milk</a>

 

[texasmamaof4]

I make sure that all of my kids, including my nursing toddler, get a variety of healthy fats, including avocado, nuts (but not for the baby yet), oils, eggs, etc. If your baby is eating a whole avocado at lunch, then he is getting plenty of healthy fats.

 

[Gigi's Mommy]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'll happily let him keep eating eggs, avocados, etc. as well as other options. It seemed reasonable to me that he needs more fat than I do.<br><br>
Thanks!