Care for Your Baby and Young Child

As your child grows and develops, their nutritional needs also change. When babies are first born, they can get all the nutrients they need from human milk and/or formula. Breast or chestfeeding can be a good option for many families. Talk to your health care provider or your WIC nutritionist about breastfeeding/chestfeeding to decide if it is the right choice for you.   

Solid foods are generally added into your baby’s diet beginning around 6 months of age. Your child’s health care provider, your  WIC nutritionist, or your home health nurse can advise you on when and how to introduce foods to your baby. As your child grows, having relaxed family mealtimes with a variety of healthy foods can support good eating habits.  

Children learn about themselves and the world around them through movement and play, so play every day! Babies need safe opportunities to move and explore. They love “floor time” where they can reach, roll and crawl. As they get older, children need supervised and independent playtime as well as planned activities where they can practice physical skills. 

Being active helps children: 

• Feel good about themselves
• Be healthier
• Sleep better at night
• Enjoy family time 

Childhood experiences, positive or negative, can have a major impact on long-term growth, development, and health. Negative experiences are often referred to as toxic stress or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental substance use disorder and/or mental illness, divorce, and economic hardship are all examples of ACEs. There is a connection between the number of adverse experiences an individual has had and the risk for health and social problems in adulthood.  

Vermont wants to support you to help prevent ACEs and help build resilience in yourself and your family. One proven way to prevent ACEs is through our voluntary home visits for pregnant and postpartum families. If you are interested in participating in one of the home visiting programs, ask your child’s provider for a referral, or call Help Me Grow at 211 extension 6, and ask for home visiting support.  

There are many helpful community resources to help families with questions related to health and safety.