Nutritional Assessment for a toddler

[Jaja1]

Hi everyone,

I have a case study here and I need your help to find the best two priorities that I need to focus on. Here is the scenario.

A 17 month old male toddler is due for a checkup and is brought in by his parents. As the practical nurse on duty at the clinic, you are required to perform a physical assessment. At the start of the assessment, the toddler is crawling around on the floor while his parents are preparing a snack of Doretto chips and bottle of juice substitute. You notice that the toddler's weight is written down on his chart as being 32lbs, and has all up-to-date immunizations. The last visit made was at the 1 year (12 month) checkup and it is documented that immunizations are up-to-date. The parents state the child insists on being carried and if he is left to crawl around for too long, he would roll onto his back and start to cry uncontrollably. The child begins to cry as you are talking to the parents because he has just finished his beef jerky

1. List TWO (2) priority areas of the Nutrition assessment that you would focus on for this patient. [/COLOR]

2. Provide rational and support for EACH identified priority area as to why these were chosen as a priority for this client.

Thanks.

Jaja1

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[amoLucia]

What do you think? Members here will more than gladly HELP you, but we don't expect to do YOUR assignment for you.

[Jaja1]

I am so sorry, this is my first time to submit a topic here. I thought I will just post my topic and members will post some suggestions. However, I really appreciate your response amoLucia. You are right, I was not expecting you guys to do my assignment..I just need some HELP or suggestions.

My thought about this case is that the toddler is overweight by eating food that his body is unable to digest yet. Also, he is not walking yet it means he's not getting the proper nutrition. Since I have his baseline from his last check up (12month old) I will get his body weight and height and ask the parent about the food that they are giving to their baby for the past months. Then I will give them the list and the amount of foods that the baby is supposed to be eating for his age. I will also explain to them that the average weight for 17 month old toddler is 22-26lbs.

I am not sure for the priorities I thought for this case, your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Oh, he's able to digest them just fine; lack of digestive ability would make him lose weight, not gain too much of it.

He's not walking because nobody makes him get exercise and he is too fat (assuming the pediatrician/pedi NP has assessed that he has normal neuro development and doesn't have Prader-Willi syndrome, for example).

What are some of the consequences of obesity in children? Can you teach the parents something about that? Is there any family history of obesity or complications of it? Find out more.

Group discussions with parents of similar aged-children and a dietician or nurse?

Cultural aspects-- some cultures see a fat baby as a healthy one (why?), and some cultures will give a baby or toddler anything he wants to prevent crying (why?). Find out more.