When a child is tube fed, parents are often concerned about whether the child s nutritional needs are being met. Just as adults can be the same size and age but have different metabolic rates and need different amounts of nutrients, children do not all have the same nutritional needs for growth.
Parents can discuss such concerns with the pediatric dietitian on the clinical team.
Pediatric dietitians are trained to assess a child s nutritional status, evaluate dietary intake, offer nutritional counseling to families and work with the child s physician toward achieving optimal growth and potential. Children with special needs may have different nutritional requirements as well as different growth rates compared to those of other children. The pediatric dietitian calculates their caloric requirements depending on several factors including age, specific developmental disability, level of physical activity and degree of motor limitations. For most children, birth to ten years of age and without any special nutritional demands, enteral solutions such as Pediasure, Resource, or Kindercal are designed specifically to meet their nutritional requirements. These formulas are complete and balanced.