Paediatric Nutrition Guidelines Help Children Live a Healthier Lifestyle
Proper nutrition during the early years can help reinforce your child’s eating habits throughout their entire life. Eating correctly can contribute to a child’s well-being throughout the early years and provide a pathway to a healthier lifestyle as they age.
Following a traditional paediatric nutrition guide, parents can develop a healthy eating plan that will work well for any child, even those with picky eating habits. When it comes to eating, a basic menu should include up to 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables every day. Children should consume 2 to 4 cups of 2% or skim milk every day, after reaching at least two years of age. Serving 50-100 grams of lean or low-fat chicken or other meat is a great way to provide protein to your child.
Health Issues from Eating
Child obesity is one of the leading health issues in modern times. Children consume too many calories every day, due to the high number of simple carbohydrates taken in through processed foods. High-fat and high calorie food should be avoided. As part of a healthy paediatric nutrition guide, only foods that are low in fat, high in fibre and contain the essential minerals and vitamins should be incorporated into your child’s daily diet.
A Plan for a Picky Eater
Even families that have picky eaters can still follow the paediatric nutritional guidelines. Many paediatric nutritionists recommend offering picky eaters at least a single serving of fruit and a single serving of vegetables every day, along with at least one serving of skim or low-fat milk. Paediatric nutritionists highly recommend only offering a single serving of 100% fruit juice every 24 hours.
When families eat together, they usually consume healthier quantities of food. By watching their parents make healthy choices at dinnertime, lunch and breakfast, the children can become quite motivated at following along with a healthy eating plan. Parents should remember to only offer portion sizes that are age-appropriate to their children. The portion sizes should be included at all three meals plus any snacks throughout the day.
Paediatric nutritionists suggest that parents should avoid offering children milk with added flavouring including strawberry and chocolate, due to the higher sugar content. Children should be taught to avoid consuming sweet tea, fruit punch, fruit drinks and soft drinks. By not serving fried meats including fish sticks and chicken nuggets, the children will have more nourishing meals and live a healthier lifestyle.
Contact Us for Result Focused Nutrition Advice
ENT Clinic have created comprehensive diet and nutrition resources, that together with our dietitians consultation, can be used to create a customised dietary plan. If you need advice about healthy paediatric nutrition guidelines contact us today.
