Proper nutrition for a child: age, basic principles, dietary features and a sample menu

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Proper nutrition of the child is very important. Today, most parents do not have an understanding of the correct preparation of the daily diet for children. But this topic needs to be de alt with by everyone who already has children and those who plan to have them in the future. From a very young age, crumbs need to instill the culture and basics of proper nutrition.

Parents lead by example

Proper nutrition of a child is the basis of his he alth. In families where he althy foods are included in the diet, a situation rarely arises when a child sorts out or refuses to eat at all. Therefore, from an early age it is very important to set an example for the baby. Explain to your child that fast food is bad for the gastrointestinal tract, and high sugar consumption is bad for the body as a whole.

Of course, today there are many restaurants and cafes that offer their visitors a children's menu. But we can't beconfident in the quality of the products that were used for cooking. Often, establishments prepare unbalanced food, where the calorie content of the dish you ordered exceeds its average KBJU norm.

There is a very interesting approach that will help to create a menu for the child, which will be based on proper nutrition. Pictures for children with vegetables and fruits will help with this. And the child will indicate exactly which foods he likes and which he doesn't.

Therefore, try to never buy food in dubious stalls, cafes or eateries with a child. Set a good example for your children. The same goes for snacks in grocery stores. Crackers, chips, nuts and other products of this type have a composition hazardous to he alth. Dyes, flavor enhancers and flavors have a detrimental effect on the functioning of our stomach, and being absorbed into the blood, they put a serious strain on other organs.

Proper nutrition for preschool children

A child under the age of 6 spends a huge amount of energy. Therefore, it is very important to make a diet correctly in order to compensate for all energy costs, in addition, to fill the body of a growing man with all the necessary vitamins, trace elements, proteins and fats.

The main useful components are found in cereals, fruits, bread and vegetables. Meat has a positive effect on the level of hemoglobin in the blood. Vegetable oil is the best source of he althy fats for a growing body.

A child at this age should eat 5 times a dayin small portions. The break between meals is about 3-4 hours. Approximate list of foods for the day.

1. Breakfast. Dishes from dairy products (cottage cheese, syrniki), scrambled eggs, porridge, sweet fruits.
2. Lunch. Yogurt, kefir, fruit.
3. Lunch. Light vegetable soup, it is preferable to use the broth on meat or fish. For the second: meat with vegetables or a meat dish with cereals and a vegetable salad. Compote of fresh berries or dried fruits.
4. Snack. Cottage cheese casserole, milk, kefir and cookies.
5. Dinner. A dish of vegetables or milk, you can make an omelet.

To properly preserve the vitamin composition, fruits and vegetables are best eaten raw, as heat treatment deprives food of a lot of useful properties. Once every 7 days, you can replace meat and fish with offal, such as liver, hearts, and others. Avoid semi-finished products, they should not be in the diet of children. The same goes for mayonnaise and ketchup.

Eating regularity

Accurate eating routine plays an important role in the absorption of nutrients by our body. Breakfast should be about 25%, lunch - 35%, afternoon tea - 15%, and dinner - about 25% of the daily diet for the day.

Try not to allow additional snacks, as the child, having had enough, may simply refuse the approaching lunch or dinner. If tactics do not bring success, then wean gradually. Offer your baby a snack of fruit or juice, such a meal will not spoil the appetite.

Replenishing energy costs

Proper nutrition of children has a positive effect on the activity and metabolic processes in the body. If you notice your child is overweight, immediately cut back on sweets and high-calorie foods. Display he althy snacks in the form of fruits, cereals, and nuts in a prominent place. Do not be afraid of sweet fruits, they contain a storehouse of vitamins. And most children have the ability to feel what the body needs in a given period and can themselves ask, for example, for another apple.

Try to properly organize your child's leisure time, he should walk a lot, attend sports clubs. Soon, focusing on the activity of your child, you will be able to build a competent nutrition scheme to replenish energy costs.

Cooking food

Regarding the proper nutrition of children, everything is already clear. But how to cook food correctly, and what should you pay close attention to in the first place? Remember, the products must be fresh and of high quality. If you store them for a long time, they begin to deteriorate and most of the useful trace elements are significantly reduced. Reheating also has a negative impact on the preservation of the useful properties of the dish. It is believed that additional heat treatment serves as a catalyst for the appearance of toxic nitrates, which can cause poisoning in a child's body.

To keep all useful vitamins and minerals inproducts, give preference to steam cooking. Avoid frying in vegetable oil, it is better to bake in the oven, boil or stew. The fact is that foods cooked during the frying process negatively affect the functioning of the gastric mucosa and can cause serious he alth problems.

For baking, try to choose oatmeal, rice and buckwheat flour. It is much more useful than white, which has been redesigned several times solely for an attractive look. There is practically no use in it.

Eat for pleasure

Remember, you can not force a child to eat if he categorically refuses to eat. It is in your interest to awaken your appetite, and not force another spoonful of porridge.

You can call the baby to the table when he himself shows a desire to eat.

Let's take a look at some subtle tricks to stimulate a preschooler's appetite:

1. Outdoor walks, sports and games help improve appetite.
2. Decorate your table beautifully. Create a restaurant atmosphere that is inviting in itself to try one of the dishes.
3. Offer your child a piece of an apple. After all, as you know, appetite comes with eating.

We observe the drinking regime

Try not to let your child drink during and after meals. The fact is that additional liquid dilutes the gastric juice, thereby reducing the concentration of enzymes, and this negatively affects the digestion of food.

The rest of the time the child mustdrink clean water regularly. Most of the fluid the child loses during long walks in the fresh air and active games. Avoid the use of sweet compotes, purchased juices. It is better to cook your own fruit drinks and compotes without sugar. Another great alternative can be children's teas, which include he althy herbs and berries.

Sample menu for children from 1 to 3 years old

Proper nutrition for children in a year can already be quite diverse, so there should be no difficulties with cooking.

1. Breakfast. Milk porridge 100-150 ml. Fruit, compote or herbal tea.
2. Lunch. Light vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil. It is advisable to give preference to cold-pressed olive oil, it has more saturated fats. Vegetable soup in a light meat or fish broth. Meat soufflé with garnish (groats, boiled potatoes). It is advisable to include pasta in the diet no more than once a week.
3. Snack. Cottage cheese, yogurt or kefir with cookies. You can add fruit, it all depends on the child's appetite.
4. Dinner. Meat cutlet and vegetables, stewed or steamed. And you can also give preference to boiled buckwheat or other easily digestible cereals. An equally attractive option for dinner is a cottage cheese casserole with a spoonful of jam.

Sample menu for children from 3 to 6 years old

Children at this age are also very active. The calorie content of food for a child aged 3-4 years should be about 1700 kcal, at 5 years old about 1900-2000 kcal, and from 6 years old - from 2200kcal.

Proper nutrition for children, menu for the week.

1. Breakfast. Cereal muesli with fruits. A slice of bread with butter and tea with honey (in the absence of allergies). Cottage cheese casseroles, milk porridges and cheesecakes are also excellent options for breakfast.
2. Lunch. Vegetable salad with stewed meat in sour cream, meatballs, boiled meat or zrazy. Garnish with boiled cereals (rice, buckwheat, bulgur, etc.). You can add boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes to a meat dish. A glass of compote or jelly. Slice of white or whole grain bread.
3. Snack. Kefir, cottage cheese casserole, cheesecakes, a bun or cookies with butter.
4. Dinner. Vegetable casserole, potato zrazy, pudding, stuffed peppers. You can drink compote, milk or tea.

Despite the presented menu, remember that in the first place in the process of compiling a diet, you should start from the preferences of your child. If he hates zucchini, you should not force him to eat them, as they contain a lot of useful vitamins and minerals.

Possible problems

Children begin to develop basic taste preferences at a fairly early age. Therefore, until recently, the usual food is perceived with hostility and the child refuses to eat this or that dish. No need to force children to consume an unloved product. Make a competent diet and exclude dishes of this type. After some time has passed, try suggesting this product again.

If the child has no appetite, try to find out the reason. Perhaps the previous meal was very satisfying or there were unplanned snacks, and the child was not hungry yet.

And remember! Only you can set the right example for your child.