As a parent it is important for you to make sure you meet the standards of daily nutrition for kids. Your children need a certain intake of certain types of food. In order to make sure you're raising a healthy and well balanced family, the requirements of daily nutrition for kids must be met!
If your child is very young, feed them fruit and vegetables so that they are used to these foods. You can go with starchy vegetables like potatoes and squash to provide some carbohydrates through this food group. While whole grains are good and recommended, very young children can become very full when eating whole grains and they may not want to eat anything else. This means they will be missing out on protein and dairy groups. While your child is still very young, you can serve them refined grain products.
Just stick to lean meats. In terms of dairy products, you can keep them on full cream milk till about the age of three then switch them to 2% or skim. This assures you that daily nutrition is being met for your kids. Follow your food pyramid and chart to make sure you're on track.
For older children, start by making sure they get a good amount of fruit and vegetables each day. Since these are the two food groups that children seldom look for, provide it for them. Make fruit a part of their breakfasts, and vegetables as part of a snack or packed lunch. Children naturally go for grains and protein groups, so make up for what they will naturally lack. If your children feel they're too old to be drinking milk, substitute this with yogurt, pudding, cheese, or calcium fortified fruit juice.
When eating proteins, try to serve a lot of fish and beans. The omega 3 in fish is a good fat and good cholesterol. Omega 3 is also very good for your skin, and this can be a perk for teens dealing with acne. Poultry is also a healthier choice than beef and pork. When serving beef and pork, go for the leaner cuts to lessen your children's fat intake.
Parents should trust the food pyramid and see that it provides for good, healthy, well balanced meals and snacks in proper servings. While this is a great guide for daily nutrition for kids, parents also have to keep in mind not to force their children to eat. Try making sure your kids get the right servings of the right food groups, but if they simply are not hungry, don't force the issue, especially if they've been eating nutritious food all day. Children have a natural clock that tells them when they've had too much to eat.
Adults have it too, but often tend to ignore it. Don't force your children to eat when they're not hungry, this could lead to an overeating habit in the future. Also make sure that they chew their food well and eat slowly, this also prevents overeating.
Daily nutrition for kids is something that is easily met if you just pay a little more attention to what you serve. Before you know it, you'll be able to serve good and nutritious food for your kids at all times!
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