To help you visualize a day of healthy eating, below are two eating plans. Children who follow a vegan diet need to supplement with vitamin B-12. Nutrition science shows that children can meet nutrient needs without dairy, or any animal products, as long as their diet contains a variety of nutrient-dense, plant-based foods. However, dairy isn’t essential, as you can also get nutrients like calcium, potassium, protein, and vitamin D from plant-based foods. Children from ages 9 to 13, meanwhile, need between 1,400 to 2,200 calories, depending on their growth and activity level.Īs with adults, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage children to consume foods from a variety of food groups: protein, fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy. Whereas the average adult needs about 2,000 daily calories, a 3-year-old’s caloric needs range from 1,000 to 1,400. When trying to get a balanced view, it’s important to remember that the same rules that apply to adult nutrition also apply to children, but with different caloric requirements. In many instances, the deck is stacked against parents. That’d be enough to make Gwyneth Paltrow jealous.Īt the same time, the food industry spends billions a year marketing highly processed junk foods to children and teenagers, including sweetened cereals, packaged lunches with processed meats and candies, and juice drinks that are, essentially, flat soda. People love to post photos of their kids’ healthy lunch boxes or boast about how their kids love smoothies made with dandelion greens and ginger. This may be partly due to the influence of social media and blogging. Sometimes they have good reason to think this, but not always. Whether it stems from concerns about picky eating, the worry that they’re consuming too much junk food, or just supporting their growing body, many parents share a sense that their child is not eating as well as they could. You need to have six to eight glasses of water every day.Parents often ask nutritionists, “What should I feed my child?” These are your energy foods to keep you going, so you need to have these with every meal.įoods that are high in sugar or fat should be eaten less often to keep your body healthy and working at its best. Remember to eat your five a day – a rainbow of fruit and vegetables every day.ĭon’t forget: a small glass of fruit juice or smoothie can count! Carbohydrates (pasta, rice, bread, cereals) If you eat too much salt it can make you ill and affect your heart or brain. Salt is found in lots of different foods like crisps and sausage rolls. We need to have some fat in our diet, but it needs to be healthy fat – from things like nuts and fish rather than cakes, biscuits and crisps.Įating too much fat can make us unwell and affect our heart. We need to be careful about sugar because it’s not very good for our teeth and eating too much of it can make us ill. We all need to think about the types of food and drinks we have, how healthy they are and how often we should have them.

Wholemeal (or brown) cereals, pasta, bread or rice are a great source of fibre which can help you go to the toilet more easily.

Try to eat these foods at your lunch and evening meal each day and to try to have two helpings of fish a week.

Meat, fish, eggs and beans give us protein, vitamins and minerals which help us grow strong and healthy – you need some of these every day too.

You need to make sure you have some every day.

Milk, cheese and yoghurt are great sources of calcium which make teeth and bones strong.

They are a great source of energy, so try to include them at each of your main meals – breakfast, lunch and evening meal.

Foods like potatoes, bread, cereals, rice and pasta should make up about a third of the food you eat.

Top tip: one portion is about a handful, and fresh juice can only count towards one of your five a day.

Try to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day – or more if you can.

Try to swap fizzy drinks for water, and avoid them altogether before bed because it isn’t good for your teeth and can keep you awake at night!.Limit the amount of sugary and salty foods you eat each day, like biscuits, chocolate and crisps.

You need to make sure you are putting the right food into your body to give you enough energy. To stay fit and healthy throughout your life it is really important that you eat a balanced diet every day.

Healthy eating quiz for kids