Proper nutrition of the child is very important. Today, most parents lack an understanding of the correct preparation of a daily diet for children. But this topic needs to be understood by everyone who already has children and those who plan to have them in the future. From a very young age, crumbs need to inculcate a culture and the basis of proper nutrition.
Parents show an example
Proper nutrition of the child is the basis of his health. In families where healthy foods are included in the diet, a situation rarely arises when a child goes over 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 intake harms 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 not be sure of the quality of the products that were used for cooking. Often, in institutions they prepare unbalanced food, where the calorie content of the dish you ordered exceeds its average norm according to KBZhU.
There is a very interesting approach that will help make a child a menu based on proper nutrition. Pictures for children with fruits and vegetables will help. And the child will definitely indicate which products he loves and which not.
Therefore, try never to buy food with a child in questionable stalls, cafes or eateries. Set a good example for your children. The same goes for snacks at grocery stores. Rusks, chips, nuts and other products of this type have a composition hazardous to health. Dyes, flavor enhancers and flavors adversely affect the functioning of our stomach, and when 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 draw up a diet correctly in order to reimburse all energy costs, in addition, to fill the body of a growing man with all the necessary vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats.
The main beneficial ingredients 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 the right fats for a growing body.
A child at this age should eat small meals 5 times a day. The interval between meals is about 3-4 hours. An approximate list of food products per day.
- Breakfast. Dishes from dairy products (cottage cheese, cheesecakes), scrambled eggs, porridge, sweet fruits.
- Lunch. Yogurt, kefir, fruits.
- Dinner. Light vegetable soup, preferably use broth on meat or fish. On the second: meat with vegetables or a meat dish with cereals and a vegetable salad. Compote of fresh berries or dried fruits.
- An afternoon snack. Cottage cheese casserole, milk, kefir and cookies.
- Dinner. A dish of vegetables or milk, you can cook an omelet.
For the proper preservation of the vitamin composition, fruits and vegetables are best consumed raw, since heat treatment deprives food of its mass of beneficial 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.
Regularity in nutrition
Maintaining an accurate dietary regimen plays an important role in the absorption of nutrients by our body. About 25% for breakfast, 35% for lunch, 15% for afternoon tea, and about 25% of the daily ration for dinner.
Try not to allow additional snacks, as the child, having become full, can simply refuse the approaching lunch or dinner. If tactics do not succeed, then wean them out gradually. Offer your baby a snack with fruit or juice, such a meal will not ruin your appetite.
We replenish energy costs
Proper nutrition of children has a positive effect on activity and metabolic processes in the body. If you notice that your child is overweight, immediately cut back on sweets and high-calorie foods. Highlight healthy snacks in the form of fruits, cereals, and nuts. 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 during this period and they themselves can ask, for example, another apple.
Try to organize your child’s leisure activities correctly, 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 make up for energy costs.
Cooking
Regarding the proper nutrition of children, everything is clear. But how to cook food correctly, and what is the first thing to pay close attention to? Remember, products must be fresh and of high quality. If you store them for a long time, they begin to deteriorate and most of the beneficial trace elements are significantly reduced. Reheating also has a negative effect 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 of the child's body.
To preserve all the useful vitamins and minerals in foods, give preference to steaming. Avoid frying in vegetable oil, better bake in the oven, boil or stew. The thing is that products prepared during the frying process adversely affect the functioning of the gastric mucosa and can cause serious health problems.
For baking, try to choose oat, rice and buckwheat flour. It is much more useful than white, which is processed several times exclusively 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 interests to arouse appetite, and not to force the next spoonful of porridge.
You can call the baby to the table when he himself shows a desire to eat.
Consider subtle tricks aimed at how to arouse the appetite of a preschooler:
- Walking in the fresh air, sports and games can improve your appetite.
- Decorate the table nicely. Create the atmosphere of the restaurant, which in itself attracts you to try one of the dishes.
- Offer your child a slice of apple. After all, as you know, appetite comes with eating.
We comply with the drinking regime
Try not to give your child a drink during and after meals. The fact is that additional fluid dilutes the gastric juice, thereby reducing the concentration of enzymes, and this negatively affects the digestion of food.
At other times, the child should drink clean water regularly. The child loses most of the liquid during long walks in the fresh air and active games. Avoid eating sweet compotes, purchased juices. It is better to cook fruit drinks and fruit drinks without sugar on your own. Children's teas, which include healthy herbs and berries, can be another great alternative.
Sample menu for children from 1 to 3 years
Proper nutrition for children per year can already be quite diverse, so there should not be any difficulties with cooking.
- Breakfast. Milk porridge 100-150 ml. Fruit, compote or herbal tea.
- Dinner. Light vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil. It is advisable to give preference to extra virgin olive oil, it contains more saturated fats. Vegetable soup on light meat or fish broth. Meat souffle with a side dish (cereals, boiled potatoes). It is advisable to include pasta in the diet no more than 1 time per week.
- An afternoon snack. Cottage cheese, yogurt or kefir with cookies. You can add fruit, it all depends on the appetite of the child.
- Dinner. Meat patty and steamed or steamed vegetables. 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
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 2200 kcal.
Proper nutrition for children, a menu for a week.
- Breakfast. Cereal granola with fruit. A slice of bread with butter and tea with honey (in the absence of allergies). Cottage cheese casseroles, milk porridge and cheesecakes will also be an excellent option for breakfast.
- Dinner. Vegetable salad with stew in sour cream, meat cutlets, boiled meat or zrazy. Boiled groats (rice, buckwheat, bulgur, etc.) for garnish. You can add boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes to the meat dish. A glass of compote or jelly. A slice of white or whole grain bread.
- An afternoon snack. Kefir, cottage cheese casserole, cheesecakes, a bun or cookie with butter.
- Dinner. Vegetable casserole, potato zrazy, pudding, stuffed peppers. You can drink it with compote, milk or tea.
Despite the presented menu, remember that first of all, in the process of drawing up the diet, you should take into account the preferences of your child. If he hates zucchini, do not force him to eat them, because they have a lot of useful vitamins and minerals.
Possible problems
In children at a fairly early age, basic tastes begin to form. Therefore, until recently, familiar food is perceived with hostility and the child refuses to eat this or that dish. No need to force children to use an unloved product. Make a proper diet and exclude dishes of this type. When a little time passes, try again to offer this product.
If your child has no appetite, try to find out the cause. Perhaps the previous meal was very satisfying or there were unplanned snacks, and the child was not yet hungry.
And remember! Only you can set the right example for your child.