Satisfying Children’s nutritional needs is vital to their development

Two articles from the Times online discuss toddlers’ nutritional needs.

This short article lists the minerals which are vital to young children’s development such as:

• Iron needed for energy and concentration
• Zinc needed for immunity
• Vitamin D needed for strong bones
• Vitamins A & C important for immunity and general growth

Getting children to get the right quantities is not easy, also because there is such a thing as neophagia (children being wary of new foods)

What is being fed to toddlers is not adequate for their needs, according to the Local Authority coordinators and Regulatory Services (LACORS). ‘Toddlers are being fed too much fruit and insufficient carbohydrate to maintain energy levels’. Moreover ‘children are also given too much salty food and the size of their portions varies, sometimes being too big, other times not being enough to maintain their energy levels. Half and apple or pear to keep children going till lunch may be too little. Moreover the diets of adults might not be the best for children. ‘For many adults, drinking skimmed milk, eating no red meat and loads of fruit is wonderful, but it’s not what a growing body needs’.

The article ends with some tips for typical lunches:

Mid Morning Snack

Milk – stick to full fat or whole milk until five years of age

Canned peaches with yogurt

Lunch

Reduce dependence on processed meat, excessive use of cheese

Try to increase on green vegetables, pulses, eggs, oily fish and red meats (for iron, zinc and calcium)

Mid Afternoon

Cucumber and carrot sticks, with pitta bread (pitta bread is a slow release carbohydrate)

The diets of children under 5 should be taken seriously, be it at home or in nurseries. One cannot try to enforce rigid patterns, but resign to a juggling act with a longer term persepective. ‘Good food at this age will foster a child’s expectations of good food for life’.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/child_health/article7096666.ece

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/child_health/article7096606.ece

Karen’s Comments

Children’s Nutrition should be based on six main principles:

• Variety
• Balance
• Moderation
• Using fresh foods preferably personally prepared
• Nutrition Density
• Energy Density

Nutrion Density and Energy Density in children’s diets have to be addressed differently to adults’s diets. Being aware of the energy density in food ensures that children are taking the right amount of calories to sustain their activity levels. For example giving sweets and chocolates to children before they go to sleep is wrong because the energy in these snacks increases their desire to remain active.