Parents are often confused about how much their child should be eating.  A child’s food intake can vary greatly from one day to the next, so it’s a good idea to focus on the nutrients they consume in a week, rather than just a day.  Creating a chart of the foods your child is eating can be a great way of assessing how nutritious their diet really is.

It’s important to encourage your child to eat and enjoy a wide variety of foods that are both healthy and energy dense.  This should hopefully help them to establish good eating habits in the long term and ensure an adequate intake of nutrients for optimal health.   Foods within the same food groups contain different nutrients, so by consuming various foods you are obtaining the largest range of nutrients possible e.g. kiwi fruit is high in vitamin C, whilst bananas are high in a number of B vitamins.

Because of their high energy needs, a reduced fat diet is not recommended for children under the age of 2.  Very low fat diets are also not recommended for children, as fat is an important source of energy for their growing bodies Essential fatty acid requirements also need to be met as they cannot be made by the body.  Examples of fat containing foods to include in your child’s diet are: nuts and seeds, avocado, oily fish, yoghurt, milk, cheese, eggs, tofu, legumes, lean meats, flaxseed and olive oils (note: whole nuts and seeds aren’t suitable for young children due to the risk of choking, try them ground instead).

The table below is a guide to the number of daily serves children of different ages need to eat every day.  Keep in mind that every child is different and the best guide is your child’s appetite.  You will notice there are no group servings for 1-3 year olds.  At this age, there is a large variability in what individual children eat, depending on   growth and activity levels.  By ensuring your child has a variety of foods from all of the 5 food groups and emphasising healthy family foods, this will encourage healthy food behaviours.

Recommended number of serves per day for children

AGE	CEREALS (including breads, rice, pasta, noodles)	VEGETABLES, LEGUMES	FRUIT	MILK, YOGHURT, CHEESE	LEAN MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, NUTS and SEEDS	EXTRA FOODS (cakes, pies, lollies, softdrinks etc.)
4-7	5-7	2	1	2	½	1-2
8-11	6-9	3	1	2	1	1-2
12-18	5-11	4	3	3	1	1-3

What is a serve?

Cereals, breads etc.	Vegetables, legumes	Fruit	Milk, yoghurt, cheese	Lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts and seeds	Extra Foods (occasionally included)
- 2 slices bread - 1 medium bread roll - 1 cup porridge - 1 cup breakfast cereal flakes - 1 cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles - or  ½ cup muesli	- 1 medium potato or yam - ½ medium sweet potato - 1 medium parsnip - ½ cup cabbage, spinach, silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower or brussel sprouts - I cup of lettuce or salad - ½ cup of broad beans, lentils, peas, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, sweet corn, turnips, swede, sprouts, celery, eggplant etc.	- 1 piece medium sized fruit e.g. apple, orange, mango, mandarin, banana, pear, peach etc. - 2 pieces of smaller fruit e.g. apricots, kiwifruit, plums, figs. - About 8 strawberries - About 20 grapes or cherries - ½ cup of fruit juice - ¼ medium melon (e.g. rockmelon) - Dried fruit (4 dried apricots) - 1 ½ tblspn sultanas - 1 cup diced pieces or canned fruit	- 250ml glass or one cup of milk (can be fresh, long-life or reconstituted milk) - ½ cup evaporated milk - 40g (2 slices) cheese - 250ml (1 cup) custard - 200g (1 small carton) of yoghurt, plain or fruit * or as an alternative, try: - 1 cup of calcium-fortified soy milk - 1 cup almonds - ½ cup pink salmon with bones	- 65-100g cooked meat or chicken (e.g. ½ cup mince, 2 small chops or 2 slices roast meat) - 80-120g cooked fish fillet * or as an alternative, try: - 2 small eggs - 1/3 cup cooked (dried) beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas or canned beans - 1/3 cup peanuts or almonds	- 1 medium piece of plain cake/bun - 3-4 sweet biscuits - Half a chocolate bar - 60g jam, honey (1 tblspn) - 30g potato chips - Slice pizza = 2 extras - 1 can soft drink/2 glasses cordial - 2 scoops ice-cream - 1 meat pie/pasty = 3 extras - 1 tblspn (20g) butter, margarine, oil

Briony Howland is offering Yummy Bubby readers an initial child nutrition appointment for $75 (normally $90).  Briony is a fully accredited nutritionist, massage therapist and doula, located in Southern Sydney.