Nutrition for Children

Young children today are victims of as many health problems as adults, at times even more. However, a balanced diet is essential for all-round growth of the child - physical, mental and emotional. There are many different ways of achieving that balanced diet. Here's a basic guideline that can help you start afresh with your kids.

Balanced Diet Guidelines

• Always go for fresh fruits and vegetables instead of packaged or frozen. Offer the kids a variety of colours. This is not just visual stimulation but it peaks their interest in new things. Five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is optimum.

• Foods rich in minerals are vital for a child's growth. Potassium rich foods like sweet potato, tomatoes, white beans, spinach, lima beans are easily available. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sesame seeds and baked beans are a wonderful supply of calcium, which is absolutely essential for bone development.

• Fruit juices and cut fruit are a major source of dietary fiber. Plenty of these will help avoid constipation in children. The more colourful the fruits are the better they'll go down. Avoid adding extra sugar in the juices unless absolutely needed. Apples, oranges, bananas, papayas, chickoos are all easy to digest and contain enough sugars.

• Cereals are an important food group, not to be left out. Today there are plenty of ready-made brands available like Kelloggs. They're quite healthy. Oats are good for strength and can be prepared very quickly. Ragi porridge is also very healthy but add sugar so that it is palatable for the children.

• Nuts are a great snack for children. They contain oils that are much healthier than regular cooking oils and are full of vitamin E which is a good anti-oxidant. Make a mixture of cashew, walnuts, pistas and almonds and keep it handy. Nuts can be added into cooked foods as well as salads.

• Staple foods like bread, rice and rotis (chapatis) are an essential part of a balanced diet. Rotis should be soft so small children can bite. Rice can be prepared in various forms in order to provide variety as kids get bored with the same thing often - lemon rice, pulao, tomato rice, Chinese fried rice with vegetables and meat.

• For families with non-vegetarian diets, meats should preferably be lean cuts. Boiled and grilled meat and chicken is a healthier option as compared to fried food. Freshly bought and prepared fish is very healthy so offer the children plenty of it.

• Milk, butter, paneer, cream, yogurt and other milk products contain loads of calcium and should be a big part of a growing child's diet, unless he or she is lactose intolerant. Even then there are options to choose from such as soy milk.

These are just basic guidelines. As you go along, your child will also tell you what he prefers and that will go a long way in helping you prepare a healthy menu for him as well as the entire family. Enjoy the diet and the learning experience!