Healthy foods for children aged 1–4 years

16

Breastfeeding is good

for your baby up to

2 years of age or older

but you need to give

them solids too.

Children will copy what you do, so if you eat healthy food and drink plenty of water, so will your children.

By the time your child is 1 year old, they should be eating the same foods as the rest of the family.

Feeding small children Children have small stomachs. They need to eat about 3 small meals and 2–3 snacks a day.

•Givesmallchildrenplentyoftimetoeat.•Letyourchilddecidehowmuchtheywanttoeat.•Offerhealthyfoods–vegetables,fruits,leanmeat,

fish(checkforbones),breads,cereals,rice,pastaanddairyfoods.

•Offerfoodthatyourchildcaneasilypickupandeat.•Takehealthyfoodwithyouwhenyougoout–

likesandwichesorfruit.•Offeryourchildmilkorwateraftertheyeattheirfood.

Some foods are not good for children.•Foodslikesausagerolls,meatpies,chickennuggets

andkabanashavetoomuchfatandsaltandnotenoughleanmeat.

•Otherjunkfoodsarecakes,biscuits,potatochipsandhotchips.Thesefoodsarenotgoodtokeepyourchildhealthyandgrowingwell.

Children may refuse to eat Childrenmayrefusetoeatwhenthey:

•havetoomuchfoodontheirplate;•havefilledupondrinksand/orjunkfood;

•wanttofeedthemselves;•aretootired;•don’tfeelwell.

Trying new foodsYourchildmayneedtotryanewfoodafewtimesbeforetheyeatit.Iftheydon’tlikeitthefirsttime,tryagainlater.

Offer a new food:

•withafoodthatyourchildalreadyenjoyseating;•whenotherchildrenandadultsareeatingthatfood.

Yourchildmaybetemptedtotryit.

Fussy eating•Childrencansometimesonlywanttoeat1typeoffood.

Bepatient–childrenusuallydon’tletthemselvesstarve.

•Keepofferingyourchildhealthyfoodandtheywilleventuallyeatit.

Things to avoid•Don’tforceyourchildtoeat.•Don’tgiveyourchilddrinksorsnacksbeforeameal.

•Don’tfeedyourchildjunkfoodsandsweetdrinks.

•Don’tbribeyourchildwithjunkfoodsorsweetdrinks.

•Childrenunder4yearsoldcanchokeonsmallhardpiecesoffood.

•Don’tgiveyourchildfoodsthatareeasytochokeon–likenuts,popcorn,sausageskinorlollies.

•Don’tleaveyourchildalonewhentheyareeating–theycaneasilychoke.

Look after your child’s teethAvoid:

•sweet,stickyfoods,thesecancausetoothrot;

•sugarydrinkscancausetoothrottoo.

Some healthy food ideas for children aged 1–4 yearsIdeas for breakfast

•Porridge•Lowsugarcerealslikewheat

biscuitswithmilkandfruit•Toastedcheesefingers•Aboiledeggandtoast

fingers/poachedeggontoast•Bakedbeansontoast

•Toastwithsmoothpeanutbutter

•ToastwithVegemite•Fish(checkforbones),

riceandvegetables(bakedorbarbecuedfishisbetterthanfried)

Healthy snacks

•Freshfruit–apples,bananasororangesorwhateverfruitischeapandinseason

•Cookedcarrotsticksorcut-upcucumber

•Yoghurt•Cheese•Crackerswithcheese

orsmoothpeanutbutter•Smoothpeanutbutter

sandwiches–usebrownbread,notwhiteallthetime

•Aboiledegg•Tinnedravioli•Tinnedspaghetti•Asmallpieceofchicken

(noskin)•Leftoverdinner(casseroles,

stews,pastawithmincedmeat,bakedvegetables)

Ideas for lunch and dinner

•Fish(checkforbones,bakedorbarbecuedfishisbetterthanfried)

•Fishsoupwithvegetablesandrice•Meatandvegetablestewwithrice•Meat,mashedpotatoandvegetables•Pastawithpeas,cornandtinnedtuna•Stirfriedmeatandvegetableswithnoodles•Rissoles,vegetablesandrice•Spaghettiandmincemadewithtinnedtomatoes•Stewed,roastedorbarbecuedbush

meatswithvegetablesandrice

Use lots of different

coloured vegetables like

carrots, pumpkin, cabbage,

tomatoes, green beans,

broccoli, caulif lower and

chinese cabbage.

Fresh, frozen and tinned vegetables are all good to use. Add vegetables when you are cooking.

Drinks for children•Makesureyourchilddrinksplentyofwaterduringtheday.•Childrenneednomorethan2cupsofmilkaday.•Teachyourchildtodrinkfromacup.

Choking•Childrenundertheageof4yearscanchokeonsmall

piecesoffood.•Donotgivewholenuts,wholegrapes,popcorn,lollies,

rawcarrotsorapple.

Drinks are an important part of your child’s diet.

The whole family needs to have healthy food and drinks.

For more information contact your local health worker

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au.

© State of Queensland (Queensland Health) 2011 In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work,

as long as you attribute Queensland Health.

Children will copy

what you do, so if you

eat and drink healthy

so will your children.