A short guide to healthy eating for one-to-fives
…and they’re off!
This little guide will help get them off to a good start.
What your little one eats plays an important part in keeping them happy and healthy, as well as growing and developing properly. Between the ages of one and five, children grow very quickly and become more active. By now they’ll be joining in with family meals and it’s a great time for them to learn about food.
Go for variety
The best way to make sure your child gets all the nutrients and energy they need is to give them a wide variety of foods from the four main food groups.
POTATOES, BREAD, RICE, PASTA AND OTHER STARCHY CARBOHYDRATES
Examples
Bread, breakfast cereals, potatoes, pasta, rice, couscous, quinoa, noodles, chapattis and yams
Quantity
At least one serving with each meal and as some snacks
Key nutrients
- Carbohydrate
- B vitamins
- Fibre
Tips
Small portions of these foods make great snacks
Give a mixture of white, brown and wholegrain varieties
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Examples
All fresh, frozen and tinned fruit (in natural juice) and vegetables (in unsalted water) and dried fruit
Quantity
Aim for 5 a day, offer with each meal and some snacks.
Key nutrients
- Vitamins – especially vitamin C and A
- Dark green vegetables provide some iron
- Fibre
Tips
Dried fruit should be kept to mealtimes only as it has higher concentration of sugar that can contribute to the development of tooth decay
Vegetables can be easily added to soups and stews. Or some children prefer to eat their vegetables raw
MILK, CHEESE AND YOGURT
Examples
Milk, cheese, yogurt, fromage frais
Quantity
3 portions of dairy a day: one portion is 100-120ml (small glass) milk, 125g pot of yogurt, 15g of cheese e.g 1 heaped tablespoon of grated cheese
Key nutrients
- Calcium
- Protein
- Phosphorus
- Iodine
Tips
Milk can be used in custard, milk puddings, sauces and soups
Try yogurt as a pudding or snack
BEANS, PULSES, FISH, EGGS, MEAT, TOFU AND NUTS
Examples
Meat, poultry (e.g. chicken, turkey), fish (e.g. tuna, fish fingers), eggs, nuts*, pulses (e.g. peas, baked beans, chickpeas, lentils) and soya products such as tofu
Quantity
Offer 2 servings each day for young children. Offer Vegetarian children 2-3 servings every day
Key nutrients
- Protein
- Iron (especially red meat and liver**)
- Other important vitamins and minerals including zinc and vitamin B6
Tips
Even small amounts of meat are useful to help keep iron levels topped up
Lean meat, tinned salmon, tuna, peanut butter*, houmous and eggs all make ideal sandwich fillings
*Nuts
- Safety: children under five should not be given whole nuts because of the risk of inhaling and choking. Give them as crushed or finely ground nuts or nut butters.
- Peanut allergy: The risk of an allergy is reduced if children begin eating peanut butter during weaning. Speak to your healthcare professional if you are planning on giving peanuts or foods containing peanuts for the first time when your child is already older than 12 months.
**Liver
- If you give liver or liver products to your child, they should be given no more than once a week.
Milky
matters
Milk is an important food for young children. It contains many nutrients, providing:
- Calcium and protein for growth and development of children’s bones
- Vitamins B2, B5 and B12
- Iodine, phosphorus and potassium
Try to give your child at least 350ml of milk a day or two servings of foods made from milk, such as cheese, yogurt or fromage frais.
Cow’s milk can be added to cereal, soups and mashed potatoes.
Between the ages of one and two, offer your toddler whole milk to drink rather than skimmed, 1% or semi skimmed milk. Whole milk will provide more energy and fat-soluble vitamins. This goes for whole milk yogurt and cheese too!
From two years, you can start to introduce semi-skimmed milk if your child is eating a good variety of foods and growing well. Otherwise, stick to whole milk. 1% and skimmed milk don’t provide enough fat soluble vitamins or energy for under 5s.
If your child doesn’t like to drink milk, try to offer other dairy foods such as cheese and yogurt. You can also add milk to dishes such as custard, milk puddings, fresh fruit milkshakes, sauces and soups.
You may choose to continue giving your baby breastmilk alongside family foods for as long as you and your baby want.
Milk allergy
Vitamins and iron
Tiny tums need small, nutrient packed meals
Fibre
Vitamins
Iron
Red meat and some oily fish provide iron to the diet. The iron in other foods such as eggs, pulses, nuts and bread is not as easy for the body to absorb. Foods which contain vitamin C (e.g. citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, onions and most fruits) can help increase absorption of iron from non-meat foods so it’s a good idea to include these in the same meal.
Where can I get iron?
(e.g. beef, lamb, pork)
Liver*
Chicken and turkey
(especially the dark meat)
Other foods
that provide iron
Bread with added iron
Pulses
(e.g. baked beans and lentils)
Dried fruit like apricots and raisins
Dark green leafy vegetables
*It is recommended that liver or liver products are given to children no more than once a week.
Veggie kids
A vegetarian diet can be a healthy one for young children but it takes careful planning to make sure that the nutrients usually found in meat are provided from other foods.
As red meat is a good source of iron, it’s particularly important to include plenty of alternatives such as pulses and fortified bread and breakfast cereals (along with vitamin C-rich foods to help absorption – see examples). Meat also provides other minerals, vitamins and protein which is also good to be aware of.
A veggie diet can be quite filling for a small child, so low-fibre, nutritious choices such as eggs, cheese and milk will help meet your child’s nutrient needs.
If your child is vegan, ask your GP to refer you to a Registered Dietitian for specialist advice.
Active kids
Under-fives should be physically active for three hours every day, and not be inactive for long periods, (except when they’re sleeping, of course!).
Being inactive is not good for our health, including our little ones’. Encourage them to reduce their screen time (watching TV etc), and to walk and move more, and to not to sit for too long.
For very little ones (under 2 years) include light activities such as:
-
standing up
-
moving around
-
walking
-
playing with toys
When your little one is more confident at walking, they can try more energetic activities. These types of activities should make kids “huff and puff” and can include organised activities, such as gymnastics. Other types of energetic activities include:
When your little one is more confident at walking, they can try more energetic activities. These types of activities should make kids “huff and puff” and can include organised activities, such as gymnastics. Other types of energetic activities include:
-
active play
-
swimming
-
running around
-
climbing frame
-
dancing
-
skipping rope
Nourishing
nibbles
Between-meal snacks provide an important nutrient and energy top-up for small children. Nourishing nibbles include:
- Small sandwiches (filled with grated cheese, egg, tuna or lean meat)
- Fingers of toast with cheese spread or houmous
- Plain yogurt or fromage frais with added fruit
- Sliced or chopped fruit (e.g. apples, pears, bananas and grapes)
- Raw vegetables, sliced or cut into sticks (e.g. carrots, tomato and cucumber)
- Toasted muffin or bagel
- Sticks of cheese
- Rice cakes, bread sticks or oat cakes
- Small bowl of breakfast cereal and milk
- Scones, crumpets or pancakes
Keep snacks tooth-friendly by keeping them sugar-free. Nourishing nibbles include:
Limit snacks to 2 or 3 times per day about halfway between meals. Too many snacks may not leave enough room for main meals.
Drinks
Milk and water are good choices for young children. Milk provides key nutrients such as protein, calcium, potassium and a number of B vitamins.
New guidelines recommend reducing sugar intake by limiting sugary drinks and fruit juices. If you choose to give your child fruit juice it should always be well diluted, given in a cup and at mealtimes only.
Squashes and other soft drinks are not recommended. Not only are they bad news for teeth (even the ‘diet’ versions), their nutrient content is very low too. Toddlers who drink them frequently can have less room to eat well at mealtimes. Fizzy drinks should be avoided.
It’s also best not to give young children tea or coffee, especially with food, as this may interfere with iron absorption.
By the age of one, your child should be using a cup or beaker for their drinks. Prolonged bottle drinking is not recommended.
Magic mealtimes
- Use brightly coloured, child-sized cups, plates and cutlery.
- Present the food in an attractive, toddler-friendly way – make it interesting and colourful.
- Try to eat together – sit at the table with your child and have something yourself or with the whole family.
- Turn off all distractions, mealtime isn’t screen time!
- Let your child help with simple food preparation or laying the table – they’ll love feeling involved.
- Try not to get too wound up if your child makes a mess. It’s all part of learning about food!
- Encourage new foods and don’t worry if they are rejected, just try again another day.
Safe tums
Avoid
- Rice drinks (they may contain too much arsenic)
- Raw or partly cooked eggs that don’t have the red lion mark
- Shark, marlin and swordfish
- Unwashed fruit and veg
- Raw fish
Fussy eaters
It’s very common for young children to go through phases of being fussy about what they eat – sometimes eating very little, refusing to eat certain foods at all (even ones they previously liked) or wanting to eat the same thing day after day.
As stressful as this can be, it’s rarely harmful. In fact, fussy eating is a normal part of growing up and showing independence.
How to cope
- Try to keep calm! Best not to make the dinner table a battleground.
- Eat together, the best way for children to learn to eat and enjoy new foods is to copy you.
- Keep portions small at first and praise your child for eating.
- If after gentle encouragement, your child refuses to eat something, just remove it without a fuss.
- Don’t leave meals until your child is too hungry or too tired to eat or give too many snacks between meals.
- Try not to use food as a reward, it can lead to labelling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
- Children sometimes get thirst and hunger mixed up and don’t realise they are hungry.
- If your child has a friend who eats well, invite them round for tea; children can learn from the good example of their peers.
- Children’s tastes change – over time they may learn to accept a food they once refused if you eat it yourself and say something positive about it.
- Try serving new foods on a separate plate, not on the same plate as their favourites.
- Offer foods in a way your child likes them such as plain dry foods only, with sauces offered on a separate plate. A child might refuse cooked veg but may love the raw, grated version.