A child's diet for should include all six food groups recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: fruit, vegetables, grains, oils, calcium-rich foods and protein-rich foods. When searching for diets online for kids, find quality information by seeking out reliable sources, such as government websites, and avoiding websites that are also online stores. Consult with your pediatric medical professional before making changes to your kid's diet.
Vegan
A vegan diet excludes all animal products including meat, dairy, eggs, honey, lactic acid and gelatin. The diet for vegan newborns is ideally mother's milk for one year or more with two hours of fully clothed sun exposure per week to supplement vitamin D, as recommended by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D., in an article suggested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Soy formulas are a good second choice, but some brands contain animal ingredients. By 12 months, Mangels says babies should eat some cereals, mashed fruits and vegetables, along with tofu. By the age of 3, vegan toddlers eat nut butters, pasta, cooked beans, fortified soy milk, cooked and raw vegetables and a small amount of healthy oils. From the age of 4 through the teenage years, vegan kids should eat a wide variety of food that caters to their need for a balanced diet, especially protein, calcium, iron and vitamin B12.
Balanced Diet
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides all the details about balanced diets for kids online at its website MyPyramid.gov. Diets presented online include daily amounts needed from each of the six food groups. For kids between the ages of 2 and 8, diet plans are calculated based on the average weight and height for each gender. Balanced diets for kids ages 9 and over are based on age, gender, weight, height and amount of daily physical activity. A 10-year-old boy who stands 4 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 79 pounds and enjoys physical activity for 30 to 60 minutes daily should eat 6 ounces of grains, 2.5 cups of vegetables, 1.5 cups of fruit, 3 cups of calcium-rich foods or beverages and 5 ounces of protein-rich foods.
Feingold Diet
The Feingold Diet, developed in the 1970s by Benjamin Feingold, focuses on reducing the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known by its acronym ADHD. Feingold recommends eliminating all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from kids' diets. However, Jeffrey A. Mattes, M.D., formerly the medical director of the Child Development Clinic at Long Island Jewish--Hillside Medical Center, reviewed all published and completed controlled studies of the Feingold Diet and concluded it "is probably not effective, except perhaps in a very small percentage of children."
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