A healthy diet for children, according to the Mayo Clinic, relies upon the same basic principles as those found in a healthy adult diet. From day one, children require vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals and other nutrients. They should also get enough healthy fat to stay strong and healthy, but the amount of calories children should eat and the amount of different vitamins and minerals changes as children age.
0 to 2 Years
During your child's first few months of life, she may require as many as 12 feedings in a single day, but that will likely drop to four or six feedings by 4 months of age. Once your child is 1 year old, she should begin eating solid foods. Medline Plus, an online information database provided through the National Institutes of Health, suggests introducing your child to whole milk at this time, feeding your baby a wide variety of foods and avoiding foods that could cause choking.
2 to 3 Years
For these two years, your child should consume between 1,000 and 1,400 calories every day, with as much as 40 percent of his diet consisting of fats. However, you should concentrate on healthy fats and keep saturated and trans fats to a minimum. You'll also want to feed your child nearly 20g of fiber and 500mg of calcium a day for proper growth and development.
4 to 8 Years
By age 4, your child's caloric intake total fat intake drops to approximately 25 percent for girls and no more than 35 percent for boys. Caloric intake leaps to 1,200 to 1,800 a day for girls and 1,400 to 2,000 for boys, Both boys and girls need about 800mg of calcium and 25g of fiber daily at this age.
9 to 13 Years
As girls enter adolescence, they should eat between 1,600 and 2,200 calories, and get 1,500mg of sodium, approximately 220g of carbohydrates, 1,300mg of calcium and 26g of fiber each day. Boys require the same amount of sodium and calcium and an average of 250g of carbohydrates within a daily diet of 1,800 to 2,600 calories.
14 to 18 Years
In the last teen years, females should eat as many as 2,400 calories a day, while active males need between 2,200 and 3,200 calories. And while both continue to need about 1,300mg of calcium each day and a girl's fiber needs remain the same as the previous stage, a boy needs nearly 40g of fiber for optimal health.
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