A balanced diet of healthy foods provides a child of any age with the essential vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fat necessary for normal growth and development. By knowing what foods to choose and the recommended daily servings for each food group, a parent or guardian makes better choices for a child's future good health.
Grains
Any bread, cereal, pasta or cracker that is made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal or barley is considered a source of grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain while refined grains are milled in a process that removes the bran and germ. Most refined grain products are enriched with the vitamins that are lost during the milling process. Good sources of whole grains for children include popcorn, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, brown rice and whole-wheat cereals. Good sources of refined grains include pasta, grits, white bread, cornbread, noodles and pretzels. The daily recommended allowance for grains varies with age, gender and level of physical activity. Three oz. is recommended for children ages 2 to 3 years old. This value increases to 5 oz. from the ages of 4 to 8 years old. During adolescence, girls should eat 5 oz. while boys of the same age need 6 oz.
Vegetables
A child's well-balanced diet should have a variety of vegetables, including dark green and orange vegetables. The daily recommendation depends on age, gender and level of physical activity. In general, the recommended daily allowance for toddlers begins at 1 cup and increases to 2 1/2 for adolescent girls and 3 cups for teenage boys. Good dark green vegetables are broccoli, spinach and bok choy. More kid friendly vegetables include carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans and peas. Beans such as lentils, pinto beans and black-eyed peas are options. Any vegetable, either raw or cooked, and 100 percent vegetable juice are part of this group. One cup of a raw or cooked vegetable or 2 cups of a raw green leafy vegetable each count as a 1 cup serving.
Fruits
Children ages 2 to 8 years old need 1 cup of fruit daily The recommended daily allowance increases to 1 1/2 cups through adolescence for both girls and boys. However, by the teen years, boys need 2 cups each day. Any fruit, either raw, frozen, canned or dried, and 100 percent fruit juice are part of this group. Fruits such as raisins, diced watermelon, bananas and dried apricots make for a healthy snack.
Milk
Calcium is an essential nutrient for the development of healthy bones. From infancy to adolescence, calcium should be part of a child's diet. The body absorbs calcium to build bones, a process that continues through the teenage years. To guarantee strong bones and possibly prevent age-related osteoporosis, children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old should have 2 cups of milk each day. During adolescence and the teen years, boys and girls need 3 cups daily. All milk, either whole or skim, cheese such as Swiss or cheddar, yogurt and pudding made with milk are all choices from this group.
Lean Meat and Beans
Lean beef or pork, poultry, fish and beans are all sources of protein that are included in this section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid. Healthy snacks from this group include peanuts and peanut butter, pistachios and almonds. Eggs, salmon, tuna and tofu are other healthy sources of protein for kids.
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