Children grow at different rates throughout childhood, but they need a nutritious diet at all times to ensure that their bodies obtain enough nutrients to help them develop properly. To aid in your child's growth and help promote good health, offer a meal plan that helps meet his nutritional needs.
Food Groups
All children require a certain amount of proteins, vitamins, calories and minerals to promote healthy growth. Fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy products and liquids are vital elements in their diets. Milk and dairy products enable the growth of strong bones. Choose foods for your child's diet that are low in trans fats and saturated fats. Limit her cholesterol intake, but allow plenty of carbohydrates for energy. The USDA provides an online tool called My Pyramid that can help you determine your child's particular nutrition requirements based on factors such as age, gender, weight and level of activity.
Protein Needs
Your child needs protein, found most readily in animal products. Lindsay Allen, a registered dietitian and professor emerita at the University of Southern California Davis, tested the benefits of protein on 544 Kenyan children. Some children received 60 g of meat daily as a supplement to their diets, while others received milk, a vegetable oil supplement or no supplement. After two years, children in the meat-supplemented group showed up to an 80 percent greater increase in upper-arm muscle compared with the non-supplemented children and for milk drinkers, this figure was 40 percent. The children whose diets included meat also performed better during intellectual tests, according to Allen's February 2005 presentation at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C.
Healthy Choices
Your child needs nutrition from all the basic food groups, but the choices you make about what types of food to serve within each group will affect your child's healthy growth. Whole grains provide more nutrition than refined grains. Try serving more oatmeal, multi-grain bread and brown rice than processed breakfast cereal, white bread and white rice. Fresh fruit and vegetables provide more nutrition than canned. If you choose canned fruit, pick a variety packed in its own juices rather than one in syrup. Canned vegetables contain a lot of sodium, but you can remove much of the salt by rinsing them before cooking. Introduce your child to healthy types of protein -- lean poultry and legumes, for instance -- rather than hamburgers and steak.
Considerations
A healthy diet is not the only thing that helps children grow into healthy adults. Children also require a minimum amount of sleep. As with diet, each child's sleep needs differ. But the average child needs 10 to 12 hours of sleep every 24-hour period. Their bodies need rest in order to keep growing. You can also help you child achieve healthy weight gain by promoting an active lifestyle. Early and late growth spurts are common, but if you're concern about your child's growth rate, consult a physician.
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