The Recommended Daily Caloric Intakes For Two-year-olds

The Recommended Daily Caloric Intakes for Two-Year-Olds

Apr 1, 2011 | By Laura Niedziocha

Part of raising a healthy child means making sure he is getting all of the nutrition and exercise he needs. Choosing healthy foods for yourself can be confusing let alone choosing the right foods for your little one. A two-year-old child doesn't need as many calories than you might think. A well-balanced diet will round out his daily diet with food from the grain, fruits, vegetables, dairy and protein groups. Sticking with appropriate serving sizes and healthy foods will provide the necessary calories, vitamins and minerals.

Calorie Recommendations

Your two-year-old needs about half the calories that you do. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, toddlers need only about 1,000 calories per day. More specifically, your toddler needs about 40 calories per inch of height each day. For example, if your two-year-old is 30 inches tall, multiply 30 by 40, which equals a total caloric intake of 1,200 per day.

Grains

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that every person get at least half of their grains from a whole grain source. This can include oats, cereal, bread, rice or pasta. A two-year-old needs to eat a total of three servings of grains each day. One serving counts as an ounce. An ounce serving is equal to a slice of bread or a half-cup of rice or pasta.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. These foods are full of essential vitamins and minerals that small growing bodies need. A two-year-old child should eat one cup of fruit each day. A cup of fruit counts as a cup of canned fruit or a piece of fruit. Daily vegetable requirements for two-year olds are the same as fruit at one cup per day. One cup of vegetables counts as one cup of cooked or raw vegetables

Protein and Dairy

The USDA recommendations of dairy for a two-year-old is two cups per day. One cup of dairy could be one cup of milk, eight ounces of yogurt, or 1.5 oz. of cheese. Toddlers need to eat two servings of protein per day. A serving is one ounce equivalent of meat, egg, legumes, nuts or seeds. A one-ounce serving equivalent is one ounce of meat, poultry or fish, one egg, one-quarter cup of legumes or a half-ounce of nuts or seeds.