What do I need to know about feeding my preschooler and school-aged child?
Kids this age should basically follow the same principles of a healthy diet that adults should follow. They should eat a variety of foods from all the food groups. It's especially important at this age that you set a good example for your children with your food choices and your attitude toward food.
How can I make sure my teen is getting good nutrition?
As your child grows up, you have less and less control over what they eat. We can only help our kids develop good eating habits early on, and hope that they will stay with them. When your teen eats at home, take advantage of that time to get wholesome food into his or her body. Mealtime continues to be an important family time, so keep the television off while you're eating.
Here are some useful resources for your teen:
How do I know if my child is getting enough to eat and growing properly?
Is your child following their growth curve? The percentile your child falls into is not so important. Instead, look for steady growth that follows the curve. If you have questions or concerns about your child's growth chart, ask their doctor or nurse practitioner.
- Find out about using growth charts to plot out your child's growth.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is now used to chart kids' growth. It's not used the same way for kids as for adults, so read here about how to use it for kids, and check out the BMI web
calculator.
What if I'm concerned about my child's or teen's weight being too low or too high?
Read YourChild: Obesity and Overweight and Eating Disorders for information and resources relating to overweight and underweight concerns. Also see Your Child's Weight for a short discussion of these issues.
How much milk or juice should kids drink?
If
your child doesn't seem to want to eat food, but drinks lots of
milk and juice, they may be filling up on calories from these liquids.
After age two, most kids should switch to reduced fat milk (skim
or 1% milk fat). Even kid's arteries can clog up if they eat (or
drink) too much saturated fat. Talk to your pediatrician about
how much milk your child should be drinking.
Juice is not as nutritious as fresh whole fruit. If your child drinks juice, read the label carefully, and make sure it is 100% fruit juice. A yummy alternative to juice is a fruit smoothie made with whole fruit and yogurt in the blender.
Here are the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines on giving juice to kids:
- Sipping juice all day can lead to tooth decay.
- For children ages 1 to 6, intake of fruit juice should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces per day (about a half to three-quarters of a cup).
- For kids ages 7 to 18, juice intake should not be more than between 8 and 12 ounces a day.
- All children and teens should be encouraged to eat whole fruits.
To reduce the amount of milk or juice your child takes in, try diluting your child's milk or juice with water, and each day gradually adding more water until your child is drinking plain water to quench their thirst. This will help them make the change little by little.
What about soda pop?
That brings us to soda
pop. And of course, children should not drink soda pop or other
sweetened drinks as a daily beverage. Soda pop fills you up with
either empty calories or artificial sweeteners, and often contains
caffeine. Soda pop-sippers need to know that it's
also terrible for your teeth to have acidic, sugary liquid passing
over them all day long. If
your family likes these drinks, save them for an occasional,
special treat. Water should be your main thirst-quencher. Keep
filtered water, 100% fruit juice, and skim milk or soy milk in
your refrigerator instead of soda pop. Encourage your teenaged
kids to avoid soda pop. Drinking lots of soda
pop has been linked to increased risk of bone loss because
it replaces healthy beverages in the diet, and may interfere
with calcium absorption. It is critical to get enough calcium
from
birth through adolescence.
What about picky eaters?
A picky eater can drive you nuts. How do you know if you need to worry? Again, as long as your child has energy and is healthy and growing, they are probably getting enough food. If you are concerned, check with their doctor. Find
out some tips for when there's
a picky eater at home.
 Find
out more: Listen to a podcast interview with UMHS pediatrician
Dr. Julie Lumeng about Picky
Eaters: Turning 'Yuck' into 'Yum' .
Is snacking okay?
Snacks are great if your kid eats healthy snack foods. Think of snacks as mini-meals, and use them to get more grains, fruits, and vegetables into your child's diet. Keep healthy snacks ready and available to your kids. Bring healthy snacks with you on outings, instead of relying on fast food. Here are some ideas for healthy, no-cook, kid-friendly snacks:
- Cut softer raw vegetables or fruit into chunks. Skewer them onto thin pretzel sticks. To prevent discoloration, dip apples, bananas, or pears in orange juice after they're cut.
- Although it can be challenging getting some children to eat them, vegetables are a child's best friends. Especially when eaten raw, the nutritional value in vegetables can't be beat. Try broccoli or cauliflower flowerets, carrot or celery sticks, green pepper slices, cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges, zucchini sticks, and more. Cut them into sticks or coins. Then dip them into salsa, hummus, or yogurt dip. These are great alternatives to high-fat dips made with mayonnaise or sour cream.
- For older children, try making your own air-popped popcorn -- kids like to watch as it flies out of the popper.
- Peel a banana. Dip it in yogurt, then roll in crushed breakfast cereal, and freeze.
- Put 1/2 cup low fat fruit yogurt and 1/2 cup cold 100% fruit juice in a non-breakable, covered container. Make sure the lid is tight. Then shake it up, and pour into a cup. Kids also go for blender smoothies, made with yogurt and whole fruit.
- Using cookie cutters with fun shapes, like dinosaurs, stars, and hearts, cut slices of cheese, low-fat lunchmeat, and whole-grain bread. Then put them together to make fun sandwiches. Eat the edges, too.
- Mix peanut butter and bran flake cereal in a bowl. Shape them into balls with clean hands. Then roll them in crushed graham crackers. Fresh peanut butter (which often can be ground fresh for you at a health food store) is healthier than peanut butter with added fat, sugar and salt.
- Fill celery with peanut butter or cream cheese. Arrange raisins along the top. Call it "Ants on a Log!"
- Favorite fruits are often grapes (be sure to cut them in half for kids under age four), apple wedges, and banana slices. When choosing fruit, it's important to remember the many, many options available, including lots of kinds of berries, pears, grapefruit and orange slices, cantaloupe chunks and pineapple. And don't forget about more exotic fruits, like kiwi fruit, papaya and mango, and the fun star fruit (carambola).
What if my kid won't eat meat or is a vegetarian?
A vegetarian diet can be very safe and healthy for your child. But you may need to remind your child that being a vegetarian doesn't necessarily make them healthy (they may gravitate away from hamburgers to pop and French fries)! You and your child should learn to eat a variety of foods especially grains and legumes (beans) for protein, and not lean too heavily on cheese and eggs, which are higher in fat and cholesterol. Having a vegetarian in the family provides a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about nutrition and find some creative new ways to eat well.
What book should I read to help my child develop healthy eating habits?
How to Get Your Kid to Eat…But Not Too Much, by Ellyn Satter.
This is a book all parents should read, whether their children have eating problems or not. It applies to kids from birth through the teen years. The advice in this book can start your child off with a healthy relationship with food that will last a lifetime.
What are some other feeding and nutrition resources?
Still have questions about this topic? Go to
our survey to ask your questions, and we’ll try
to answer them on an upcoming
YourChild podcast.
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Written
and compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N. Reviewed by faculty and staff
at the University of Michigan
Updated May 2007
U-M Health System Related Sites:
U-M Pediatrics
U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
Our editorial policy
The information and links we provide are reviewed by University of Michigan developmental and behavioral pediatricians and child psychologists who are experts in child behavioral health. In choosing the links we provide, we use strict criteria to ensure that the information is accurate, and the source is reputable. As much as possible, we focus on information that is based on research. In areas where there is inadequate research, we include information compatible with prevailing expert opinion.
This website is updated regularly, but because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, we cannot be responsible for misinformation that may be accessed through the links provided. As always, this website is not a tool for self-diagnosis, and is not a substitute for professional care.
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