When the recommended period for exclusive breastfeeding passes, the first question parents have is how to ensure a healthy diet for children.¹
After all, we know that it can be easy to give in to the temptation of letting them eat junk food and non-nutritious dishes, right?
But we also cannot forget that food introduction is the right time to introduce good foods and shape the child’s taste for life.¹
If, as soon as solid foods are allowed for children, you start offering natural options, it will be easier to maintain a healthy diet for children.
Therefore, today we have some tips that can help you introduce healthy foods to your child at the right time and contribute to their health well beyond childhood. Let’s go!
How important is healthy eating for children?
Before we move on to healthy eating tips for children, let’s understand why it’s important to make good choices when putting together your little ones’ meals.
According to the Ministry of Health, for children up to 6 months, feeding must be done exclusively by breastfeeding.
This is because breast milk has the exact nutrients a baby needs to develop healthily, in addition to helping with immunity, reducing the risk of disease.¹
However, as the child grows, their nutritional needs change, and maintaining only breast milk after 6 months may not be enough.
This is where what we know as food introduction comes in, which must be associated with breastfeeding (which is recommended until two years of age or more).
At this time, it is essential to invest in a healthy diet for children. After all, at this stage they will get to know the foods (and refuse some, of course, after all it is an adaptation period).
Healthy eating for children is essential for:
- help keep her nourished, as breast milk alone is insufficient for older children;
- contribute to disease prevention and maintenance of immunity;
- assist in the healthy growth and development of the child.
Healthy eating tips for children
Now that you know why worrying about a healthy menu for children is essential, let’s look at the tips that can help you maintain the most balanced and natural diet possible for little ones. Let’s go
1. Include fruits and vegetables in all meals.
A balanced diet is only possible when there are several food groups on the plate.
The child needs to know these food groups and have the chance to try them in their early years, this increases the chances of them gaining a taste for them.¹
To do this, offer cereals, fruits, vegetables, grains, vegetables, as well as meat and eggs.
Your child may initially refuse certain foods. At this time, don’t force him to eat unintentionally. Offer it again day after day, until you notice an easier acceptance.
Another tip that can help is to avoid mixing too many foods in the same meal. Let the child get to know the texture and taste of foods individually, to become familiar with them.
If your little one still eats baby food (kneaded and mixed meals), add at least one food from each group to create a healthy and complete meal.
2. Offer your child different foods a day
Avoid focusing on just the same foods. A healthy diet for children should be varied, this is their chance to discover as many fruits and vegetables as possible.
Therefore, if you offer fruit during the day, for example, give different fruits. The same goes for legumes, vegetables and grains.
Furthermore, focus on foods that have more vitamins and help with iron absorption, as nutrient deficiency is common among children.
3. Offer fiber-rich foods to children
During childhood, constipation is one of the most common and recurrent intestinal disorders, being the cause of 3% of pediatric outpatient consultations and 25% of pediatric gastroenterology consultations.
This happens mainly because, during food introduction, many parents do not worry about including fiber in their meals.
Furthermore, hydration tends to be lower during this period, as it is not necessary to give children water until 6 months.
Therefore, this is another healthy eating tip for children: include fibrous foods during food introduction.
This way, you can help avoid intestinal problems that are common at this stage of life.
4. Avoid processed and industrialized foods
It can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet for children when there are so many processed foods and snacks made for little ones.
However, just remember that if you don’t offer the first time, they simply won’t meet you.
Therefore, completely exclude processed, canned, sugary and processed foods from your child’s daily life. After all, none of this goes with a healthy menu for children, does it?
Furthermore, it is also important to avoid additives and colorings, lots of seasonings, excess salt and sugar in a healthy diet.
Extra tip: propose nutritional re-education for the family
Do you want to know the best way to maintain a healthy diet for children? Take care of the whole family’s diet.
After all, your child will only know and like the foods that are offered. But if healthy foods aren’t part of the household’s daily routine, he certainly won’t have the chance to try them.
Likewise, if a child never sees their parents eating vegetables, for example, it is unlikely that they will want to try them.
Therefore, it is very important to ensure that, when sitting at the table to eat, they are presented with a colorful, healthy and varied meal, so that they learn the importance of healthy eating for children.