Vegetarian Nutrition for Pre-school Child (II)

The evaluation of a child's growth should be made over a period of time due to the growth rate at this age often very unstable and might together with sudden increases in height and weight. Therefore, childhood nutrition is important at pre-school age and parents should pay more attention on their kids at this age.

Milk
It is recommended that, parents should not give children under 2 to consume semi-skimmed milk and should not give their children who are under 5 to consume skimmed milk due to the lack of the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and D. this is because young children require energy from fats too. Parents can use fortified soy milks which contain calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D as an alternative to cow's milk for their kids together in their diets.

Sugar and teeth
Naturally, children like sugar and sweet foods because of the sweet taste. Sugary foods will supply calories or energy but they have little or no nutritional value and they are also are a primary cause for tooth decay among children. Therefore, parents should limit the intake of sweet and foods high in sugar level in their kids’ diet. However, a small quantity of sugary foods such as healthy desserts like yoghurt and soy puddings is all right and it is better compared by using artificial sweeteners. Parents should discourage the development of a sweet tooth among children.

Salt
Moreover, parents should also limit the salt intake in their children’s diet because young kids’ kidneys are not mature enough to tolerate with large amounts of salts. The most common foods consist quite high amount of added salt are cheese, manufactured soup, packet mee or meals. Part of a healthy diet for a child is to avoid too many salty snacks, for instance, crisps, chips and other snacks.

Nuts
Young children must avoid whole nuts and seeds until they are 5 years old as nuts can seeds might easily choke on them. Parents can provide grounded nuts or puree and fine seeds which are also nutritious, such as smooth peanut butter and ground almonds.

Fitting in to Children Diets/Menus
Vegetables: 2 servings, if possible include chopped raw vegetables and dark green leafy vegetables each day.
Dairy product or Soya: 3 servings, including milk, cheese, hard-boiled free range eggs, yoghurt, fortified soya milk, tofu.
Fruits: 1-3 servings, preferably fresh fruits everyday, but dried fruit also alright for every few days.
Grains/cereals: 4-5 servings, including wholegrain bread, rice, breakfast cereals and potatoes but try to avoid those too high fiber foods.
Nuts and Seeds: 1-2 servings, for example, peanut butters, lentils, mashed beans, grinded or fine nuts and seeds and purees.

A serving will vary from half slice of bread to few tablespoons of vegetables. Moreover, parents must prepare meals in variety of different types of food from the 5 food groups to ensure good nutrition of their kids which is to obtain the required amount of nutrients each day. Everything has to prepare in moderation which is not too much or too little for their children to prevent their kids to develop obesity or malnutrition. The servings above are just a recommendation and need not to follow strictly for each meal. Parents can modify the diets according to their children’s nutrition needs and their serving size.