It is crucial for every parent to take care of the child’s food during different development stages. Maintaining the right diet chart for kids during the initial years ensures maximum brain development. There are different types of food for kids that you can feed them to ensure good physical and mental growth. These food items would help your kids maintain proper weight as well as height during growth years.
Children in the age group of 2 to 11 achieve optimum cognitive and physical growth. Moreover, parents can reduce the risk of chronic diseases by choosing age-appropriate food. Therefore, it is important to inculcate healthy eating habits in kids and be choosy with the food you pick.
Food for Kids Age 0 – 1 year
When your kid is still an infant, take care not to feed any spicy food to him or her. Ensure that there’s no food item that needs chewing or can be swallowed. Preferably stick to fluids and very soft food items that can be easily digested. Feeding kids fruits and boiled vegetables in crushed and pureed form is highly recommended.
- Breast milk
- Soft fruits like bananas and plums
- White rice cereal
- Brown rice cereal
- Green vegetables (crushed)
Age 1 – 2 years
As your kid’s teeth start developing, start feeding small amounts of foods that need chewing. However, at this stage, do not start with items like cashew nuts and groundnuts as the kid’s milk teeth are prone to damage. Make sure that the food choice includes healthy and nutritious items. Here is a good list:
- Toast
- Meat (small amounts)
- A lot of dairy products including milk and cheese
- Honey, jam, peanut butter
- Baby carrots
- Green leafy vegetables
- Peas
Age 2 – 3 years
There are no set restrictions on the diet of your kid after he or she develops stronger teeth and can chew the food. However, you should focus on the following items to ensure the proper amount of nutrition. Besides, kids must enjoy the food you choose for them. So, try bringing variations to recipes and make dishes that are full of nutritious ingredients, but fun to eat.
- Dairy products (milk, cheese, and butter) should be part of the daily diet
- Apples and other juicy fruits
- Celery
- Beans
- Chicken and fish
- Whole grain bread
- Sweet potato
- Broccoli
Age 3+ years
Kids reach a stage of hyperactivity and their daily schedule includes a lot of physical work when they start attending school. After the age of 3, you should focus on a high-protein diet for kids so that they can maintain their weight.
- Fish and eggs
- Potato salads
- Meat sandwiches
- Steak
- Green vegetables
- Beetroot
- Corn
If you follow this diet plan to provide food for kids, you will experience that your kid is always energetic and happy. A lot of good exercise and playtime along with these food items would ensure that your kid is healthy and fit.
Read also: Books Every Child Must Read
