Meals a four year old child should eat It is important for a four-year-old child to eat a well balanced diet

Key issue 3

Meals a four year old child should eat

It is important for a four-year-old child to eat a well balanced diet. They should eat three main meals each day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The British nutrition foundation says that the most important thing to remember when thinking about making changes to your own child’s diet is that food should be enjoyable. Foods should not be classified as either good or bad, as no matter how bad the food is it can always be included in a healthy diet as long as the overall balance of nutrients in the diet is right. Getting a good start booklet also from the health promotion agency tells us that we should encourage the child to eat a wide variety and the right amounts of each food. The food standards agency’s also gives this advice. It also says that mealtimes are social occasions, which provide children with opportunities to learn table manners and to practice their language skills. This means that all meals should be ate together preferably at the table and you should try to avoid any distractions such as television during meals as this may put the child of their food.

A healthy breakfast for a child is one that provides them with a good supply of energy and nutrients. A popular choice at breakfast is cereals as some are good sources of vitamins, iron, and minerals and as milk is added to them the child is also getting a good supply of calcium. Drinking a glass of fruit juice with their breakfast is giving them one of their five a day portions of fruit. A smothie is another good choice at breakfast as it is full of different types of fruit, which will provide the child with essential vitamins for ...

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Snacks that children eat are mostly unhealthy options for example crisps, sweets and chocolate. The dairy council tells us that we should try to get children to eat fruit and raw vegetables for snacks such as oranges, grapes and carrots or celery sticks.

At lunch times you should vary the child’s meals and keep them interesting and healthy. As one third of our diet should be made up from starchy foods try giving the child

thick sliced bread or rolls, other starchy foods that could be put in the lunch box are pasta, rice and scones with a small amount of spread. Try to give the child a range of fillings in their lunch eg tuna, ham, peanut butter, salad or cheese and tomato. Fruit juice, water or milk is best as a drink in the lunch box as fizzy juice may make the child hyper for the rest of the day and it is also full of additives and sugar. Instead of giving the child sweets in their lunch try giving them some nuts or raisins, grapes or a bun.

Healthy evening meals should contain a range of foods eg spaghetti bolognaise or potatoes, mixed vegetables and chicken. But some young children don’t like to eat vegetables or fruit. The getting a good start leaflet states that you should offer the foods in small amounts and not to force the child to eat the food or to bribe them with a reward of a pudding. I asked nurse Boreland how she would encourage a four year old child to eat fruit and vegetables, she said that in her house she has a rule that all fruit and vegetables have to be eaten if they like them or not or else the child does not leave the table and would not receive a sweet treat afterwards. I think Nurse Boreland has this view because she is a nurse and knows what the current dietary advice is for children and she also wants her children to be healthy. However when I asked my mum the same question she said the best way to get children to eat fruit and vegetables is to play a game with the child by blind folding them and giving them a mouthful of a variety of fruit and vegetables and some other familiar foods. This allows the child to try fruit and vegetables that they have never tried or refused to try in the past without even knowing what they are eating. She has this view because she is a childminder and a playschool teacher.

I agree with my mum on this issue as I feel that her way is more fun for the child and it is better in a way because the child is not made to feel that they are being forced into eating the food but that they are eating the food because it is nice. I also agree with the information given from the health promotion agencies ‘getting a good start’ leaflet which says to involve your child in the preparation of the meal only when safe to do so, to encourage the child to eat all foods but never force them to eat and to offer finger foods of all kinds but especially fruit and vegetables on the table for the child to try out the foods for themselves.