Nutrition for Children

Healthy eating habits, unlike a diet, can help your kids avoid obesity, lose weight, or stay at a healthy weight throughout their whole life.

Learn how to use portion control and mind control to help your kids eat less, as eating less is an important part of most healthy eating habits to ward off childhood obesity.

Taking some time to understand the basics of child nutrition, from newborns to teens, can help you avoid common mistakes, make healthy choices, and teach your kids healthy eating habits.

Reviewing cheese nutrition facts, you can see that cheese may not be a great substitute for milk, as a slice of cheese has a lot less calcium and vitamin D than a glass of milk.

Most nutrition experts recommend against forcing kids to eat foods they don't like or making them "clean" their plates. So how do you get them to eat more vegetables, fruits, and other healthy foods? How do you avoid power struggles and mealtime battles in your home? How do you get your kids to eat healthy foods?

When you hand your kids a glass of milk and say 'drink this,' do they turn their head and look for a soft drink or glass of chocolate milk? Learn why extra calories in drinks can contribute to childhood obesity problems and healthier drinks you should be offering your kids.

A healthy eating plan that you can use to help your kids reach the food pyramid goals and recommendations for eating fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and drinking milk.

Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet and most experts recommend that both children and adults eat a high fiber diet. Learn how much fiber your kids should be getting in their diet each day and about finding foods high in fiber.

Although parents don't think about it much, vitamin E is an important vitamin that kids need. Learn how to make sure your kids are getting enough vitamin E from the foods they are eating, including nuts, vegetable oils, leafy greens, and fortified cereal.

If there was one thing that parents could change about their child's eating habits, it would usually be to get them to eat more vegetables. Learn about current recommendations for eating vegetables, lists of vegetables, vegetables recipes, and how to get your kids to eat more vegetables.

The CHILD-1 diet and nutrition recommendations to limit added sugar and high-fat foods and eat more high-fiber foods can help kids who are overweight, have high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, but are also a good idea for other kids to help stay healthy and avoid all of those problems.

Eating more whole foods is a good way to replace many of the processed snacks and foods that have a lot of extra sugar, fat (including trans fat),salt, and other things added to them and a lot of good things taken out, like fiber.

The food pyramid has long encouraged kids to eat foods from each of the food groups each day, but that only works if you and your kids understand what the food groups actually are. Learn about the five food groups, what nutrients your child can get from each, and what the MyPlate campaign says about food groups.

Learn how to read food labels so that you can choose foods that will provide your family with a nutritious and balanced diet.

As you learn to avoid high fat foods for all other children, it is just as important to learn to choose low fat foods as part of your family's healthy diet. In addition to food labeled fat-free and low fat, healthy low fat foods include most fruits and vegetables.

Parents are getting used to the idea that there are certain foods that they should encourage their kids to eat and others that they should avoid. Of course, this usually means avoiding high fat foods.

Review this list of high calorie foods to avoid, especially if your kids are overweight, and some you might want to encourage your kids to eat if they are poor eaters and underweight and you are trying to boost their calories.

Review these lists of high fiber foods to find healthy foods for your child, and learn which foods are good sources of fiber, including many fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans), breads, and cereals.

It is generally recognized that kids eat too much junk food, which is likely contributing to the current childhood obesity epidemic. Learn how to recognize and avoid junk food from your child's diet.

Review this list of iron rich foods so that you can give your kids at least two or three foods that have a lot of iron in them each day and avoid iron deficiency anemia.

Parents who are worried about the possible presence of pesticides, antibiotics, and even growth hormone in the foods that their kids eat have been turning to organic food for their family. Learn whether organic food is safer or more nutritious and whether you should be buying organic food for your kids.

In addition to their three regular meals, kids often get quite a few calories from the snacks they eat throughout the day. Make sure your kids are eating healthy snacks, including low-fat, low-calorie foods such as fresh fruits and raw vegetables.

Review common protein rich foods that your kids may be eating and learn if your children are getting enough protein in their diet.

Eat This Not That! For Kids! is a great book to help parents learn to make healthier choices at restaurants, when buying food at the grocery store, and even at school.

Learn how to encourage your kids to eat a healthy lunch at school, including lunch ideas for your child's lunch box that encourage good eating habits.

As hard a time as some parents have getting their kids to eat healthy at home, it can seem almost impossible when you take them out to eat, especially if they usually choose foods from the kids' menu. Learn how to help your kids eat healthy when eating out at restaurants.

Folate is an important vitamin, which most parents are aware of because of the association of low folate levels with premature babies and birth defects. Of course, kids need folate too. Learn about folate rich foods, so that you can make sure your kids are getting enough folate in their diet.

But even those parents who avoid going to fast food restaurants too often typically overlook the fact that their kids eat too much fast food at home, including frozen pizza, hot dogs, french fries, fruit juice, and soda. Learn how to eat healthier meals at home and avoid fast food at home.

According to the MyPlate guidelines, at least half of the grains that kids eat each day should be whole grains, such as 100% whole wheat bread. Learn how to choose and encourage your kids to eat more whole grain foods, including brown rice, whole grain pasta and whole grain cereals.

A food diary can be a great way to keep track of the calories your kids are eating, especially if they are overweight, and to make sure that they are getting enough fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals, etc., from all of the different food groups.

Although you usually shouldn't have to count calories each and every day, it can be helpful to know about the calories in the foods your kids eat. This is especially important if your child is already overweight.

Food coloring and food dyes have been used throughout history, although until recently, most food coloring was natural and didn't include the artificial food dyes that are commonly used today. It is this artificial food coloring that is causing some controversy now, being blamed for causing ADHD and other behavior problems. Learn if you should...

Parents often have a lot of time figuring out how much to feed their children, whether it is a toddler who doesn't seem to be eating enough, or an older child who is already overweight and is eating too much. Understanding the normal portion sizes, which depend on your child's age, can help to make sure your child is getting the right amount to eat.

As you learn about healthy food and avoiding junk food, you can really put those lessons to work at the grocery store when you buy groceries. Learn how to make a healthy grocery list for your family and which groceries you might want to keep out of your shopping cart.

A photo of a toddler feeding himself with a spoon, a milestone most children reach between 13 and 21 months, although they may still be messy.

As parents work to avoid junk food, they often struggle to find alternative foods for their kids to eat. Learn to choose healthy food for your kids to eat.

Probiotics seem like they are the next "new thing" in infant and child nutrition. Should you give your child probiotics as a supplement, from yogurt, or infant formula?

Our Calorie Calculator will help you determine how many calories that you and your kids need each day.

Avoiding foods high in salt is not on top of the list for most parents, but maybe it should when you consider the possible link between obesity and high salt diets and the risk of high blood pressure.

Review why children and teens should not get caffeine in their diet and which drinks have caffeine in them and healthier caffeine free alternatives.

Potassium is an important mineral that some parents look to increase in their children's diet, especially if they start complaining of things like growing pains. Learn which foods are high in potassium to help make sure your kids are getting enough of this important mineral in their diet.

Healthy drink choices for your family, which you can also start at home to set a good example, might include drinking low fat milk, water, limited amounts of 100% fruit juice, and avoiding soda, fruit drinks, and other high sugar, high calorie drinks.

Depending on who you ask, you might hear raisins referred to as the perfect snack for kids or "nature's candy" or as just another junk food that increases their risk of getting cavities. Review whether or not you should let your kids eat raisins.

Review common causes of constipation and how you can prevent and treat your child's constipation with simple changes to your child's diet.

Review the new Dietary Guidelines to help people make better food choices and live healthier lives.

Review why eating fruits and vegetables are important and how you can get your kids to eat more of them.

These 'Child Nutrition By The Book' guidelines can help you to make healthy choices when planning your family's diet.

These Dietary Guidelines from the USDA offer sound advice that will help to promote your health and reduce your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis.

Review what to do with your child's leftover Halloween candy so that you and your kids aren't eating and picking at it for weeks and weeks, which may lead to an extra 3 or 4 pound weight gain going into the holiday season.

Vitamin D is now again being recommended for infants who are exclusively breastfed or who aren't drinking enough infant formula or milk.

I am worried about my kids also getting high cholesterol. Should I let them eat eggs? How many eggs can my kids eat each week?

What to know before you buy vitamins for your children. Important vitamins and minerals include iron, calcium, fluoride, and Vitamin A, C and D.

I am pregnant and have heard warnings about eating fish. Is it safe to eat fish while I am expecting? Is it safe for my toddler to eat tuna fish?

Drinking too much fruit juice can contribute to obesity, the development of cavities (dental caries), diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems, such as excessive gas, bloating and abdominal pain. Learn about the AAP recommendations on juice consumption for infants and children.

How many fruits and vegetables should my 3 and 8 year old children be eating each day?

My 14 month old has a milk intolerance. He has been on a soy formula, because he has diarrhea every time that we tried to give him a cow's milk based formula. He also had diarrhea when we recently tried to introduce regular cow's milk. Does he really need to drink milk?

Food allergies affect up to 6% of children and can cause serious and even life threatening reactions. Learn about allergic reactions, the most common foods that cause allergies in children (eggs, milk, peanuts, soy and wheat), having multiple allergies and about food labeling to avoid foods with ingredients that your child is allergic to.

Researchers predict that nearly half of all children in North and South America will be overwieght by 2010. One-third are already considered overweight. How can we lower the fat in children's diets and help them lead healthier lives?

Nutrition for children and teens: family resources for eating healthy at school and at home.

Offers age appropriate nutrition guidelines to provide your children with a healthy diet. Includes information about high blood pressure, iron deficiency anemia, eating disorders, overweight children, vegetarian diets, and sports nutrition.

Facts and Answers from the CNRC, including information ranging from anemia and day care nutrition, to vegetarianism and dietary supplements.

The health benefits of a plant-based diet are well documented, but whatever your dietary choices, we all need to make sure we have an adequate intake of essential nutrients. This section will help you ensure your diet is balanced and provides information about specific nutrients as well as special needs.

Helpful information for parents who have chosen to bottlefeed their babies.

The ADA web site, with nutrition tips, fact sheets, dieting help, and other nutrition resources, including position statements and how to find a registered dietician in your area.

Activities for parents and their children to help promote healthy nutrition, including using the food guide pyramid, shopping, cooking and choosing foods together, and growing plants.

How to get kids to eat great and love it, with healthy eating habits for children of all ages, a nutrition newsletter, and tips for eating a healthy diet for kids and parents.

From the National Network for Child Care, information about common nutrition issues, food related activities, breastfeeding basics, meals and snacks and food safety.

Fruits & Veggies--More Matters is a national public health initiative created to encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables--fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice.

Detailed nutrition information on meals your children may eat at many popular fast food restaurants. Does a Double Whopper with Cheese really have over 1000 calories?

Advice on how to improve school foods and beverages.

A guide to the new food guide pyramids, with dietary guidelines and food plans.

Although you don't want to get in the habit of forcing your kids to eat foods they don't like or make them "clean" their plates, there are lots of healthy foods kids like. Parents often overlook these healthy foods and go straight to what they think are more "kid-friendly foods," such as hot dogs, pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets, juice and...