The Right Nutrients for Our Kids
How Essential Nutrients Support the Growth and Development of Children
Healthy nutrition plays an important role in children's development and requires access
to nutritious foods. In Tennessee, food insecurity is a significant issue, as 1 in
6 children face hunger. Roughly 42% of Tennessee households need food assistance.
With food costs at an all-time high, many parents are turning to processed and prepackaged
foods as a more affordable option. Although these foods will fill a child's stomach,
they can also result in a child eating more calories, and not receiving the nutrients
their body needs to thrive.
Children need to receive the proper nutrients from each of the five food groups:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Protein foods
- Grains
- Dairy
As children age, their bodies need essential nutrients that are crucial to healthy growth. During this time of rapid bone growth, calcium needs are at their highest. Children need to consume foods that are rich in calcium, such as low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt. If a child does not tolerate these food options, there are many food and milk substitutes, such as cereal and soy milk.
Podcast: Nutritional Guidelines for Young Children
It is important for children to eat a variety of foods so that they are more likely
to receive the recommended nutrients from day to day. Carbohydrates, fats and protein
are essential to build and fuel the body. Vitamins, minerals and water are also important
to help the body function well.
Inadequate nutrition may lead to poor growth. This has the potential to negatively
impact a child's brain development, which can affect behavior and school performance.
Iron rich foods are key to a child's nutrition and are proven to benefit their growth.
Examples of iron rich foods:
- Beef
- Pork
- Poultry
- Seafood
- Beans and peas
- Dried fruits
- Leafy dark greens
- Iron-fortified breakfast cereals and breads
Healthy nutrition is a balancing act. USDA MyPlate lays out many recommendations for parents to make regarding their child's diet, including several resources that make it easy to manage the food their child consumes. One such resource is the USDA MyPlate Plan, which provides several tools, print materials and videos to support healthy nutritional habits for the entire family. They also have a mobile app to make nutrition easy and convenient. USDA MyPlate is available in both English and Spanish.
USDA MyPlate recommends that a plate contain many foods:
- Half a plate should contain fruits and vegetables
- Make half of your grains whole grains
- Choose lean proteins (include eggs, beans, peas, nuts and seeds)
MyPlate Resources Easy MyPlate Recipes!
There is so much great information on the USDA MyPlate website about healthy eating
at all ages, budget-friendly recipes to share, helpful apps, and a great tool that
will help you see what MyPlate Plan is best for each member of your family.
Get the MyPlate Mobile App on Apple or Android! Nutritional Advice for the Whole Family!
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