KEY POINTS
- Children need fruits and vegetables daily for healthy growth and brain development.
- Early eating experiences can affect how we eat as we get older.
- See tips on how to introduce young children to healthy foods, including a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Introduce fruits and vegetables
Children need fruits and vegetables daily for healthy growth and brain development. Early eating experiences can also affect how we eat as we get older. This is why it’s so important to introduce young children to healthy foods, including a variety of fruits and vegetables.
To help children grow strong, include fruit and vegetables with their meals and snacks. Fresh, frozen, or canned options are all OK. With canned vegetables, look for products with low sodium. With canned or frozen fruits, choose ones with little or no added sugars.
Prepare and store fruit and vegetables in single-serving containers. Then you’ll have a healthy snack ready when children are hungry.
How many fruits and vegetables children need depends on their age and how active they are. Use this information as a general guideline and use MyPlate Plan for more specific recommendations.
Daily consumption recommendations by age
12 to 23 months1/2 to 1 cup of fruit2/3 to 1 cup of vegetables
2 to 4 years
- 1 to 1 ½ cups of fruit
- 1 to 2 cups of vegetables
Some changes in how food is prepared can make fruits and vegetables even healthier. For example, rather than serving children a cereal bar containing fruit, offer them a few slices of whole fruit with unsweetened granola. Another example is to shift from fried vegetables to roasted vegetables.
Serve a rainbow of color
Include a variety of fruits and vegetables to make a rainbow of different colored foods on your child’s plate. Examples include:
- Fruits: bananas, strawberries, pears, oranges, melons, or avocados.
- Vegetables: cooked spinach, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, or beets.
- Whole grains: whole grain breads, crackers, or pastas.
- Protein foods: lean beef, lamb, chicken, deboned fish, or turkey (soft, small pieces for children 6 to 12 months); beans, peas, and lentils; nuts, seeds, and soy products.
- Dairy: pasteurized yogurts or cheeses (or lactose-free versions and fortified soy milk and yogurt alternatives).
Try these playful activity cards to keep your picky eater engaged and open to new tastes and textures.
Introduce first foods
When children are about 6 months old, you can start introducing them to foods and drinks other than breast milk and infant formula. These are sometimes called complementary foods. Think of these as “complementing,” or adding to, breast milk or infant formula that you continue to feed your child. For most children, you don’t need to introduce foods in a specific order.
By the time children are 7 or 8 months old, they can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. Your child needs a variety of vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.
Avoid giving certain foods and drinks to children younger than 12 months.
Encourage new foods
As your child gets older, it’s important to introduce them to a variety of foods. Between your child’s first and second year, they will develop the skills needed to participate in family meals. By 2 years old, your child will be able to eat most of the same foods as everyone in the family.
At this time, they may start refusing foods they previously liked or may start showing signs of picky eating. Favoring just a couple of foods or not wanting foods to touch each other on the plate are normal behaviors. These behaviors often go away by the time the child is about 5 years old.
Children may need to try some foods many times.
Children may not like every food you give them on the first try. Give them a chance to try foods again and again, even if they don’t like them at first. Children may need to try some foods many times before they like them
Consider drinks too!
When your child is 6 to 12 months old, you can offer:
- Water (4 to 6 ounces per day).
- Breast milk (if you are still breastfeeding) or infant formula.
Once your child is 12 months old, you can begin offering pasteurized, whole cow’s milk and fortified soy beverages. These drinks are good sources of vitamin D and calcium for children 12 months and older.
If you want to serve your children fruit juice, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until they are 1 year old. For children older than 1, serve only 100% fruit juice. Also limit each serving to the recommended amount.
Avoid added sugars
Infants and young children should avoid added sugars. Check the Nutrition Facts Label to find foods with no added sugars.
Beverages with no added sugars are the best choice. These include water and unsweetened, fat-free or low-fat milk. Low-lactose or lactose-free milk and unsweetened, fortified soy beverages are also healthy choices.
Be their role model
Once children are 12 months or older, they will eat more of the foods that you eat. Healthy eating patterns set a good example for your children. Healthy eating patterns focus on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat or fat-free dairy. It’s also important to limit foods that are high in sodium and added sugars.
Unsweetened beverages are the best choice for adults too. See how to Rethink Your Drink. Also, MyPlate can help you choose healthy foods and drinks for your family.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/features/good-nutrition-starts-early.html
