Related Topics Vegan Children Weight Management

You can also help promote good nutrition by setting a good example. Healthy eating habits and regular exercise should be a regular part of your family's life. It is much easier if everyone in the house follows these guidelines, than if your child has to do it alone. You should also buy low-calorie and low-fat meals, snacks and desserts, low fat or skim milk and diet drinks. Avoid buying high calorie desserts or snacks, such as snack chips, regular soft drinks or regular ice cream.

The best nutrition advice to keep your children healthy includes encouraging her to:

• Eat a variety of foods
• Balance the food you eat with physical activity
• Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits
• Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol
• Choose a diet moderate in sugars and salt
• Choose a diet that provides enough calcium and iron to meet their growing body's requirements.

The Food Guide Pyramid was designed by the US Dept. of Agriculture to promote healthy nutrition in children over two years of age. It is meant to be a general guide to daily food choices. The main emphasis of the Food Guide Pyramid is on the five major food groups, all of which are required for good health. It also emphasizes that foods that include a lot of fats, oils and sweets should be used very sparingly.

You can also help to provide your family with a healthy diet by learning to read nutrition labels on the foods your family eats.

Childhood Nutrition Links:

• Nutrition for Children: Proper nutrition in childhood can reinforce lifelong eating habits that contribute to your children's overall well being and help them to grow up to their full potential and a healthy life.
• Kids Eat Great: 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.

Also visit:
ADHD advice and information
Expert Pediatrician - child health and parenting advice
About Pediatrics - Expert Pediatric Parenting Advice
Father's First Year - read about Dr. Iannelli's new book