Nutrition of a child at 3 years old

Providing a balanced and healthy diet for a child is an important task for any parent. The baby is actively moving, physical activity is increasing and therefore he needs sufficient consumption of all vital microelements and vitamins.

What can a 3 year old child eat?

Child's diet at 3 years old should be more varied than at 2 years old.  Protein foods should always be present. Since it is involved in all body processes - growth, brain and body function, metabolism and strengthening immunity.

Protein is found in the following foods:

• meat;
• fish;
• dairy products;
• eggs.

In meat, preference should be given to turkey, beef, and rabbit. The fish must be sea fish - salmon, pink salmon, etc.

Recommended servings per day:

• meat - 100 g;
• fish - 100 g;
• eggs - 1/2 pcs.;
• dairy products - 0.5 l;
• cottage cheese— 40 g.

Along with proteins, the child should also receive carbohydrates - the main source of vitality.

They can be obtained from:

• porridge;
• pasta;
• vegetables;
• potatoes;
• fruit and berries;
• bread

It is advisable not to give a lot of foods with fast carbohydrates - cakes, sweets, sugar, butter cookies. As an exception, you can eat marshmallows and marmalade.

Vegetable and animal fats can be obtained from sunflower and butter. The recommended serving is no more than 30 g per day.

The main thing is not to overdo it in nutrition. Don't force anything into your child that he can't eat. Everything should be in moderation.

Menu for a child aged 3 years

Breakfast. It must contain complex carbohydrates, which give strength for the whole day. This could be cereals, dairy products, egg dishes or casseroles. For drinks, you can offer cocoa with milk.

Dinner. Of course, no one canceled the first course. It is an integral part of the baby's diet. For the second course you can offer a cutlet, vegetable stew or fish.   Finally, juice or compote.

Afternoon snack. Here you can pamper your child with delicious sweets - pudding, muffins, sweet casserole. You can make a sandwich with butter and cheese.

Dinner. The evening meal should consist of light, but satisfying foods. For example, cabbage rolls, pasta with vegetables, potato cutlets. Afterwards you can eat toast with jam.

Of course, it is impossible to strictly follow only this diet. Some children have allergies for milk protein or simply don’t like fish. Therefore, you should replace products with equivalent content of nutrients.

You can also eat canned foods, such as green peas, corn or beans.

Remember: at the age of three there is still a ban on honey, margarine and mushrooms.

As an exception, honey can be used in baking, in its pure form - a maximum of half a teaspoon. The child's pancreas is still too weak to cope with such a heavy product.

How much should a child eat at 3 years old?

Any pediatrician will answer this question with exact figures that a child should eat at least 350 g at one meal. And so mothers begin to frantically stuff their little ones with food. This is where you have to stop and think about whether you are doing the right thing. Remember yourself as a child, how your mother forced you to eat every last drop, but you no longer wanted to eat. Don't repeat these mistakes.

The child eats exactly as much as he needs. And you can feed a bear. The exception is those cases when the baby completely refuses to eat. But there must be reasons for this - a sore throat, feeling unwell, etc. This is where you should consult a doctor.

If a child often snacks before main meals, then it is better to establish a diet. Usually in kindergarten there are no problems with this, because... everything is on schedule there. And, of course, the size of the portions eaten depends on the time of year. In summer, almost all children eat poorly.