Here - Health Promotion Agency

Feeding your child
SOME IDEAS TO TRY
IF YOUR CHILD
WON’T DRINK MILK
Milk
•
Porridge, hot oat cereal
or cornmeal made with
full-fat milk
Breakfast cereals with milk
• Vermicelli cooked in fullfat
milk
• Rice pudding, custard,
bread-and-butter pudding
•
Dairy ice-cream made
with milk
Cheese
•
Macaroni cheese, cheese
on toast, cheese on
vegetables and bakes
• Vegetable soup with
grated cheese
•
pieces of fruit
• Cottage cheese dips
Chunks of cheese and
Yoghurt and fromage frais
•
Add fruit (fresh, frozen
or canned) raw, stewed or
baked, to full-fat yoghurt
or fromage frais
Milk
• Add yoghurt to curry
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YOUR TODDLER’S DIET
By the time your child is starting to
stand up and take his/her first steps,
he or she will be joining in family
meals. They will also be more active
and using more energy, and will need
a varied, energy-rich diet for good
health and growth.
We all need energy (calories) and
nutrients (protein, carbohydrate, fat,
vitamins and minerals) to grow, for
activity, and for the body to work
properly and repair itself. Babies
and children under two have small
tummies and can’t eat large amounts
of food all in one go, so they need
small meals with healthy snacks in
between. Like the rest of the family,
your toddler needs to eat a variety of
foods from the following five groups.
By doing so, your child will almost
certainly get all the nutrients he or
she needs.
•
Milk and dairy foods – milk,
cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais.
•
Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and
other starchy foods – bread, rice,
pasta, maize, potatoes, breakfast
cereals, etc.
•
Fruits and vegetables – all types
of fruits and vegetables.
•
Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other
non-dairy sources of protein –
meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans,
lentils etc.
•
Foods and drinks high in fat
and/or sugar e.g. fats, oils,
biscuits, cakes, chocolate,
puddings, crisps, sweets and icecream,
can be given in limited
amounts in addition to but not
instead of those listed in the
previous food groups. Foods
containing sugar should be
limited to mealtimes as they can
damage teeth if eaten between
meals.
and dairy foods
Milk is important for young
children. Whole milk and full fat
dairy products are a good source of
vitamin A which helps the body to
resist infections and is needed for
healthy skin and eyes.
After the age of one, children
need less milk than they had as a
baby. Give smaller drinks of milk in
cups or beakers, not bottles. A
minimum of 350ml of milk a day
will provide energy for growth, and
calcium for strong bones and teeth.
You can continue breastfeeding after
the age of one if you wish and fullfat
cows’ milk can now take the
place of infant formula and followon
milk as your baby’s main drink. If
your child doesn’t like drinking milk
every day, give two to three servings
of milk-based dishes, cheese, yoghurt
or fromage frais daily, preferably after
a main meal.
Use full-fat milk and dairy
products until your child is two.
Children under two need the
extra fat and vitamins in full-fat
dairy products. Semi-skimmed
milk can be introduced from two
years of age, provided your child is a
good eater and growing well.
Skimmed milk is not suitable for
children under five.
Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and
other starchy foods
Whether it is bread or breakfast
cereals, potatoes or yams, rice or
couscous, pasta or chappatis, most
children don’t need much
encouragement to eat foods from
this group. Serve these at all meals
and as occasional snacks.