Menu for a child aged 4-5 years: basic rules

When compiling a weekly menu for a 5-7 year old child, it was taken into account that the child’s digestive tract is fully formed and he can consume all the same food as an adult. The only exceptions should be made for fatty pork and lamb. When compiling the menu, it was taken into account that the child should receive per day:

- energy - kilocalories 2000 - 2350;

- proteins - 70 - 77 grams;

- fats - 70 - 80 grams;

- carbohydrates - grams 270 - 330.

Basic principles of baby nutrition

A short guide to the basics of proper nutrition for children and adolescents. Following these rules will help you easily teach your child to eat right and instill a love for healthy food.

The most important thing in a healthy diet is variety. Baby food should combine both animal products and plant products; both raw and cooked foods.

You can’t focus only on plant-based, dairy or low-fat products. A peculiar diet can disrupt the development of a child, contribute to excessive weight gain, develop vitamin deficiency or other abnormalities.

Children in any situation remain children, and food should correspond to this. This means that you should give up hot seasonings, sour sauces, exotic combinations or culinary delights; all additives should be as natural and mild in taste as possible, so as not to dull the sensitivity of the receptors. If a child refuses lunch, this does not mean that the food is tasteless. Before emptying the plate, the child evaluates it from an aesthetic point of view, namely, “Is the plate beautiful?”, “Does my food look attractive?”, “Does it smell appetizing?”, and only then tastes it. Young children need to be interested in food first, and only then offered to eat. You will have to fuss with the choice of dishes and serving food.

Don't forget that everyone has their own food needs and preferences. Some people need to eat 5 large portions of food, while others get by with two. These are all normal options; the most important thing is that food helps maintain normal well-being and maintain physical health. Already in childhood, the development of obesity or dystrophy should not be allowed.

The need for food changes with activity. One day, a preschooler may eat as much as an adult, and then completely refuse food for the entire next day. And this is also the norm.

On all walks you need to have enough water with you to be able to quench your thirst at any time. The child's body reacts very sharply to a lack of water, this is especially pronounced in hot weather or when playing sports. It is best to drink clean drinking water, but herbal teas without sugar, water with pieces of fruit or berries will also work. Do not replenish your water supply with store-bought juices, sodas or other sweet liquids.

Sweets - in moderation. Despite the fact that sweets are very often adored among children, you should not indulge in them: this is fraught with the development of caries, the appearance of excess weight, and impaired glucose absorption. It is important to remember that at the end of the day, honey, cane sugar or fructose is no different from regular white beet sugar. There is also a lot of glucose hidden in dairy products and baked goods.

Sample menu for one day

Due to active physical and mental activity, a seven-year-old child should eat up to 2,500 calories daily. Every day's menu must include:

1. Breakfast. Cereal porridge – oatmeal, buckwheat, rolled oatmeal. Fermented milk products in their pure form or casseroles. Eggs. Homemade baked goods or brown bread sandwiches. Drinks – compote, tea, cocoa.
2. Lunch. Fruits, drinking yogurt, nuts, sandwiches.
3. Dinner. The soup is low-fat. Meat or fish are not fried. Vegetables with vegetable oil.
4. Afternoon snack. Fruits, dried fruits, nuts. Kefir.
5. Dinner. Vegetables, sandwiches, dairy products.
6. Snack before bed. Yogurt, kefir, milk.

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If a child is allergic to certain foods, then they do not need to be included in the menu.

A child's diet should include foods that will help the baby grow and develop, and absorb the maximum mental load that he is given at school. In addition, the child moves, plays, and this also requires strength.

Features of the age of seven

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As already mentioned, at the age of 7 a child goes to school, some children have already completed first grade. Children spend more time at school, this is what needs to be taken into account when creating a children's menu. For example, my daughter studies the second shift, her school lessons begin at one o'clock in the afternoon, so she must receive the bulk of her food at home.

But the school also organizes meals, so this must be taken into account and warned so that the child does not overeat. Don't forget that eating too much is not always healthy. Even if there is little food, it must be of high quality and healthy. In this case, there will be more benefits for the body. So, taking into account the school schedule, my child eats breakfast, lunch and dinner at home. The afternoon snack falls during school time. At first I tried to convince my daughter that there was no need to go to the school canteen, that the afternoon snack could be packed in a case. I didn’t succeed, because children who are still in primary school are interested in the very process of going with the class to the canteen, being on duty, and eating traditions.

A significant role of parents in organizing meals for a seven-year-old child is to teach him table manners. Even before school, a child must learn to eat independently, use cutlery, behave politely at the table, and observe etiquette.

Interesting: Proper nutrition for children

Features of child nutrition at 1-4 years old

You should be very careful when developing a diet for children at this age. By the age of 4, the baby’s chewing apparatus is quite well developed; it includes 20 milk teeth, of which 4 pairs are chewing teeth. But at the same time, the digestive functions of the stomach, intestines, liver and pancreas have not yet reached full maturity, so children are very sensitive to deterioration in the quality and composition of food, inconsistency in the amount of food or violations of the regime of its intake. It is important for parents to understand that it is precisely because of improperly organized nutrition of a 4-year-old child that various chronic diseases of the digestive system may develop in the future. The consequences of this can also be a violation of general physical development and a decrease in learning ability. The most important elements of proper nutrition are compliance with the diet of a 4-year-old child during the day, the appropriate distribution of foods, portion sizes and the total daily calorie content of the daily diet.

Foods to include in your child's diet

The most difficult thing is to choose products that will be beneficial for the child’s body. This will not be difficult if the baby is accustomed to healthy food from early childhood. The buns, pies, ice cream and chocolates that some parents try to feed their children are actually harmful and will not bring any benefit to the child. A child's diet should include

Daily:

• lean meat or fish;
• milk;
• dairy products;
• vegetable oils;
• cereals, cereals;
• vegetables, greens;
• fruits, berries.

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Few times a week:

• eggs;
• butter;
• nuts;
• legumes;
• fatty fish;
• dried fruits;
• honey, jam, jam.

How to create a menu?

Nothing changes in the diet - the baby will continue to eat 4 times a day. The daily norm for children of this age is 1700 calories. A significant part is for lunch, approximately 1/3, 1/4 each for breakfast and dinner, the remaining 15–17% is afternoon tea. As drinks, you can offer compotes, coffee substitutes based on barley or chicory, not too strong cocoa, and all kinds of juices.

If at the age of 3 children are cooked mostly soups without frying, by the age of 4 you can gradually transfer the child to the common table. True, it is necessary to carefully monitor the freshness of products - a child’s body is much more vulnerable to foodborne infections, and what is suitable for adults can cause severe intoxication in a child. In addition to solyanka, borscht and soups - with meat broth or vegetable broth, the child can periodically be offered okroshka, as well as light fish soups.

Afternoon snack. This is one of the most favorite meals for children - as a rule, they are offered something light and tasty. Puddings, yoghurts, fruit purees, buns, kefir, cottage cheese casseroles and other delicacies. Of course, there is no need to overuse cookies or other confectionery products; healthy food is a priority.

Dinner may consist of a side dish and a meat dish, but fatty and heavy foods should be avoided. The principle is simple - the food eaten by the baby must be digested before bedtime. It can be veal meatballs, vegetable stew, pumpkin porridge, light salads. In any case, you should avoid industrially prepared semi-finished products and canned food - they are suitable only for emergency cases. Try not to give your baby crab sticks and seafood cocktails - they can often cause an unexpected reaction.

The essence of proper nutrition is not only in the proper preparation of the diet, but also in the culture of food consumption. Don’t make allowances for age; a 4-year-old child is quite capable of learning basic table manners.

Weekly menu for a 4-5 year old child

Monday

Breakfast - rice porridge with pumpkin, a glass of cocoa, bread, butter, Lunch - cheese soup, meatloaf, pancakes seasoned with sour cream, fruit, bread Afternoon snack - grated raw carrots, seasoned with sour cream, bun and kefir Dinner - apple pie, milk

Tuesday

Breakfast - stewed vegetables with the addition of sour cream and sausages or homemade sausage, bread, butter, tea Lunch - pea soup, buckwheat porridge, boiled chicken fillet in sauce, salad, bread, fresh cranberry jelly Afternoon snack - cheesecake, apples, yogurt Dinner - potato casserole and minced meat, kefir or milk

Breakfast - boiled fish, buckwheat porridge, milk, bread, butter Lunch - meat broth, baked chicken, fresh salad, bread, hard cheese Afternoon snack - milk, bun with jam Dinner - cottage cheese casserole, milk

Thursday

Breakfast - semolina porridge with raisins, carrot roll, milk Lunch - vegetable soup with dumplings, boiled potatoes with meat, salad, bread, compote Afternoon snack - baked apples, sandwiches, milk Dinner - potato pancakes flavored with sour cream, tea, bread, butter

Friday

Breakfast - mashed potatoes, boiled fish, kefir, bread Lunch - milk soup, chops with stewed cauliflower, salad, bread, tea Afternoon snack - pancakes, fruit, yogurt Dinner - cottage cheese casserole, milk

Saturday

Breakfast - oatmeal with walnuts, milk, bread Lunch - meat borscht, boiled fish, roast, fruit, bread Afternoon snack - omelet, cookies, milk Dinner - sandwiches with hard cheese and boiled meat, milk

Sunday

Breakfast - buckwheat porridge with chicken, milk, bread Lunch - broth, fish cutlets, pilaf, salad, bread, tea Afternoon snack - corn flakes, milk, cookies Dinner - pancakes, yogurt, kefir