Got this in an email today and noticed I haven't ever posted about children's eating. So here ya go. :)

Honey, I Misfed the Kids

By Mary_RD on Oct 29, 2009 12:00 PM in Dieting & You

For better or worse, the eating patterns of toddlers and preschoolers mirror those of the adults who care for them. That’s why 24 percent of two-to-five year olds are overweight or obese in the United States. “Parents and caregivers need education around the unique nutrition needs of young children, especially during the transition from baby food to table food.” That’s what Dr Nancy Butte of the Children's Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine told Forbes in response to the Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) presented at the ADA-FNCE last week.

FITS

The Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) looked at the eating patterns of 3,378 babies and toddlers aged 4 months to 48 months on a given day. The study was carried out by Mathematica, non-partisan research organization. The study provided a snapshot of the eating patterns and nutrient intakes of very young children living in the United States.

Crazy for French fries

The most important FITS finding was that children have the same dietary problems as adults: their diets lack fruits and vegetables and are high in sugar and saturated fat. Among older infants (19 - 24 months), 30% ate no vegetables and 25% ate no fruit, and for those who did eat vegetables, French fries were eaten most often. The preschoolers sampled were not low on total calories or most nutrients, but their diets were low in fiber, vitamin E and potassium, while 84% ate too much sodium and 75% ate too much saturated fat. (Think pizza, mac+cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, crackers and pretzels, etc. - Oh, my!) Like their parents, little children are sitting ducks waiting for heart disease and diabetes to arrive.

Transition Time

Before babies transition to table foods, their diets are generally more nutritious. But around 12 months, baby formula gives way to cow's milk, which is great, but isn't packed with nutrients like formula is. Months earlier, iron-fortified infant cereal is often replaced with the sugary stuff. (In a separate report from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity published last week, preschool-age children in the US were found to see an average of 642 cereal commercials a year on television alone. The commercials are almost all for cereals with the worst nutrition rankings.)

Feeding Kids Right

The average toddler/preschooler needs about 1300 calories a day, including 6 servings of grains, 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruits, 2 servings from the dairy group, 2 servings from the meat and bean group, and a limited amount of fats. Their portions are small and serving sizes vary according to age - one tablespoon of vegetables for each year of life or ½ to one ounce of soft meat or half a small piece of fruit at a time. Ideally, toddlers will eat simple fresh foods with very little seasoning. Potato, sweet potato, banana, soft chicken, eggs, beans and tofu are examples of good toddler foods. Until age two, toddlers should drink whole milk, limited to 16-24 ounces a day, and 100% fruit juice that is kept to 4-6 ounces a day. Excess milk and juice kill the appetite for other foods. In addition to three small meals, toddlers need a couple of small snacks during the morning and in the early afternoon. Since children (and everyone) naturally choose sweets to the exclusion of more nutritious foods, sweets should not be available for snacking.