The food pyramid is a very suitable tool for parents to refer to. This way we will know that our children's diet is diverse, varied and contains the foods they need to meet their nutritional needs.
We will explain it to you weekly and how we can follow it at home. Remember that thanks to a healthy and balanced diet, the little ones get the essential nutrients for building bones, muscles, and training your brain for life.
What is the food pyramid?
The food pyramid It is a graph in which the foods that we should eat appear in a schematic way. It is very easy to interpret, even your son or daughter can do it, and I advise you that you always have it visible in a place in the kitchenMine for example is stuck on the refrigerator door.
In each layer of the pyramid different types of food are included. Below are the ones we have (parents and children) to eat daily and in greater quantity. And above all, what you have to consume in less quantity, but without doing without them, it is just that you have to take them less and less frequently.
In the food pyramid too daily water intake and physical exercise are included. These elements complete and are essential for proper nutrition.
Nutrition pyramid for children
The nutrition pyramid has a version for children, which also changes with age. The drawings that appear in it are also adapted to the culture of each country, the accessibility to food, but In its concept, it develops the ideal diet for children of any race.
At its base are water and carbohydrates. Children must be given several servings daily, ensuring that the largest amount is in the morning and noon. Whole-grain carbohydrates are better for the contribution of fiber, very important in the diet of children. Foods rich in these whole carbohydrates, brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, bananas and potatoes.
In the next layer are fruits and vegetables. You already know a minimum of 5 servings a day, and olive oil, of which you have to take between 3 and 6 tablespoons a day, and better raw than fried. Dairy is a very important element in the formation of children's bones during their growth stage. You have to take about 4 servings a day, milk, yogurt, cheese, better if they are skimmed.
The nuts, fish, lean poultry, eggs and legumes, They make up the next step and these rations are beginning to be weekly. If you want to teach your children the importance of the nutritional pyramid, we recommend that you look for an explanation of this children's topic on YouTube, you will see how easy and entertaining it will be for them to understand it!
More things besides the pyramid
Other issues to take into account when feeding a child, we can call them social. For example, whenever possible sit down to eat with themMake a family meal, in which the child shares that space with his parents and siblings and sees that he eats the same as they do.
Explain to your child why he should eat well, what is the importance of his diet. Prepare food with him, to help you in the kitchen. Keep in mind that the taste buds are newer than those of adults and all the flavors are more intense, hence the rejection of some foods by some children. Cook without salt for them or dress them up in different ways. Decorate the plate to make it more attractive to the eye.
Keep in mind that unless there are allergies or intolerances there are no good or bad foods for children. They should eat everything, but in adequate amounts and portions.
If you want more tips on how to teach your children to eat well you can consult this article.