Dietary Guidelines for Kids Older Than Six

Dietary guidelines

By the age of 6, a child can tell you pretty clearly what she likes and what she might be hungry for. You should continue to instill good eating habits while trying to accommodate your child's tastes as much as possible. Boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 10 require about 1,800 to 2,400 calories each day. This number rises considerably as children head into puberty. Girls begin to require about 200 calories per day more between the ages of 10 and 12. Older children grow steadily and have a natural increase in appetite. Children at this age learn about where food comes from and how it is prepared. Most enjoy helping to prepare food. This is especially useful with new foods - children are more likely to eat foods they have helped prepare.

If a child stays with you for at least two hours after school, offer him a snack. If he stays with you longer than that, you may also need to offer him another snack or a meal.

Following are dietary guidelines recommended by the USDA for children in this age group:

Breads, cereals, rice, and pasta (6 to 11 servings)

Examples of servings:

• 1 slice of bread
• 1/2 bagel
• 3/4 cup ready-to-eat cereal
• 1/2 cup cooked cereal
• 1/2 cup cooked pasta or rice
• 5-6 whole-grain crackers

Vegetables (3 to 5 servings))

Examples of servings:

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked vegetables
• 1/2 to 1 cup raw vegetables

Fruit (2 to 4 servings)

Examples of servings:

• 1 piece of fruit
• 1/2 cup canned fruit
• 1/2 cup juice

Dairy products (3 or 4 servings)

Examples of servings:

• 3/4 to 1 cup low-fat or nonfat milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 ounces low-fat or reduced-fat cheese
• 1 cup low-fat or nonfat yogurt

Meat, fish, poultry and legumes (2 or 3 servings)

Examples of servings:

• 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, fish, or tofu
• 1 egg, 1/2 cup cooked dry beans or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter counts as 1 ounce of lean meat

Other good choices: shellfish, dried peas, lentils, and reduced-fat cold cuts

Dietary trends among children
The American Dietetic Association reports that the diets of today's children are lower in fat and, therefore, more heart-healthy than those of kids 20 years ago. The bad news, researchers say, is that youngsters still exceed daily recommendations for total fat saturated fat and cholesterol. Following are some of the findings reported by the American Dietetic Association:

• In 1988, fat totaled 36 percent of calories in children's diets. By 1993, that number had dropped to 34 percent.
  
• More than 75 percent of children in 1988 ate more total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than was recommended.
  
• Reflecting a drop in egg consumption, children ate less dietary cholesterol in 1985 than in 1973.
  
• The trend toward substituting more healthful foods shows up among 10-year-olds, whose diets show more two percent or skim milk (instead of whole milk), poultry and fish (instead of beef and pork) and margarine (instead of butter).
  
• Though their calorie intake stayed almost the same, 10-year-olds were three pounds heavier in 1988 than in 1973.
  
• For children and adolescents alike, desserts are one of the top five major contributors of total fat.
  
• As children get older, their total fat intake changes, with less fat coming from milk and more from meat.
  
• As children approach adolescence and young adulthood, fewer get even two-thirds of the daily recommendations for vitamins and minerals.

Eating away from home
Your active 6- to12-year-old will be spending a lot of his time away from home - in school, playing sports, at friend's homes. That's why it is important to instill good eating habits and help him to make the right food choices. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Make sure your child eats a nutritious breakfast.
  
• Send your child to school with a healthy lunch each day. Or, if food is provided at school, keep an eye on snack and lunch menus to make sure they meet your standards for nutrition.
  
• Offer your child advice on how to choose healthy foods in a restaurant. Encourage her to include a salad or vegetables in her meals when ordering out.
  
• Continue to offer your child new and interesting foods at home, so that she has a wide variety of healthy choices when she is eating out.
  
• Allow your child to enjoy candy, ice cream and other treats in moderation and balance the treats with more healthful food.

Unfortunately, most children and teens do not meet dietary calcium recommendations. National nutrition surveys say that more than one-half of all children under 5- and nearly seven-eighths of girls ages 12 to19 - do not meet the 1989 Federal recommendations for calcium.

Children and teens can get enough calcium in their daily diets by drinking 3 to 4 glasses of milk throughout the day, in breakfast cereal, with lunch, dinner or as a snack. Making milk the standard and routine drink with meals throughout childhood and adolescence, and even through the adult years, is the best way to assure adequate calcium intake. For children over the age of two, low-fat or nonfat milk is recommended because it will add calcium to the diet without the fat. There are now a variety of milk products available, ranging from whole milk to nonfat or skim milk - but an 8-ounce glass of any variety still contains about 300 milligrams of calcium. Teens and young adults concerned about calorie intake and weight gain should know that 12 ounces of fat-free milk contains less calories than a 12-ounce soft drink, and provides 1/3 of daily calcium needs as well as many other important nutrients.

The NICHD recognizes inadequate calcium consumption among children and adolescents to be a growing problem and a serious threat to their later healthy growth and development. NICHD researchers are working to develop methods to prevent osteoporosis both through physical activity and through dietary means in childhood. Although adequate calcium benefits bones of all ages, children and teens need more calcium today to protect against bone fractures tomorrow.

Lactose intolerance
Some parents may think that their child or teen is lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is the inability to properly digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy foods. Lactose intolerance results in symptoms of bloating, gas, stomach cramping and diarrhea after eating dairy products. However, most children can tolerate lactose. African-American, Mexican-American and American Indian children and Asian Pacific Islanders are more likely than Caucasian children to be lactose intolerant. Recent studies show, however, that even children diagnosed with lactose intolerance can drink one to two cups of milk each day without suffering abdominal discomfort.

Kids and fast food
Many children are fast-food fans, so remember to teach your child the benefits of choosing lower-fat selections. Encourage your child to look for grilled items or substitute baked potatoes for French fries. Fast-food restaurants offer milk and juice, too, so encourage your child to avoid the sodas and milk shakes.

Breakfast and school performance
Everyone knows that breakfast starts the day right - but can breakfast actually help children learn better? Early evidence says yes; skipping breakfast changes the way our brains work and could diminish school performance, especially in children who already are poorly nourished.

Researchers believe breakfast affects learning in two ways. One involves metabolic changes when an overnight fast continues; the other involves the nutrients contained in a good breakfast, which can amount to a significant part of a child's overall nutrition status. While further research is needed to pin down the relationship between morning nutrition and academic achievement, it's safe to assume that the estimated 12 percent of American students who skip breakfast are missing out on an important key to success in school.

Overweight children
About 25 percent to 30 percent of American school-age children are overweight, which puts them at risk for disease and low self-esteem. You should check with your doctor if you suspect your child is more than 20 percent above the ideal weight for his weight and height range. If your child is moderately overweight, there will probably be no talk of dieting at this age. Instead, your doctor will try to slow down the weight gain by changing eating habits, lowering fat intake and increasing your child's level of activity.

If your child is more than 40 percent overweight, a doctor-guided weight-loss program may be suggested. During the course of the program, the emphasis should be on adopting a healthier lifestyle for the long term, not just on losing weight now.

Parental response to sleep problems
If you child has a sleep problem such as night terrors, experts advise to be as understanding as possible. A negative response by a parent can sometimes make a sleep problem worse, especially if it is associated with a stressful situation like a new home, a new sibling, a tragedy in the family, problems at school or some other recent change in your child's life.