Serving Sizes for Kids

We just had a pediatrician come talk to our playgroup and she talked a lot about serving size and not so much in measuring everything out, but first you child's stomach is aobut the size of their fist. 2nd, it's okay if they don't clean their plate. Children will feel hungry, then eat just until that feeling subsides, NOT until their full. if we provide a balanced meal for them, they may not always eat everything, but be consistent at providing it and what they didn't like a week ago may all of a sudden be okay. She also stressed to make sure they aren't grazing on snacks all day. carrying around those "no spill" cups or bowls of cheerios are the worst thing you can do to sabotage their appetite for meal time. A Day might be: Breakfast, a snack mid morning, Lunch, Snack after naptime/mid afternoon, dinner, snack just b4 bed.
She said snacks should be no longer than about 10 minutes and be something healthy. cheerios/crackers are empty calories that in the long run are very good for kids. Don't let them carry it around. If they refuse to sit that the table or have the snack then they will need to wait until the next meal. Thus, we teach them, how to manage their hunger.

it's a lot how our society used to live, before vending machines, mcdonalds, convenience stores where we could graze whenever.

I posted good advice about this on the board in the health/diet (?) section, I can't remember. Good rule of thumb, they should eat what fits in there hands, 6 times a day. The food and drug administration has the food pyramid. It has awesome tools and you can get a food plan specialized for you. Good luck. www.mypyramid.gov

I think www.Gerber.com is a great resource (for the 2 yr old at least) Also you can call them at 1-800-4-Gerber and they'll answer your questions. I know they aren't doctors, but they are in the food business and I think they are very knowledgeable. They do obviously promote their own food, but they also just give general advice on the website.

Go check out www.gerber.com

I would have to go to the food network here is the web site that you can look up that might help www.foodnetwork.com, or I would also have to say that PBS usally have something on there. I don't know what time, but that is another option to look into if you get the chance. Wwll gotta get running so chat with you later

M.

I agree with all the other responses, as well. And I also have always heard that generally speaking, a serving size is about one tsp of each kind of food for each year they are old. So if you have green beans, it would be 4 tsp of green beans for your 4 year old, and 4 tsp of each other item served. In a nutrition class I attended, I was also told that children often need to be served a "new" food item 6-12 times before it becomes familiar enough to accept and eat it. So just because your child doesn't eat it, just keep offering it and putting it on their plate until they are used to the sight of it and finally decide (one day) to try it. I have used these with both of my boys (ages 3 and 5) and they really love all kinds of food and don't care much for the sweets. All kids are different though, just be flexible with them and if they are not stressed out about food, then it will all work out.

My pedi told me that my baby's tummy is the size of her fist so I keep that in mind when I'm preparing her food for her.