Health and nutrition for kids under 5

Once you bring your first child home from the hospital, the number of things you suddenly need to think about, worry about and plan for can seem insurmountable.

As soon as your little bundle of joy emits their first piercing cry of hunger, however, your priorities are put into focus. You can postpone worrying about paying for college; right now they just want to eat!

But what and how you choose to feed your child in the first five years of their life can have an impact on their long-term health and development.

Building a nutritional foundation

“The first five years are especially critical, because that is when the brain develops most rapidly and has the highest capacity for change,” said Holiday Zanetti, a senior research scientist and clinical investigator for Nutrilite.

“These years are paving the foundation for a lifetime of health and wellbeing.”

That’s why, in the first five years, parents should focus on ensuring their children get adequate nutrition to support and promote normal growth and development, Holiday said.

“The focus should be placed on selecting appropriate foods and amounts, while creating a supportive food environment that enables the child to self-regulate their food intake,” she said. “This means children should begin learning hunger and satiety ques, that special physiological connection between the tummy and brain.”

As babies grow into toddlers and then preschoolers, here are five tips Holiday offers parents to guide their nutrition along the way:

1. Portion sizes: They don’t always have to clean their plate

Children are not adults, so let them choose their portions with oversight. Help them focus on identifying signs that they are full so they can learn self-regulation.

“Let children dictate when they are finished eating,” Holiday said. “This may mean they don’t clean their plate, and that is okay! When children know they are full they are less likely to overeat.”

A Nutrilite Kids Smoothie lies next to a healthy colorful snack of fruits and vegetables on a plate seen from above.

2. How to avoid creating picky eaters

Food preferences start early in life, so new foods should be introduced early and often. They may not bite the first time, but the second or third might find them asking for more.

3. Offer a variety of foods to ensure good nutrition

Offer a variety of healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables from across the color spectrum to ensure they get their phytonutrients. “A variety ensures children are getting the key vitamins and minerals for healthy growth and development,” Holiday said.

An array of Nutrilite Kids products is shown against a blue background surrounded b y some of their ingredients: Blueberries, strawberries, acerola cherries and others.

If you’re worried they’re not getting what they need because their preferences are limited, consider children’s dietary supplements to fill any nutritional gaps. There are several options for children who are old enough to chew and swallow safely.

4. Limit processed foods, fast foods

Processed foods and fast foods are often lacking in good nutrition and they promote bad eating habits, Holiday said.

Two young children sit at a kitchen counter eating sliced green apples and drinking water.

5. Limit sugary drinks

Sodas, juice drinks, lemonade, sweet tea, sports drinks – they can all lead to tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain, Holiday said.

“Milk and water are the best drink choices, and whole fruits over sugary fruit juices are preferred,” she said. “Even 100 percent fruit juice still has concentrated sugar and doesn’t contain fiber.”

Holiday offered more nutrition advice for children as they grow into adulthood. You can read that in “Nutrition for your child through ages and stages.” And to learn more about Nutrilite™ supplements for children, visit the links below.

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