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Information Sheet
| Vegetarian Nutrition
For Children
Part 1 (This page): Introduction -- The Pre-School Child (Age 1-5) -- Planning Diets/Menus
Choosing to bring up your child as a vegetarian is a positive step towards
a healthy and morally sound diet for your child. Nutritional research
has shown that a vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients necessary
for a child's growth and development. Well-informed dietitians, doctors
and other health professionals now accept that vegetarianism is a healthy
option for infants and children of all ages.
Whether vegetarian or not, it is vital that children have a well balanced diet. This is particularly important during the pre-school years, as this is a time of rapid growth and development. The nutrients to particularly watch are calcium, iron, zinc, protein, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Children should be offered a variety of foods which they can enjoy and should not be forced to eat anything if they are determined to resist. Food and eating should not be allowed to become an issue as children can be very fussy at this age. Good eating habits should begin now, as likes and dislikes will be influenced by what is offered in these early years. High fibre, low fat diets, recommended for adults, are not suitable for children of this age, as explained below. The emphasis should be on family eating habits that are healthy and sensible. Foods containing a lot of sugar and salt should be avoided. As they are growing very rapidly, young children need a lot of dietary energy (calories) relative to their small size. A diet that is too high in fibre or very low in fat will not provide sufficient concentrated energy or nutrients. Frequent meals containing food of relatively high nutrient and energy density are important, although young children often have marked fluctuations in appetite. Nutritious snacks between meals will help ensure that enough food is eaten. Try and avoid shop-bought sweets, biscuits and cakes, sweetened fizzy drinks and salty snacks such as crisps. Offer sandwiches, fruit, scone or malt bread and home-made cake or biscuit instead. Sweets given occasionally as a special treat will not do any harm. Unless your child is prone to being overweight you can try to increase the energy density of foods. Vegetable oil can be added to foods like mashed lentils or beans. Include nut and seed purées such as tahini and smooth peanut butter, cheese, yoghurt, soya products, such as tofu and veggieburgers, and if liked, avocado. Try to include as wide a variety of foods as possible, bearing in mind that children may be fussy or find some foods too strong in taste. Consumption of fresh, frozen or juiced fruit and vegetables should be encouraged. Assessment of a child's growth should be made over a period of time, as growth at this age is often very uneven and interspersed with sudden increases in height and weight. Children naturally like the taste of sugar and sweet foods. Though sugary foods do provide calories, they have little else of nutritional value and are a major cause of tooth decay. Whilst it may not be practical to ban sugar altogether, it should be limited. It is better to discourage the development of a sweet tooth now. A small amount of sugar with otherwise healthy desserts such as yoghurt, soya puddings and rice pudding is fine and better than using artificial additives for sweetness. Children under two should not be given semi-skimmed milk and children under five should not be given skimmed milk because it lacks the fat soluble vitamins A and D. Young children also need the energy from fat. Soya milks should be fortified with calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D if used as an alternative to cow's milk for young children. Salt should be avoided in the diet of young children as their kidneys are not mature enough to cope with large amounts. Many common foods such as cheese, manufactured soup, packet meals and bread are quite high in added salt. Avoid too many salty snacks, such as crisps and other snack foods. Spread yeast extract thinly or use the low salt varieties. Whole nuts and seeds must be avoided until the age of five as young children can easily choke on them. Ground or puréed nuts and seeds are fine and nutritious, for example smooth peanut butter, tahini (sesame seed paste) or ground almonds. Planning Diets/Menus A serving will range from half a slice of bread to a few tablespoons of a vegetable. The above should be used as a guide and need not be followed rigidly each day. Even with the help of this information
sheet and the growing scientific evidence that a vegetarian diet is a
healthy option, you may experience resistance from health professionals,
family or friends about bringing up your child as a vegetarian. Contact
The Vegetarian Society for help
in solving any problems or answering your questions.
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Sugar and teeth