Healthy eating habits your child learns at home can last a lifetime. This page shares useful tips to help make mealtimes healthy.
Preparing for meals
Take time to plan your meals in advance.
This will help you to:
- introduce a mix of food groups
- eat more nutritious food
- save money
- rely less on processed foods
Meal plans for children age 1 to 4
Have a daily routine
Try to have regular mealtimes where you sit down at a table with your child to eat together. When your child sees you eating lots of different foods, they are more likely to try them too.
Breakfast is important
Make sure your child eats breakfast every day. It gives them the energy they need. Lead by example and have breakfast too. Sit down with your child for breakfast as often as possible.
Give them porridge or a cereal with added iron most days, if you can. Add a fruit such as kiwi or orange. These are high in vitamin C, which helps them absorb the iron.
Limit the amount of sugar-coated and chocolate-coated breakfast cereals you offer your child.
Making mealtimes easier
There are things you can do to make mealtimes easier.
One meal for the whole family
Eat the same meal together at the same time. Do not make different meals for children. Try to make each meal healthy and balanced with a mix of food groups from the food pyramid.
Get them to join in
Try to make mealtimes a relaxed, happy and fun occasion. Involve all the family.
Depending on their age, you could ask them to help with:
- shopping
- washing
- peeling
- chopping
- cooking
- serving
- tidying up
Healthier cooking methods
Use healthier cooking methods. Try to oven-bake, steam, boil, grill or air-fry foods. Avoid frying food.
Portion sizes
Use children's plates and bowls to give your child a small portion of food. Children's appetites can increase as they grow. Do not try to overfeed your child.
Portion sizes for children age 1 to 4
Let them lead
Let children stop eating when they say that they are full. Wait until the next snack or mealtime before offering more food. Let them have more food if they say they are still hungry.
Enjoying food
Enjoying food is part of healthy eating. There are lots of healthy foods that taste good too.
Healthy options
Do
-
give your child a healthy snack between meals, 2 to 3 times a day
-
choose a mix of wholemeal and white cereals and breads
-
include vegetables in main meals, and fruit at lunch
-
offer whole pasteurised cows' milk or water to drink
-
limit dried fruit to once a week
-
give smooth nut butter without sugar or salt
-
try not to give food high in fat, sugar or salt as a reward or to comfort your child
Do not ban any foods, such as ice cream and sweets. A ban can make your child want these things even more. Instead, pick a day of the week when everyone can have a treat together.
Introducing new foods
Your child might not like new foods at first, but keep trying. It may take a few times to be successful.
There are some things you can do to help bring new food to the table.
Do
-
introduce new foods slowly
-
make positive comments about the food
-
avoid placing too much focus on a new food
-
include food you know they will eat
Extra foods at mealtime
Sometimes your child will ask for foods that are not part of the meal. Try to avoid giving them extra foods, even when they ask for something healthy like crackers or fruit.
Screen-free mealtimes
Make mealtimes screen-free time for all the family. This means no phone, television or tablet. Children can get easily distracted from eating.
Managing your child's screen time
Good behaviour
Try not to use food as a:
- reward for good behaviour
- comfort if your child is upset
Think of other rewards - such as stickers, or a trip to the playground, beach or park.
