Dietary Guidelines
Dietary guidelines can’t help you determine how much food your tween needs to consume at any given point in time, and you shouldn’t try to figure it out. Allow him to eat as much as he wants at meals or even in between, but limit the selection of available foods and ensure that they are all healthy choices. The only way to do that is to be careful about what you bring home from the grocery store. There may be no other way to control a child who is at home alone, and a rebellious tween may do what he pleases even when you are there. The following guidelines are for children up to age eleven. Older children will need a bit more in each category. To calculate your child’s weight in
Calories: About 70 calories per kg total; 55 percent from carbohydrates, 15 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fats (of the calories from fat, less than 10 percent should be from saturated fat). Carbohydrates: Five or more servings per day; each serving equals 1 cup of potatoes, pasta, or rice; 2 slices whole grain bread, ¾ cup dry cereal, ¾ muffin or bagel. Fruits: Two to three servings per day; each serving equals 1 cup canned fruit, 1 piece fresh fruit, ½ cup juice. Protein: One gram per kg or about three or more servings per day; each serving equals 2 to 3 ounces meat, fish, or poultry; 1 egg; ½ cup cottage or ricotta cheese; 1 to 2 ounces of other types of cheese; ½ cup cooked dried beans or legumes; 3 tablespoons peanut butter. Vegetables: Two to three servings of cooked or raw vegetables per day; one serving equals ½ cup of vegetables. Fats: One to three servings per day of oil, margarine, butter, or salad dressing; one serving equals 1 tablespoon. Sweets: Four to five servings per week maximum; one serving equals ½ cup ice cream, ½ cup pudding, 1/8 pie, 1 large cookie.
In addition, your child should consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day and drink plenty of water, so watch the egg yolks and turn on the tap!
