Girls between the ages of four and five need between 1,200 and 1,400 calories depending on how active they are, and boys between the ages of four and five need between 1,200 to 1,600 calories depending on their activity levels.
Dietary requirements include:
- grains: 4–5 ounces (half of all grains should be whole grains),
- vegetables: 1–1 ½ cups,
- fruits: 1 ½ cups,
- milk / dairy: 2 cups (milk should be 1% or 2% and fat-free),
- lean meat / beans: 3–4 ounces.
Sharing Responsibility
A great way to help your child eat healthful foods is to get him involved. Talking about a healthful plate and all the healthful options can help develop cognitive skills.
To ensure diversity in his eating habits, have your child keep a tally of the different foods he has already eaten that day and what foods he still needs.
For example, if your child has cheese and crackers for snack, he can put a check under grains and dairy for the day, leaving him with three other servings of dairy and five more servings of grains for the day. This can be another opportunity to use counting skills and be more engaged in food choices.
Another example is using sorting skills when talking about different colors. Many healthful eating programs for children are encouraging a variety of colors on their plates. Many of the most colorful foods are vegetables and fruits. When at the grocery store, have your child pick fruits and vegetables of different colors or a color you have been talking about. This is a great way to have your child try new healthful foods such as red tomatoes, yellow squash, or purple eggplant. Stay away from unhealthful foods that are high in sugar, which usually come in shades of brown or white.
Cooking together is another great way to get your child involved in what he eats. Matching and gathering the materials needed to cook something and helping measure, stir, and combine ingredients can make eating his healthful creation more exciting.
Think of healthful decorating ideas for the foods you make together. You and your child can use cut up vegetables, raisins, peanut butter, cream cheese, or fruit to make your cooking creation look like a face or an animal.
High-Fiber Foods
Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of fiber, so you should try to encourage your child to eat these foods. Other foods include beans, whole grain breads, and healthful cereals. One way to find foods that are high in fiber is to read the food labels. You can also teach your child how to read the labels by simply looking for numbers that you suggest he find.
Here is a list of other high-fiber foods that are over five grams: barley, navy beans, baked beans, split peas, lentils, wheat flour, refried beans, prunes, and spinach, just to name a few. Many of these foods may be new to your child, so show them to your child before you cook them and let your child learn a little about each food. Remember, you want to help that picky eater consume high-fiber foods.
Activity Level
It is recommended that children of this age get at least 60 minutes of structured physical activity per day, which means activities led by an adult or parent, and at least 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity such as free play each day. Structured activities are great for working on sensory motor skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, or pedaling a bike. Structured activities can also provide moments to practice balance and coordination through games like freeze tag, jumping, or balancing on one foot.
At age four, your child is starting to have his own interests, and this is a good time to enroll him in some extracurricular classes such as dance or team sports. He can have some structured activities planned while also socializing with other children who share the same interests.
