The menu of a child at 2 years old is more and more like an adult diet. But it should be borne in mind that the children's body has its own characteristics, therefore it is worth taking a responsible approach to organizing the nutrition of the crumbs. Although the gastrointestinal tract of a 2-year-old baby is already more perfect in comparison with a one-year-old, but still digestive system not strong enough. The question of how to feed a child for 2 years worries almost every mother who raises a baby of this age. The main thing to understand is that the transition to adult food must be smooth. And while the growth of the little one slows down, the nutrient requirements increase.

The regimen and diet of a child 2 years old

Children of this age are usually fed 4 times a day. Lunch should be the most nutritious. Dinner and breakfast should be identical in calories, and the afternoon snack should be light. Children should not be allowed to overeat at night. This can cause restless sleep. Also, the baby may refuse breakfast in the morning.

Food should be varied and complete. The baby must eat fruits and vegetables, cereals, butter, dairy products, meat every day. Fish should be cooked up to 3 times a week. Eggs should be given to children no more than 3 times in 7 days.

It is also important to monitor the baby's drinking regimen. At this age, you need to drink 35 ml. per 1 kg. weight per day. It is best that it be water, but not all kids drink it. Therefore, it is worth offering compote to the little one, herbal tea. You should not give your baby juice from the store.

For clarity, consider sample menu child 2 years for a week. If the baby refuses to eat some dish, then do not worry. Children may be wary of new foods. But it is worth offering it another time and the child will try it with pleasure.

Monday

Breakfast: oatmeal with apples.
Dinner: pumpkin and chicken puree soup, as well as cabbage and carrot salad.
Afternoon snack: smoothies with oatmeal (in a blender you need to beat yogurt, oatmeal, berries).
Dinner: meatballs and steamed vegetables.

Tuesday

Breakfast: omelette.
Dinner: borscht puree.
Afternoon snack: With .
Dinner: meatballs with stewed vegetables.

Wednesday

Breakfast: millet porridge with pumpkin.
Dinner: borscht puree and fresh cabbage and cucumber salad.
Afternoon snack: banana smoothie (banana, milk, some simple cookies beat with a blender).
Dinner: buckwheat with stewed liver.

Thursday

Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole with apple.
Dinner: fish soup and fresh carrot and apple salad.
Afternoon snack: yoghurt with shortbread.
Dinner: buckwheat and stewed liver.

Friday

Breakfast: rice with dried fruits.
Dinner: fish meatball soup and vegetable salad.
Afternoon snack: yogurt and shortbread.
Dinner: potato cutlets with turkey, cheese.

Saturday

Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole.
Dinner: vegetable soup with meatballs, beetroot salad with prunes.
Afternoon snack: cherry jelly.
Dinner: potato cutlets with cheese, turkey.

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes with grated carrots.
Dinner: soup of minced meat and various vegetables, beetroot salad with prunes.
Afternoon snack: cherry jelly.
Dinner: fish casserole.

A small amount of fried foods is allowed for children 2 years old. But still it is worth giving preference to other methods of cooking.

When compiling a menu for crumbs, mothers should take into account some of the nuances:

Over time, each mother will be able to compose and adjust the menu for her crumbs herself, taking into account the needs of the child's body, as well as the individual preferences of the baby.

A well-designed daily routine is a necessary condition for the full development and right upbringing child. During this time, the baby needs to do a lot - take a walk, play, chat with mom. How to make a daily routine for a 2-year-old baby and what should be taken into account? How important is it to stick to a schedule? All of these questions and related ones we will consider in this article.

Compliance with the daily regimen allows you to maintain vivacity and activity of the baby with the provision of good rest.

Time to rest

Pediatricians believe that at 2 years old, a child should sleep once a day. The duration of daytime rest is 2-3 hours, nighttime - 10. In total, a baby should spend about 13 hours a day sleeping. However, in each case, these figures may differ from the norm. For example, if the baby is sick or in the process of recovery, his sleep can be longer by breaking the daytime rest into two parts. It should be borne in mind that the child feels good during wakefulness only if the interval between rest is no more than 6-6.5 hours.

To determine the time at which it is time for a daughter or son to go to bed, it is necessary to monitor his behavior. At that moment, when the baby needs rest, he will behave differently. Some children are tired, begin to act up, whine, get annoyed. Others become too excited - they start running around the apartment, laughing out loud, inventing active games, it is quite difficult to stop them at this moment. As a rule, the period of activity ends quickly, followed by a recession. The child abruptly becomes whiny, lethargic, depressed.

Many parents notice that the baby sleeps longer in winter and less in summer. This feature is inherent in some people whose life cycle is associated with daylight hours. Also, the child can sleep longer after a tiring evening - celebrating a birthday, visiting puppet theater or a long trip. It is important to consider these nuances when planning sleep time.

AT winter time the child's body spends more calories and needs additional rest

For competent scheduling of rest and wakefulness, one must be guided not only by age norms, but also by the individual inclinations of the child. But after a period of adaptation and getting used to the regime, the baby will become easier and faster to fall asleep at the allotted time. Strict adherence to the schedule will allow the mother to plan her own tasks while the baby is predicted to sleep.

Secrets of sound sleep

At 2 years old, the child is going through a kind of transitional period, the time of his sleep is reduced, and the time of wakefulness is increased. Some parents find it difficult to stick to a planned schedule because their son or daughter has difficulty sleeping during the day. Often, the mother spends two or three hours laying the crumbs, if he falls asleep, then only by the end of this period. Such a temporary shift in the schedule nullifies the entire schedule, as a result, it is impossible to adhere to the regime. Here are some tips for parents who find themselves in a similar situation:

• Before going to bed, you need to ventilate the room well and check that the air temperature does not exceed 20 C.
• You need to start preparing the baby for bed an hour before the appointed time - invite him to play quiet games, reduce activity.

To set the child to sleep, you need to go from vigorous activity to calm - for example, read a book

• You can try to increase the time between dinner and bedtime - too dense a meal is bad for the quality of sleep.
• A good way to prepare a child for daytime rest is to create some kind of ritual. It is necessary every day before going to bed to perform the same actions that will calm the child and help tune in to sleep. For example, you can offer your daughter to put her favorite toy to bed - a doll or a soft hare. Together with my son, put the car in the garage, then read a book to a small listener.
• If the baby goes to a nursery, there he will probably learn to sleep with classmates. Any 2-year-old child is easiest to put to bed if his peers fall asleep in adjacent beds.
• It is very important to plan time for rest before the change in the behavior of the baby begins, so that he does not have time to overwork. If, at the time of going to bed, the child is calm, alert, does not fall asleep for a long time, it may be worth moving the sleep time a little ahead.

No need to give up and despair if the baby categorically refuses to sleep. After a while, with some effort on the part of the parents, the rest schedule will improve, the baby will fall asleep in his crib.

With the right approach, parents will quickly be able to set up a child's rest schedule.

Walking is an important part of the daily routine.

It is necessary to walk with the child in the fresh air every day, regardless of the weather and the mother's employment. If it is cold outside, you should not refuse to go out, it is better to try to dress the little fidget according to the weather. To be warmer, it is advisable to wear three or four layers of clothing. In addition, you should take care of changeable shoes and mittens to be able to walk daily. While one pair dries, the child can walk in another.

In the warm season, for a 2-year-old baby, you can plan a two-time walk - in the morning and after lunch. In the cold season, it is enough to walk with the baby once a day, preferably in the morning. When going outside, it is necessary to give the young explorer the opportunity to move - let the kid explore the surroundings and natural phenomena.

If the baby does not fall asleep well, regardless of the regimen, it makes sense to choose a time for a walk just before the “quiet hour”. The child will receive a portion of fresh air, runs and will certainly fall asleep at the right time.

Leisure organization

It is very important to organize the child's leisure so that his activities do not interfere with others and contribute to a smooth transition from wakefulness to sleep. It is advisable to think over the baby’s activities in advance so that the active phase falls on the daylight hours, and a quiet pastime precedes the evening rest.

Any active or Mind games best done during daylight hours

During a walk, you should try to give your daughter or son the opportunity to spend part of the accumulated energy and stimulate him to active games. At home, before dinner, calm the child a little, for example, by asking him to prepare a place for eating. Let the mother and the baby put the toys in their places so that he later learns to clean up after himself. Similarly, it is desirable to set aside time before bedtime to clean up toys. Thus, you can kill two birds with one stone - put the play space in order and “mute” the child’s activity before night.

After a day's rest, the baby is usually in a calm state, the period of activity comes a little later. At this time, it is better to invite him to work on creativity, or to assemble a designer, puzzles, read poetry or a fairy tale to him. After an hour and a half, you can go for a walk if you plan to go outside.

Each child has his own preferences and they should be taken into account when organizing his leisure time. However, it is important to adhere to the basic principles:

• If the parents bought a new toy, it is advisable to give it to the little fidget in the morning. Otherwise, he will not have time to play enough and will not want to go to bed on time. If the baby attends a nursery, it is advisable to give it on a day off so that the baby has enough time to play.
• In the evening, when adult family members gather at home, mom has less time for the younger one. If you satisfy his need for movement during the day, the baby can spend the evening in calm games. In extreme cases, during this period, you can allow the child to watch cartoons if the parents allow the offspring to sit in front of the TV screen from time to time.

Quiet games are perfect for the evening time

• It is necessary to try to offer the baby diverse activities in order to switch his attention from time to time. A two-year-old baby still cannot play on his own for more than half an hour, so you need to “throw” him new ideas for games in time.
• If the baby attends a nursery, the weekend routine should be about the same as in the garden. That is, it is advisable to plan walks and daytime sleep at the same time as in the nursery. Then the baby will not be in a stressful situation and will easily fall asleep at the right time.

If you can’t follow the prescribed mode, you should try to make changes to it. May be, little man such a schedule does not fit, it just needs to be optimized a bit.

Day mode by time

We will only present exemplary mode day to which it is desirable to focus. However, the plan can be adjusted to bring it as close to optimal as possible, taking into account the circumstances and preferences of the child:

• 7-00-7-30 awakening, morning washing, brushing teeth, dressing;
• 8-00-8-30 breakfast;
• 9-00-10-30 walk;
• 10-30-12-00 creative classes, home leisure;
• 12-00-12-30 lunch;
• 13-00-15-00 daytime sleep;
• 15-00-16-00 calm games at home;
• 16-00-16-30 afternoon snack;
• 16-30-18-00 walk;
• 19-00-19-30 dinner;
• 19-30-21-00 quiet games, classes;
• 21-00 sleep.

Diet

In order to correctly draw up a child's nutrition schedule, it should be assumed that at 2 years old the baby should receive food 4-5 times a day. Our schedule includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. If the baby still eats at night, now is the time when it is already possible to wean him from this habit. At first, you should smooth out the lack of night feedings with the help of a second dinner - give milk to drink at night or eat yogurt:

• Breakfast is the most important meal, because the baby needs to hold out after it until lunch, avoiding snacks. The first meal is possible in an hour and a half after waking up. It should include carbohydrates, proteins and fiber. Suitable porridge, boiled egg, toast with tea.
• Lunch should be scheduled about an hour before the day's rest. At the second meal, the child should eat soup, a meat or fish dish, as well as a side dish.
• Lunch should be after daytime sleep. At this time of the day, do not feed your baby heavy food, let it be a light snack. The purpose of this meal is to help the baby hold out until dinner, which will be more high-calorie. Cottage cheese with fruit, a dry biscuit, a jar of yogurt or a banana are quite suitable for an afternoon snack.
• It is advisable to offer dinner to the baby when he gets hungry in order to eat well before a long night's rest. It could be porridge mashed potatoes, vegetable stew.

The nutrition of a two-year-old baby may have individual characteristics. Some children do not eat the whole portion and often leave a side dish or fish on the plate. You should not force the baby to eat everything, but it is better to take a closer look at him. If the child looks healthy, behaves actively, the portion eaten is enough for him. Do not allow cookies, sweets between meals, then the child will have time to get hungry and there is a chance that he will eat everything from the plate.

Don't allow your child to snack between regular meals

Approximate menu for a child 2 years old

Daily diet table:

This table shows an approximate menu that is suitable for feeding a two-year-old baby. Mom can make a diet, focusing on the preferences of the child. It is important that the menu contains:

• vegetables and fruits;
• dairy;
• cereals;
• meat, fish.

The daily routine of a 2-year-old baby should be compiled by loving parents. It is important to strike a balance between the recommendations of specialists and the desires of the child. You should not constantly force the baby to do what he does not like, it is better to try to adapt to him as much as possible. Then the daily routine will be implemented one hundred percent, and the baby will fulfill everything planned with pleasure.

In large quantities (500-600 ml), a variety of fermented milk products (ryazhenka, yogurt, kefir, etc.) should be included in the child's menu. In addition, if there is no allergic reaction, cottage cheese should be present in the diet of a 2-year-old baby.

At this age, it is also necessary to expand the range of vegetable dishes. AT summer period it is possible to cook chilled soups (beetroot, okroshka), but not often. Two conditions should be observed: sour cream should be boiled and the dish should be prepared immediately before eating.

Every day, a 2-year-old child's menu should contain dishes from various cereals (preferably corn, Wheat groats, buckwheat, rice). In addition to dairy, it is also necessary to cook dairy-free cereals as a side dish for fish and meat dishes. Groats can also be used to make meatballs, soups, meatballs, puddings, etc.

Compared to cereals, pasta has less nutritional value, therefore, dishes with their use should be prepared for children 2 years old no more than 2-3 times a week.

Fried dishes (fish in dough, fried fish, fish cakes, meat cutlets, vegetable cutlets, pancakes, etc.) in the child's menu should be included no more than 2 times a week. It is rare to offer a 2-year-old baby potatoes with low-fat herring. As a rule, at this age they like such a dish. Experts recommend giving boiled fish to children 2-3 times a week.

A really important component of the children's menu of a 2-year-old child remains cottage cheese. From it you can cook a curd-fruit mass for a sandwich, pancakes and dumplings with cottage cheese, pudding, casserole, etc.

Egg dishes for children at this age should be offered 1-2 times a week. Provided that the child does not have an allergic reaction to this product. Cooking for kids can be a hard-boiled egg, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs.

Basic rules of the children's table

The baby needs to cook separately from adults. This is due to the fact that the range of dishes for a 2-year-old child is more limited. At the same time, the culinary processing of products should be more gentle.

It is good if the child eats together with adults at the common table. He will have the opportunity to observe the correct behavior.

Regularity in eating and observing the daily regimen - important points in raising a child.

Lunch must necessarily consist of two courses: hot (soup, cabbage soup, etc.) and the second (pudding, fish or meat with a side dish). In the evening, it is preferable for the baby to offer food, which consists of vegetable or dairy products, fruits, eggs, cereals. Diverse and proper diet your child is a guarantee of his health.

More and more adult foods appear in the diet of a two-year-old baby. However, his digestive system is too sensitive, which precludes a complete transition to the common table. How many times should a child eat at 2 years old? At this age, meals are usually 4 times a day, including breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. It is important to offer the baby food at a strictly allotted time, at intervals of about 4 hours.

The child grows and develops all the time, so it is important for parents to properly organize his diet.

Foods in the diet of a two-year-old child

The basis of the menu in two years is cereals, light cream soups, lean meat and fish, dairy products, vegetables and fruits grown in the area where the family lives. Porridges are made liquid or viscous, vegetables for stewing are finely chopped, meat is scrolled in a meat grinder. The child should learn to bite and chew solid foods, which make up a significant part of the adult diet.

The basis of the diet

In the diet of two-year-old children, there must be:

Juices, fruits, vegetables and sweets

Vegetables are very healthy for a child, but not all children like to eat them. Therefore, unloved foods can be masked in mashed potatoes or cutlets.

1. Berries and fruits in season are required in the baby's diet. You can eat them on your own, make compotes, jelly, jelly. The daily norm of fruits is 200 grams, berries - 20 grams. It is important to be careful with citrus fruits, to observe the reaction (allergy is possible). It is permissible to add a slice of lemon to tea.
2. Vegetables and greens saturate the body with valuable trace elements and improve digestion. The daily norm of vegetables is 300 grams, of which potatoes are 100 grams. They can be stewed, baked, mashed, chopped for salads. The kid can try peas, beans, cabbage, radishes, garlic, onions. Greens - spinach, parsley, dill serve as a decoration and a useful addition to dishes.
3. Natural sweets are needed in a limited amount. A couple of times a week you can offer marshmallow, jelly, jam. In rare cases, ½ teaspoon of honey is allowed (you can sweeten the cottage cheese or casserole). For an afternoon snack, you can offer home-made oatmeal or shortbread cookies. It is better to wait a little with chocolate, cakes, sweets.
4. The daily norm of juice is 150 ml. Drinks made from fruits grown in the region where the baby lives are allowed. You can give juices from tetrapacks intended for baby food. Drinks from exotic fruits should be postponed.

It is better not to buy sweets in the store, but to cook them yourself, for example, cookies. It will be much better for the baby.

One day menu

Dairy products, cereals, vegetables, fruits, soups or broths should be present in the daily diet of children. Meat should be alternated with fish and given every other day. The approximate amount of food is distributed as follows: 25% / 35% / 15% / 25% (breakfast / lunch / afternoon tea / dinner). The daily calorie content is 1200-1400 calories, of which about 360 should come from fats.

A sample menu for one day in 2 years looks like this:

Menu for the week

It is difficult for the mother of a 2-year-old baby to find time for kitchen chores. Classes with a child and adherence to the regime require a lot of effort, so kitchen assistants (combine, blender, slow cooker) will help organize the day.

Two-year-old babies love to watch their mother cook dinner in the kitchen, so they can already be attached to this process.

A well-designed menu for the week will allow you not to think about what to cook for tomorrow and stock up on the necessary products in advance. When compiling it, it is advisable to rely on the table:

Day of the week	Breakfast	Dinner	afternoon tea	Dinner
Monday	Rice cutlets with prunes, drinking yogurt (1.5%).	Cabbage and carrot salad, beef broth borscht, lazy cabbage rolls, bread, dried fruit compote, marshmallows.	Fresh berries, cheesecakes, kefir.	Cauliflower stewed with sour cream, bread with marmalade, unsweetened tea.
Tuesday	Oatmeal with fruit, bread with cheese, cocoa in milk.	Salad with grated carrots and apple, navy-style vermicelli, soup with meatballs, unsweetened tea.	Milk, shortbread, fruit.	Banana, chicken casserole, compote.
Wednesday	Bread with butter, cottage cheese casserole, cocoa in milk.	Shchi in meat broth, seasonal vegetable salad, fish meatballs with mashed potatoes or peas, rosehip drink, marshmallows.	Pear pudding, compote.	Pasta with milk sausage, kefir, fruit.
Thursday	Semolina porridge, apple, carrot juice.	Combined vegetable salad, fish soup with meatballs, syrniki with sour cream, compote, bread.	Cottage cheese cake, fruits. cranberry jelly.	Milk, low-fat pilaf with chicken.
Friday	Rice porridge with dried apricots, which is in milk.	Vegetable salad with greens, beetroot, cherry juice, bread, turkey roll and broccoli.	Corn flakes with milk, berry juice.	Zucchini, stuffed ground beef, milk, banana or peach.
Saturday	Cottage cheese casserole, milk, bread with butter and cheese.	Salad with beets and prunes, vegetable soup, rabbit cutlet, berry jelly, bread, pasta.	Kefir, banana pudding.	Potato dumplings, unsweetened tea.
Sunday	Buckwheat porridge casserole with liver, peach juice, vanilla croutons.	Cabbage salad with carrots and cucumber, pea soup with croutons, fish meatballs, stewed vegetables with green peas, bread, compote.	Cheesecake, milk, fruit.	Liver pancakes, mashed potatoes, tea.

Popular Breakfast Recipes

A proper breakfast energizes and stimulates activity in the morning. It should be light and at the same time satisfying, contain proteins, carbohydrates and fiber.

Semolina dumplings for breakfast

Pour 100 ml into a saucepan. milk and 50 ml. water, boil, salt. Pour semolina (70 gr) in a thin stream and cook thick porridge for 6-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool (the temperature of the dish should be 70 degrees), add a teaspoon of melted butter, fresh quail egg, mix. From the resulting mass, form balls with a diameter of about 3 cm. Boil and salt water separately, dip the finished balls into it and cook for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, cool and serve warm with butter, herbs and grated cheese.

light handjob

Dracena is a dish that simultaneously resembles both an omelette and a casserole. To prepare it, beat 1 egg and 20 ml. milk, salt. Add 1 tsp to the mixture. flour and sour cream, mix. Place on a greased baking sheet or dish. Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes, sprinkle with grated cheese and herbs when serving.

Meals for a hearty lunch

Lunch for a two-year-old should be balanced and contain the necessary amount of nutrients, but at the same time not lead to overeating.

It is easy to find a compromise between healthy and tasty lunch. Dishes prepared for the baby can be successfully served on a common table. However, not vice versa, since dietary products are used in baby food according to the season. Lunch consists of three courses that harmoniously complement each other and allow you to introduce new tastes. Does the child not like zucchini, cauliflower and other vegetables? They can be disguised in stews, cream soups, or mashed vegetables.

Vegetable soup with nuts

Soak in cold water for 2 hours a handful of white beans. Rinse and pour beans with water (300 ml), cook until tender. Add finely chopped small potatoes. In vegetable oil, separately fry half the onion, carrot, bell pepper, add to the soup. Boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat. Serve in a plate, sprinkled with herbs and crushed, oven-dried walnuts.

In salted boiling water or broth (150 ml), add 50 grams of finely chopped potatoes, boil until half cooked. Add sautéed vegetables (peppers, onions and carrots), cook until tender. To prepare meatballs, grind a piece of boiled beef. Add pepper, salt, half a beaten egg and mix. Boil separately and put in soup before serving. Offer warm (35-40 degrees), decorated with greens.

Meatballs can be purchased ready-made, but for the children's menu it is better to cook them yourself

Fish in a pot

Take hake fillet (200 grams), black pepper, salt, onion, hard cheese, ceramic pot. Put in a pot half a teaspoon of fresh butter, half a finely chopped onion and carrot. Lay the washed fillet slices, smeared with sour cream, on the vegetable pillow. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, pour in 3 tbsp. warm water. Simmer in the oven covered for 25 minutes.

Meatballs "whiskered"

Pass through a meat grinder 100 grams of lean beef. Add 15 grams white bread soaked in milk, and scroll again in a meat grinder. Salt, pepper, beat lightly. From a thin mass, form meatballs and insert dry pasta into them so that the “mustache” sticks out on both sides. Place carefully in a shallow saucepan. Pour in water and simmer covered for 20-25 minutes.

Menu for afternoon tea

An afternoon snack is the smallest meal in terms of volume, but its importance for a growing organism is great. In order for children to get the full range of nutrients, it is important to create a menu that will include healthy dishes.

Better file fresh fruits, compotes, vitamin smoothies, oatmeal cookies and other carbohydrate-rich foods. Simple and quick recipes with photos that are easy to please the crumbs for an afternoon snack, a lot.

Banana pancakes are very tasty, your kids will definitely like them.

Knead the dough for fritters (whey, sour cream, milk, kefir). Separately cook fruit puree, chopping the pulp of 1-2 ripe bananas in a blender. Mix well and bake in vegetable oil. Prepare the sauce by taking 1 chopped banana, a tablespoon of sour cream, a teaspoon of honey. Stir ingredients and pour over pancakes before serving.

apple pudding

Peel 2 green apples, cut, sprinkle with sugar and pour water. Simmer for 6 minutes, cool, chop with a blender. Separately grind the yolk with sugar (1 tsp), combine with applesauce, add a handful of chopped nuts and 1 tsp. ground vanilla crackers. Separately add whipped chicken protein. Put the mass in a prepared baking sheet, place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Serve in portions, watering with honey or syrup.

Dishes for dinner

Dinner should be light and satisfying at the same time, so the child should be offered protein meals and, if possible, exclude fast carbohydrates (juices, sweets). It is advisable to have dinner no later than 19-00, take a walk after eating in the air. Before going to bed, it is better to feed children 2 years old with yogurt or fruit, which will saturate and improve digestion.

Fish is good for the child's body, and the casserole is one of better ways cook this product

Cut new potatoes into slices, boil. Add fresh butter and milk, salt and beat until smooth. Separately stew in 100 ml. milk 150 grams of low-fat fish fillet. Transfer the fish to a fireproof dish, put a quarter of a boiled egg on top, pour over the milk left over from the stew and spread the mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Casserole with tender fillet

boil chicken fillet, add spinach and broccoli (100 grams each) to the water and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Drain water and cool meat. Separately, prepare the sauce by mixing 100 grams of grated cheese and 10 gr. low-fat mayonnaise. Put the meat and vegetables in a fireproof dish, grease with sauce and bake for 20 minutes until a delicious crust forms. Finely chop before serving.

And gradually, from a year and a half to 3, the diet of children is changing, slowly approaching the usual common table. It is important for the parents themselves to set an example for the child in the culture of nutrition, behavior at the table, and also, if possible, to revise their own habitual diet in favor of more wholesome and healthy food, a balanced and correct menu.

By the age of two years, the child should erupt all 20 milk teeth, which gives the child the opportunity to fully bite, chew and grind food. Chewing is important for more than just biting and chewing food directly. The chewing process triggers the production of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the gastric juice, wets the food bolus with saliva, starting the process of partial breakdown of carbohydrates by saliva amylase. This makes it easier to digest food.

The most important task at this time is to teach the child to chew and consume more dense food that requires thorough chewing, i.e. food in pieces, not grated and ground:

• you need to gradually replace semi-liquid and liquid dishes with more dense ones (with the exception of first courses, they must be in the child's diet).
• porridges from boiled cereals are gradually introduced into the diet
• casseroles from vegetables or cereals, cottage cheese
• pieces of meat and stewed vegetables.

If children at this age do not learn to eat dense foods that require active chewing, they will later refuse or be reluctant to eat fruits and vegetables that they need, which need to be bitten and chewed, as well as meat, which also needs to be bitten and chewed thoroughly.

Characteristics of the diet of children from 1-3 years

	From 1 to 1.5 years	From 1.5 to 3 years
How many meals a day	Five times	4 times
Baby's number of teeth	anterior incisors and chewing premolars, 8-12 pcs. Possible chewing of soft foods, biting	20 teeth, all groups of teeth - both for chewing food and for biting it
The volume of the stomach and, accordingly, 1 meal	250-300 ml	300-350 ml
Daily amount of food	1200-1300 ml.	1400-1500 ml.
Calorie content of meals	1 breakfast: 15% 2 breakfast: 10% Lunch: 40% Afternoon snack: 10% Dinner: 25%	Breakfast: 25% Lunch: 35% Afternoon snack: 15% Dinner: 25%.

Child nutrition at 2-3 years old

After a year and a half, you can gradually switch to four meals a day:

• Breakfast 8.00-9.00
• Lunch 12.30-13.30
• Afternoon snack 15.30-16.30
• Dinner 18.30-19.00

At the same time, lunch should account for at least a third of the total daily caloric intake, which is about 35%. The rest of the calories are distributed between breakfast, afternoon snack and dinner. The energy daily value of products should reach 1400-1500 kcal. A child of this age should receive per day:

• Proteins - at least 60-70 g, while up to 75% of them must be of animal origin
• Fats - at least 50-60 g, of which about 10 g are vegetable oils
• Carbohydrates - at least 220 g, of which most of them should be allocated to complex carbohydrates.

Compliance with the correct diet should be extremely important at this age, it will be very significant at any age, and especially at the stage of formation of “adult” nutrition. If the correct diet is strictly observed, the intervals between the main meals are maintained, the children will gradually develop food conditioned reflexes by this time.

This will ensure the correct and coordinated work of the entire digestive tract, starting with the oral cavity and ending with the intestines, where the digestive juices will begin to separate in due time by the time food masses enter there. The mode will allow you to digest food as fully and correctly as possible and assimilate all its components.

With irregular meals or erratic meals, these reflexes quickly fade away, this leads to a decrease in the production of digestive juices, as a result, the food will not be fully absorbed. Food residues in the large intestine will rot and ferment, which will lead to constipation, stool disorders and a violation of the general condition. And this will also lead to the fact that children will constantly eat badly, saying that they simply do not want to eat.

Features of nutrition under the age of 3 years

In the early childhood the volume of the stomach is small, it is released from food in about 3-4 hours, food rich in protein and fats can be delayed up to 4.5-5 hours. It is on the basis of these data that four meals a day for children are built. In this case, the intervals between feedings should be approximately 3.5-4 hours. From the age after one and a half years with a normal (and even more overweight) weight of the child, it is important to wean him from night meals. The only exceptions will be children who are still on breastfeeding and sleeping with breastfeeding.

The introduction at night of any other food, except breast milk, can lead to disruption of night sleep processes, and will create difficulties for the parents themselves in the form of constant running around with bottles and mugs.

Regardless of how many times your child eats, you need to keep the time of eating consistent. In the established mode of feeding time, deviations are permissible no more than 15-20 minutes. This is due to the peculiarities of the formation of conditioned food reflexes with the separation of digestive juices.

In the intervals between the main meals, you should not spoil the child with high-calorie foods and sweets. It is worth cutting out snacks such as rolls and cookies, undiluted fruit juices and dairy products, sweets and chocolate. This will lead to a decrease in appetite and may lead to the fact that during the next meal the child simply does not want to eat cooked meat, vegetable or cereal dishes necessary for his nutrition.

What can be given to a child at 2-3 years old

Just as in the previous period, after a year and a half, the child's nutrition should be varied and complete. Useful products should be included in it:

• milk and dairy products
• meat, fish and poultry dishes
• cereal side dishes and cereals
• bakery products
• vegetables and fruits
• healthy sweets and desserts.

Dairy

After one and a half years, children need to consume a sufficient amount of fermented milk products, and from two years old, whole cow's milk can be gradually introduced into the diet. Dairy products will be sources for the child:

• easily digestible animal protein
• calcium and phosphorus needed for skeletal growth
• animal fat and fat-soluble vitamins, in particular vitamin D
• useful microbial flora, which stimulates the growth and development of its own, strengthens the immune system and stimulates digestion.

The total daily amount of dairy products at this age should be at least 500-600 ml, taking into account the volume of milk for cooking. In the diet of children every day there should be products such as kefir or yogurt, biolact. Several times a week, products such as cottage cheese and products made from it, cottage cheese products, cheese curds, mild unsalted cheeses, cream, sour cream are applicable. They can be used both in whole form and are used for cooking and seasoning first and second courses.

At the age of three years, the use of:

• 50-100 g of cottage cheese with a fat content of 5 to 11%
• 5-10 g cream with a fat content of 10-20%
• 5-10 g sour cream with a fat content of 10-20%
• yogurt, kefir or biolact fat content from 2.5 to 4%
• after two years, milk with a fat content of 2.5 to 3.2%

Dairy products can be used to make or dress cheesecakes, dumplings, casseroles or desserts.

Meat products and poultry

In the diet of children under three years of age, the amount of meat gradually increases, by two years it reaches 110 g, and by the age of three it reaches 120 g. For baby food at this age, meats such as:

• lean beef
• veal
• rabbit meat
• lean pork
• lamb
• horsemeat.

• liver
• heart.

Meat dishes are prepared in the form of stews with pieces of meat, steam or oven cutlets, minced meat, stew in small pieces. Up to three years, it is worth giving up sausages and all kinds of meat delicacies. All of them are saturated with salt and spices, dyes and other food chemicals, which is absolutely not useful for the child. If it is not possible to restrict children from semi-finished meat products of industrial production, children's milk sausages can be allowed to the child once every two weeks, but the products must be of high quality.

Poultry dishes - chicken, quail, turkey will be useful. But duck and goose meat is not given at this age, it is poorly digested and very fatty for children.

Unfortunately, today on the shelves of supermarkets the quality of dairy products, pork, chickens does not always meet the standards acceptable for children. In Russia, there is no strict control and restrictions on the use of antibiotics and growth hormones in the cultivation of poultry and meat, as in some developed countries, therefore, inspections by the Rosselkhoznadzor regularly reveal certain violations of the production of meat and poultry (see), which does not add health to our children.

Eggs

Chicken eggs will be one of the main sources of protein for the child, they should be present in the diet of children often - daily or every other day. Eggs are given to children hard-boiled, in dishes or in the form of omelettes. It is forbidden to use eggs in a bag or soft-boiled because of the danger of salmonellosis. In case of intolerance to chicken eggs, quail eggs can be used, but the eggs of waterfowl (ducks, geese) are prohibited in the diet of children under three years old.

Fish and fish dishes

• In the absence of allergies and other contraindications, it is worth using fish of river and sea varieties in the children's menu once or twice a week.
• At the same time, fish dishes should be from low-fat varieties, salmon, sturgeon, halibut or salmon are excluded from the diet of children.
• The number of fish per day reaches 40-50 g.
• You can offer children boiled or stewed pitted fish, meatballs or fish cutlets, specialized canned food for children.
• But canned fish for adults, as well as smoked, salted and dried fish for children are prohibited.
• Also, do not give children and fish caviar, it is a strong allergen.

Vegetables

Fresh or thermally processed fruits in their composition contain a large amount of fiber and ballast substances that pass through the intestines in transit and are not digested. At the same time, these substances stimulate intestinal motility, thus counteracting constipation. But this is far from the only plus of vegetables, berries and fruits. Due to their composition, they help in stimulating appetite, as they contribute to the separation of digestive enzymes. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in vitamins and mineral components, which replenish constantly depleted stocks.

However, you should not lean heavily on the use of potatoes, as one of the leading vegetables in the diet, its amount is limited to 100-120 g per day, the rest should be obtained from other vegetables. On average, the diet should contain at least 200-250 g of vegetables, fresh or cooked. Vegetables are used to prepare first and second courses, salads and even desserts and pastries. Vegetables such as:

• carrots, onions
• tomatoes, cucumbers
• zucchini and squash
• pumpkin, beetroot
• cauliflower, white cabbage, broccoli

In the nutrition of children after a year and a half, it is necessary to include fresh garden greens - in salads, first and second courses.

• you can also give your child small amounts of green onions and garlic to add a savory taste to dishes
• the expansion of the diet occurs due to the gradual introduction of turnips, radishes, radishes, legumes (peas, beans) into the diet after two years.

Proper preliminary and heat treatment of vegetables is important so that they retain a maximum of vitamins and mineral components. When peeling vegetables, you need to cut off a thin layer of the skin, since the peel area has the largest reserves of vitamins. In salads or vinaigrettes, it is recommended to boil vegetables in their skins, steaming them or in a small amount of water. Peeled vegetables should not be kept in water for a long time, so that vitamins and minerals are not washed out. Vegetable broth when cooking peeled and washed vegetables should be used in cooking. Vegetables need to cook for a certain time:

• spinach and sorrel no more than 10 minutes
• beets - up to 90 minutes (in a slow cooker 20 minutes)
• potatoes - up to 25 minutes
• carrots - up to 30 minutes
• cabbage - up to 30 minutes

For salads and vinaigrettes raw vegetables they are peeled and cut or rubbed on a grater immediately before eating, since the action of atmospheric oxygen destroys vitamins in peeled and finely chopped foods, vitamin C and group B are especially affected.

Fruits and berries

Fruits must be included in the diet of children under three years of age without fail, the number of fruits per day should not be less than 200 g, and about 20 g of berries. Particularly useful for children can be apples, plums, pears, cherries, bananas, oranges. Given that citrus and exotic fruits can cause allergic skin reactions, you need to introduce them into the child's diet slowly and only in small pieces, monitoring the reaction.

Berries according to the season will be no less useful in the diet of children - children can be given cranberries, lingonberries, gooseberries, and chokeberries, currants, strawberries, wild strawberries. You should not give a lot of berries, initially you can limit yourself to one handful, since an excess of berries can also harm. Any new fruits and vegetables should be introduced little by little and monitored for skin and digestive reactions.

Fruits and berries can also influence digestion and regulate stools.

• Blueberries, pears, chokeberries, black currants are able to fix the stool, with constipation of these fruits, you should not give a lot.
• Kiwi, plum, apricot, or simply an excess of fresh berries or fruits eaten on an empty stomach has a laxative effect.

Cereals, pasta

In the nutrition of children, it is worth using various kinds of cereals, buckwheat and oatmeal porridge will be especially useful for children after a year and a half, they are richer than anyone else in complete vegetable protein, minerals and vitamins. No less useful in the diet will be such cereals and cereals from them as pearl barley, millet or barley groats.

At this age, it is quite acceptable to use noodles, vermicelli in the form of side dishes or milk soups as side dishes, but they should be consumed no more than twice a day - they are rich in carbohydrates and high in calories. On average, children under three years old need no more than 20 g of cereals and no more than 50 g of pasta per day.

Sweet

Sugar can also be included in the diet of children, due to it the taste of cooked dishes improves, but with its excess, there is a load on the pancreas and excess weight, appetite decreases, metabolism is disturbed (see the article about the dangers of refined sugar). At the age of up to three years, no more than 40 g of sugar per day is permissible, this amount will also include glucose in juices, sweets or drinks.

Glucose is good for brain function, but foods with complex carbohydrates (cereals, potatoes, pasta, bread) in the recommended amounts do not provide the entire amount of glucose. The amount of food due to the peculiarities of the child's digestion cannot be increased, so children at this age need to replenish their glucose reserves for the brain through light carbohydrates - sweets. They give a rapid increase in blood glucose levels, and it is quickly delivered to the brain, liver and kidneys.

But you need sweets in moderation, their excess does not have time to be spent and gives you extra weight. Useful sweets include marmalade, marshmallow, jam, fruit caramels and marshmallows. Chocolate, candy with chocolate and cocoa are not recommended for children due to their stimulating effect on nervous system and high allergenicity.

Sample menu for children from one and a half to three years

Menu for a child 2 years old for one day

• Breakfast : oatmeal with banana, butter bun, half boiled egg, dried fruit compote
• Lunch: vinaigrette, cabbage soup with fresh cabbage, meatballs with pasta, half a banana, mint tea
• Afternoon snack: cottage cheese casserole, bun, boiled milk, pear.
• Dinner: vegetable stew with cabbage and potatoes, bread, jelly with raspberries, an apple.
• At night - yogurt.

Breakfast:
Dinner:
Afternoon snack:
Dinner: