What is the perfect diet for kids?

[Mollyfloss]

I have an 18m old and a 3 yr old and I am quite conscientious about what they eat. Every time I think they are eating healthily I read something that forces me to question myself. For example my 18m old is going through a phase of drinking tons of milk but I hear too much dairy is not good or not necessary at all. My 3yr old is mad about Kids Innocent smoothies which I think are good for kids but are they really? Otherwise they eat a well balanced diet of meat (mix of chicken, beef, cod, salmon & ham), loads of fruit and quite a lot of veg, plenty of carbs including bread, pasta, potatoes, couscous and cheese & yoghurts. I limit treats but my 3 year old mainly is allowed have ice cream (which I often replace with frozen yoghurt) from time to time and the odd cake.

Does anyone out there have an ideal diet plan for kids?

Smoothies are all fruit, but fruit is mostly sugar - especially when it's pureed. I try not to give the same things too often - occasionally I get paranoid that they're not getting enough protein or something and they get a load of salmon or chicken. There's quite a good guide in What To Expect - The Toddler Years if you want one.

there is a website called little peoples plates which is v helpful in working put if diet is ok- its easy to input what they have and it looks at this and then makes suggestions based on current thinking. sponsored by danone though.

I aim for:

around a pint of milk
5 portions fruit and veg (including some raw)
2 servings meat/fish/poultry/cheese
3 servings cereal/wholemeal bread/potatoes/rice

eat according to appetite
don't add too much salt

refined sugar and flour in moderation or not at all

but we don't manage this a lot of the time and I'm fairly relaxed about that.

no added salt to cooking is my thing and I am a water boss- I hound my DS and DH to drink more! Fruit and veg- as much as you like. Fruit juice is watered down 70/30 water to juice. I do the innocent smoothie drinks and the little tubes too. The tubes get frozen so they are our ice poles. dried fruit- just one portion a day.

My DS will not eat much in the way of cheese, yogurt and does not drink milk at all. This is a source of constant worry for me. Anyone got any ideas for me? I add cheese, cream and the like to sauces, any other ideas? I worry that he is not getting enough calcium.

gapants - if you are worried about calcium, then try and include more things like salmon, sardines, green veg and white/ baked beans, as these all contain calcium. I wouldn't worry too much about dairy, its easy to get calcium from other foods.

OP - their diet sounds fine to me, fairly similar to what my DC eat. I just try and make sure its well balanced through the week. So if we are out for a day and they don't eat that well, then I try and makes sure they have something really healthy the next day to even it out, much easier than trying to balance it out on a day to day basis.

baabaapinksheep thank you, he eats lots of salmon and beans so that is good and he look broccoli.

IMO a healthy varied balanced diet is the best

so long as they have lots of good "healthy" stuff, then a few treats / naughty things wont kill them either!

Wow- my DD goes through a lot of milk!! She is nearly 15 months old, & has 4 bottles a day totalling roughly 800-900mls
She has 3 balanced meals a day- I don't give her food like chips, crisps etc.....
I'm having trouble from transitioning from bottle to cup- any tips??
DD was prem & weighed 3lb 4oz- I know she is a healthy weight now, but should worry that she has a risk of being overweight????