Parenting Tips for Your 45-46 Month Old Child
Between 2 and 5 years old, your child will gain 4 to 7 pounds and grow 2 to 4 inches taller. She is growing so fast, it is important to give her the nutritious foods her body needs.
MyPyramid Plan for Preschoolers lists the foods that children 2-5 years old should have in their daily diet:
- 3 to 4 ounces of grains- one ounce is 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of dry cereal or ½ cup of cooked rice, pasta or cereal
- 1 to 1 ½ cups of vegetables- one cup of vegetables could be 1 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables or 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 cup of fruit- one cup of fruit could be 1 small apple or pear, 1 cup of canned fruit or ½ cup of dried fruit
- 2 cups of milk- one cup of milk could be 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1 ½ ounces of cheese like cheddar cheese
- 2 to 3 ounces of meat and beans- an ounce of meat is one ounce of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg, or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
Three and four year olds need smaller serving sizes than five and six year olds. Start with small servings and let your child ask for more if she wishes. Let your child decide how much she needs to eat.
Give a balance of the food groups for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Young children also need between-meal snacks. Make sure that by the end of the day, your child has eaten food from all the five food groups. For example, a daily menu might look like this:
- Breakfast: Dry cereal, milk
- Snack: Graham crackers
- Lunch: Whole wheat bread and peanut butter, vegetable like carrot sticks, milk
- Snack: Apple
- Dinner: Lean meat like chicken, vegetable like broccoli, fruit like canned peaches, milk
Don’t worry if the amount of food your child eats varies from meal to meal or day to day. This is normal. With your help, she will eat enough to meet her nutritional needs.
