Children

Children are growing constantly and require good nutrition to build healthy bodies. An eating pattern that includes a variety of foods from across the food groups will provide children with the range of nutrients and fuel they need.

Dairy foods are one of the core food groups and are best known for calcium and the role it plays in building strong bones. Along with the rest of their body, children’s bones are growing rapidly throughout this period of their life. It is critical that children receive enough daily calcium to ensure their bones achieve their maximum strength.

Three serves of dairy foods each day will provide a child with their daily calcium requirement as well as significant amounts of 9 other essential nutrients. With the wide range of milk, cheese and yogurt to choose from, there is something to tempt all tastebuds!

For more information on good nutrition during childhood and some great ideas on ways to include dairy in your child’s diet see Dairy Australia’s ‘Healthy Eating for Children’ fact sheet (see ‘relevant documents’). The topics covered include:

• Growing bodies
• Core food groups
• Get moving!
• Encouraging healthy eating
• Fussy eaters
• The importance of dairy foods
• 3 serves everyday