Daddy, A Nourishing, Balanced Diet Is Needed For Your Child. This Nutrition Chart Can Assist You

Children should eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes all of the major food categories. See what the specialist has to say.

(Upload On 10th Nov 2025 01:08 PM )

Your early diet, during a time of rapid growth and development, will set you up for a healthy adulthood. Children must eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes all five food groups—grains, proteins, dairy, fruits, and vegetables—in order to avoid obesity, strengthen their immune systems, prevent malnutrition, and reduce their chance of developing chronic illnesses.

These Are The Five Food Groups That Your Child Needs:

1. Whole grains and cereals:

Items include bread, rice, roti, and cereal for breakfast. This food category offers your child a rich source of minerals like iron, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, and zinc, as well as an outstanding amount of carbs, a considerable source of protein, and a decent source of Vitamin B group, including folate. 

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2. Legumes and pulses

Rich in protein, unsaturated fat, thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, iron, and calcium, lentils, peas, and dried peas are essential nutrients for your developing youngsters.

3. Milk and meat products: As the best providers of protein, calcium, fat, riboflavin, and phosphorus, milk and meat products should be a staple in your child's diet. Make an effort to give your child a variety of dairy products every day, like yoghurt, cheese slices, and milk drinks. These will support the growth of the child's teeth and bones.

4. Fruits and veggies: Fruits and vegetables give kids water, fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants. To strengthen their immunity, encourage children to eat at least one or two fruits each day. Assemble vibrant rainbow plates with an assortment of fruits and veggies. Vegetables can be added to oatmeal, rice, pasta, and parathas.

5. Sugars and fats: Fats are wholesome ingredients that give you kid full of vitality and vitamins A, D, E, and K. The development of a child's brain, eyes, and cognitive abilities depends on these lipids. As a healthy component of your child's overall fat intake, include avocados, almonds, seeds, walnuts, chia, flax, olives, and fatty fish (tuna, mackerel, and sardines) in their diet. You can also include specific vegetable oils like canola, olive, and peanut oil. Restrict your child's consumption of sweets, candies, and sugary drinks (such as fruit juice, soft drinks, and flavoured milk) as they are heavy in calories but low in nutrients.

Age Group Fruits (g) & Vegetables (g) Pulses Cereals (g)Milk volume (ml)Oils & Fats 

1–3 years 100–50 Veg: 65–20

4–6 years 160–6050 fruits350 20 7-9 years 200 65 milk200 VegDairy: 350–25

Refer to: ICMR-NIN

* Not for vegans. You can replace 30 g of pulses with meat.