Vegetables are so important for our children’s health. They provide key nutrients for growth and development, including carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein, vitamins and minerals ¹. Fostering a love of vegetables in childhood is essential to forming good long-term dietary habits that supports good health and protects against disease ².
How many serves of veggies does my child need?
You’ve probably heard the recommendation we should eating five serves of vegetables a day. But did you know the number of serves of veggies a child needs differs, depending on their age? Childhood and adolescence are defined by rapid growth and development—of both the body and the mind. As young bodies grow, so too does the requirement for certain food groups; especially vegetables to support this growth.
Recommended serves of veggies for children:
- Toddlers aged 1-3 years need 2-3 serves of vegetables each day.
- Children aged 4-8 years should aim for 4.5 serves of vegetables each day.
- Children aged 9-11 years should go for 5 serves a day.
- Adolescents aged 12-18 years need 5.5 serves, due to the rapid growth and development during this time.
- Encouraging vegetable intake in childhood
It can be challenging getting your little one to consume enough vegetables each day: but not impossible. New research has found it can take a child up to 10 exposures to try a new vegetable, and an additional 10 times to like it ⁴. Try these tips to help boost veggie intake at home.
Lead by example
Kids love to watch us and are heavily influenced by how we act. Modelling healthy habits by eating vegetables at family mealtimes is a great way to encourage your little one to eat their vegetables too.
Don’t hide veggies!
Contrary to popular belief, a great way to encourage a love of vegetables is to have them clearly on the plate. While it can be difficult meeting the recommended serves of vegetables, and sometimes easier to simply hide them in pasta sauces, showcasing minimally processed vegetables can help children become familiar with the true flavour of veggies and begin to accept them. Try serving as much as a 10-cent coin size of a new vegetable each night for your child. Over time they will begin to accept and even enjoy vegetables in their natural form.
Incorporate vegetables outside of mealtimes
Vegetables aren’t just for eating. Supporting your child’s acceptance of vegetables can also be through play and learning. Non-taste vegetables activities can increase young children’s willingness to touch, smell or taste new or unfamiliar vegetables ⁵. Try reading a story book with a vegetable character, starting a vegetable or herb garden, or using vegetables for artwork such as potato paint stamping.
The secret to getting your children to eat more vegetables—is to be patient and not to give up.
Acknowledgement to Nutrition Australia for this content.
References
[1] National Health & Medical Research Council. (2015). Vegetables and Legumes/Beans.
[2] VegKIT. (2020). Increasing children’s vegetable intake with VegKIT.
[3] National Health & Medical Research Council. (2015). Recommended number of serves for children, adolescents and toddlers.
[4] Bell, Gardner, C., Tian, E. J., Cochet-Broch, M. O., Poelman, A. A. M., Cox, D. N., Nicklaus, S., Matvienko-Sikar, K., Daniels, L. A., Kumar, S., & Golley, R. K. (2021). Supporting strategies for enhancing vegetable liking in the early years of life: an umbrella review of systematic reviews. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 113(5), 1282–1300.
[5] Roberts, Cross, L., Hale, A., & Houston-Price, C. (2021). VeggieSense: A non-taste multisensory exposure technique for increasing vegetable acceptance in young children. Appetite, 105784–105784.
