Children's appetites vary widely. Their hunger is influenced by what is going on around them - how much time they have spent outdoors, the onset of a growth spurt, if they are teething, or even how much their peers are eating. Coupled with messages about 'five a day' and balanced diets, it is little wonder that early years settings have often struggled to know how much food to provide for an average child of a certain age each day. So what does an average portion size for a child actually look like?
Many early years settings follow a general approach to healthy eating, often adapting the advice given to adults to suit what they believe to be children's needs. However, children under the age of five experience rapid growth in muscles, bone tissue and brain development, so they need varied diets if they are to obtain all the nutrients their bodies require.
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