Child Nutrition
Toddler Nutrition
Plain, practical toddler nutrition, with a portion guide, a daily meals and snacks planner and a food variety tracker.
A$27.99Buy
Child nutrition courses for toddlers and school-age kids
Five courses that turn Australia's serve guides for children into everyday meals, lunchboxes and calmer mealtimes, plus clear steps for living with a food allergy.
- 5 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
Children need the same five food groups as adults, in amounts that change with age. Eat for Health suggests children aged 4 to 8 have about 4½ serves of vegetables and 1½ serves of fruit a day, rising to 5 serves of vegetables and 2 of fruit at 9 to 11. Water and milk are the best drinks: full-fat milk for children under 2, then mostly reduced-fat milk from 2 years. Soft drinks, cordial, sports drinks and energy drinks are not recommended, and discretionary foods are for special occasions.
A useful rule for mealtimes is responsive feeding: you decide what food is offered, and your child decides whether to eat it and how much. Our courses build on that idea, with a portion guide for toddlers, a food ladder for fussy eaters and a mix-and-match lunchbox builder. School canteen policies vary by state and territory, so the lunchbox course sticks to the national serve guides.
If your child has a food allergy, labels matter. Since February 2024, packaged food in Australia must show allergens in bold in the ingredient list, with a separate "Contains" statement, and each tree nut must be named. For children up to 5, your child and family health nurse is a free source of advice; your GP can refer you to an allergy specialist if needed.
All child nutrition courses
Child Nutrition
Healthy Lunchbox Planning
Lunchboxes sorted four weeks at a time: a mix-and-match builder, shopping list and school food rules checklist for every term.
A$24.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Fussy Eating Strategies
Practical, pressure-free ways to widen your child's foods, with a new-food ladder, exposure tracker and mealtime rules cards.
A$27.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Food Allergy Awareness for Parents
Calm, practical allergy know-how: reading Australian labels, eating out, childcare and school plans, and an emergency information sheet.
A$27.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Family Meal Planning
One week of family dinners sorted: a meal planner, shopping list by aisle, batch-cook plan and ways to adapt one meal for all ages.
A$27.99Buy
Which child nutrition course to pick
- Feeding a 1 to 3 year old? Toddler Nutrition covers serves, snacks, milk and drinks, and a variety tracker.
- Battling over every vegetable? Fussy Eating Strategies uses a new-food ladder, an exposure tracker and a 7-day plan.
- Packing lunch five days a week? Healthy Lunchbox Planning has a mix-and-match builder and a 4-week planner, handy for the back-to-school rush in late January.
- Cooking for everyone at once? Family Meal Planning shows how to adapt one meal for toddlers, older kids and adults, on a budget.
- Living with a food allergy? Food Allergy Awareness for Parents covers Australian allergen labels, eating out, school or childcare information and an emergency sheet.
What the child nutrition tools do
- Toddler portion guide and meals planner: realistic serves for small appetites, spread across meals and snacks.
- Food exposure tracker and new-food ladder: small steps from looking at a food to tasting it, logged over weeks.
- Lunchbox builder and 4-week planner: pick a main, a vegetable, a fruit and a dairy food, and rotate the ideas.
- Allergen checklist and label checking card: the allergens Australian labels must declare, and where to find them on the pack.
- School and childcare allergy template: the details staff need, ready to fill in and share.
When to get help
Call 000 straight away if your child has trouble breathing, a swollen tongue, a hoarse voice or wheeze, or turns pale and floppy, as these can be signs of a severe allergic reaction. Follow your child's ASCIA Action Plan if they have one.
Book in with your GP or child and family health nurse if your child is losing weight or not growing as expected, eats only a very small range of foods, gags or vomits often at meals, or seems tired and unwell for no clear reason.
Child nutrition courses: your questions
What should my child drink?
Water and milk. Full-fat milk suits children under 2, and from 2 years mostly reduced-fat varieties are recommended. Healthdirect advises offering water instead of soft drinks, cordial, sports drinks or energy drinks, and limiting fruit juice.
How many serves of fruit and vegetables does my child need?
It depends on age. Children aged 4 to 8 need about 4½ serves of vegetables and 1½ serves of fruit a day, and children aged 9 to 11 about 5 serves of vegetables and 2 of fruit. Eat for Health has the full table for every age.
When can my child have whole nuts?
Not until 4 years, because whole nuts and other hard pieces of food are a choking risk. Smooth nut butters and pastes can be offered much earlier, as part of introducing allergens.
Which allergens must be shown on Australian food labels?
Wheat, fish, crustacean, mollusc, egg, milk, lupin, peanut, soy, sesame, each tree nut by name (such as almond, cashew or macadamia), cereals containing gluten, and added sulphites above a set level. "May contain" statements are voluntary and not regulated.
Are there national rules for school lunches?
No single national rule applies. Canteen policies vary by state and territory, and schools and childcare services may have their own food and allergy policies, so check with yours.
Is caffeine safe for children?
Healthdirect advises under-18s to keep caffeine below 2.5 mg per kg of body weight a day. Energy drinks are not suitable for children.
Official sources
- Eat for Health: Recommended number of serves for children, adolescents and toddlers
- Eat for Health: Healthy eating for infants, children and teenagers
- healthdirect: Healthy eating for children
- FSANZ: Allergen labelling
- healthdirect: Caffeine
- ASCIA: How to introduce solid foods to babies
- Raising Children Network: Child and family health nurses
Plan next week's lunchboxes tonight
Open the lunchbox course, try the mix-and-match builder and fill in week one of the planner.