Child Nutrition
Toddler Nutrition
Feed your toddler with less guesswork, using realistic portions and a variety tracker instead of kilojoule targets.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child nutrition courses for busy whānau
Feed tamariki well from the toddler years to school age, with realistic meal plans, calm ways to handle fussy eating and lunchboxes that come home empty.
- 10 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
From around their first birthday, children eat from the same four food groups as adults, in smaller, child-sized amounts: vegetables and fruit, grain foods, milk and milk products, and protein foods such as legumes, eggs, fish, chicken and meat. Water and plain milk are the best everyday drinks. Fizzy drinks, juice, lollies and other sweet foods are best kept for now and then, and full-fat milk is usually used for children under two.
Fussy eating is very common, especially between two and five, and most children grow out of it with calm, repeated chances to try new foods. School-age tamariki need a good start to the day and food that keeps them going in class. Some schools provide free lunches through Ka Ora, Ka Ako, while many families still pack a lunchbox for school, sport and holidays. At age four, every child is offered a free B4 School Check, which includes growth and oral health.
Our five child nutrition courses, written by Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar, PhD in Nutrition, give you planners, trackers and checklists that work for the whole whānau, with recipes built around affordable New Zealand foods. Think of them as a companion to the advice your GP or Plunket nurse gives, not a replacement for it.
All child nutrition courses
Child Nutrition
Toddler Nutrition
Feed your toddler with less guesswork, using realistic portions and a variety tracker instead of kilojoule targets.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Healthy Lunchbox Planning
Term-ready lunchboxes made simple, with a mix-and-match builder, shopping list and school food rules checklist.
NZ$24.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Healthy Lunchbox Planning
Term-ready lunchboxes made simple, with a mix-and-match builder, shopping list and school food rules checklist.
NZ$24.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Fussy Eating Strategies
Calm, step-by-step ways to widen what your child eats, with a 7-day plan and table rules that take the pressure off everyone.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Fussy Eating Strategies
Calm, step-by-step ways to widen what your child eats, with a 7-day plan and table rules that take the pressure off everyone.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Food Allergy Awareness for Parents
Calm, practical allergy know-how for parents, from reading labels under New Zealand rules to briefing schools and early learning centres.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Food Allergy Awareness for Parents
Calm, practical allergy know-how for parents, from reading labels under New Zealand rules to briefing schools and early learning centres.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Family Meal Planning
A week of family dinners planned in one sitting, with a batch-cook plan and easy ways to adapt one meal for every age at the table.
NZ$29.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Family Meal Planning
A week of family dinners planned in one sitting, with a batch-cook plan and easy ways to adapt one meal for every age at the table.
NZ$29.99Buy
Find the course for your child's age and need
- Ages one to three: Toddler Nutrition covers toddler portions, milk, snacks and whether vitamin drops are needed.
- Refusing new foods: Fussy Eating Strategies uses a food exposure tracker and a step-by-step food ladder to widen what your child eats.
- One meal for everyone: Family Meal Planning shows how to cook once and adapt for babies, toddlers and adults, on a budget.
- School and kindy: Healthy Lunchbox Planning has a mix-and-match lunchbox builder and a four-week planner timed for the school terms.
- A child with a food allergy: Food Allergy Awareness for Parents covers label checking, eating out and sharing information with school or early learning services.
What the child nutrition tools do
- Toddler portion guide: what a child-sized serve looks like for each food group.
- Family meal and lunchbox planners: plan a week of dinners and a term of lunches in one go.
- Food exposure tracker and new-food ladder: small steps from looking at a food to tasting it.
- Allergen checklist and label card: the allergens New Zealand labels must declare, and where to find them on the pack.
- School allergy information template: a clear sheet for teachers and kaiako.
When to talk to your GP or Plunket nurse
Talk to your GP or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse if your child:
- is not growing as expected, or is losing weight
- eats only a very small number of foods, or gags or vomits with most new foods
- has ongoing constipation, tummy pain or diarrhoea
- gets hives, swelling or vomiting after a particular food
Call 111 if your child has trouble breathing, a swollen tongue or throat, or collapses after eating. Use their adrenaline auto-injector if one has been prescribed. PlunketLine (0800 933 922) gives free advice about under-fives at any hour.
Child nutrition courses: your questions
What should my toddler drink?
Water and milk. From 12 months, cow's milk can be the main milk drink, offered in a cup. Fizzy drinks, cordial and juice are not needed and are hard on young teeth.
How do I get a fussy eater to try new foods?
Keep offering small amounts alongside foods your child already likes, eat together and avoid pressure or bribes. It can take many tries before a new food is accepted. The course shows how to track this so you can see progress.
My child's school provides lunch. Is the lunchbox course still useful?
Yes. Ka Ora, Ka Ako lunches are offered at some schools, but most families still pack food for sport, outings, holidays and before-school care. The planner also helps with breakfasts and after-school kai.
Does my child need vitamins?
Most children who eat a varied diet do not need a supplement. Some children may be advised to take vitamin D or other drops. Ask your GP or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse before giving any supplement.
How do I tell my child's school about an allergy?
Share your doctor's allergy action plan and fill in the course's information template, then ask the school or early learning service about their own allergy plan. The course explains what to include.
What is the B4 School Check?
It is a free health and development check for four-year-olds in New Zealand, covering things such as growth, hearing, vision, oral health and behaviour. Your Well Child Tamariki Ora provider will usually arrange it.
Official sources
Plan one week of family dinners
Start with five meals everyone already eats, then use the planner to add one new food at a time.