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Fibre and Your Child’s Diet

Most of us know about the importance of getting enough fibre in our diets. It is suggested toddlers have 14g of fibre each day to help keep their digestive system healthy. Below are some suggestions on how you can add fibre into your toddler’s diet.

Cereals and Grains

  • Select wholemeal, wholegrain, high fibre white or rye breads
  • Add wholemeal flour when baking
  • Look for breakfast cereals which contain barley, oats or wheat
  • Choose wholemeal pasta and brown rice instead of white
  • Include wholegrain crackers as a snack.

When you hear the word fibre, bran may come to mind. While bran does contain fibre, it is not suitable for your toddler because it could prevent them from absorbing certain nutrients such as zinc and iron.

Vegetables, Fruit and Legumes

Vegetables and fruit contain fibre whether they’re fresh, dried, puréed, frozen or canned. Legumes and pulses are also great sources of fibre, such as baked beans, lentils and chickpeas. To add more of these into your toddler’s diet, you could try:

  • Adding extra vegetables and legumes to recipes such as stir-fry’s, pasta dishes, casseroles, burger patties and rice dishes
  • Give your toddler vegetables in different ways such as, raw, grated, mashed or blended in a soup
  • Fruit and vegetables can make for a quick, easy snack when you’re on the go, e.g. apples, mandarins, bananas, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks
  • Slice up some fruit to add to your little one’s breakfast cereal and smoothie.

While fruit juice is a good source of vitamin C it doesn’t contain fibre and other nutrients, a piece of fruit is a better option. Due to its sugar content, excess consumption of fruit juice can cause your toddler to have a poor appetite, diarrhoea, weight gain and tooth decay.

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