Your Child's Daily Dietary Needs

This site is great — just plug in your child’s age, sex, height, weight and activity level, and out spits a breakdown of how many calories your child needs per day and his or her own personal food pyramid. Use it to remind you about daily nutrition, but remember, nutrition is cumulative at this age and no day is ever perfect.

And as always, this information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always check with your pediatrician or family doctor if you have questions or concerns about your child’s weight or health. I like to use the pyramid as a reminder not to over feed my children and keep my meal plans in proportion to their daily needs.

You can print up a .pdf version of your child’s own personal food chart, put his or her name on it, post it on the frig and use it with your child to plan weekly meals that stay in align with a healthy diet.