Children's growing bodies have different nutritional requirements than those of adults. Here are a few ways to adapt the Food Pyramid to meet their needs.

Infants and Toddlers:

• Seek your doctor's advice about what to feed your infant and toddler. The Food Pyramid is only designed for children aged two and above.
  

Preschool Children:

• Use the Food Pyramid, but reduce servings to only two-thirds the typical adult size.
  
• Be patient. If your child refuses to eat a food right away, try again a few days later.
  
• Make sure they drink at least two cups of milk a day (or the equivalent in cheese, yogurt, etc.).
  
• Serve healthy snacks such as whole-grain crackers, vegetable sticks and cut-up fruit. Avoid foods that can cause choking such as popcorn, hot dogs, hard candy, carrot sticks and grapes.*
  
• Set a good example. Be active and eat healthy foods.
  

Elementary Students:

• Have your elementary-aged child eat at least the lower number of servings from each food group every day.
  
• Make items such as pop, candy and cookies occasional treats rather than everyday snacks. It's usually counterproductive to completely forbid them, however.
  
• Encourage your children to be active. Many of them gain weight at this time because of their sedentary lifestyle.
  

Teenagers:

• Give them plenty of dairy foods. Teens who have three serving of milk, yogurt and cheese every day and are physically active are less likely to develop osteoporosis later in life.
  
• Encourage teens who are lactose intolerant to drink calcium-fortified fruit juice and soy milk and eat dark-green leafy vegetables and calcium-precipitated tofu.
  
• Have teenage boys eat the highest number of suggested servings from each food group. Encourage highly active girls to do the same.
  
• Present physical activity as THE alternative to repeated dieting. Encourage teens who do diet to eat low-fat foods from each section of the Food Pyramid rather than cutting out some parts of it all together.
  

Sources:

• Using the Food Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators
  
• Tips for Using the Food Pyramid for Young Children 2 to 6 Years Old
  

 *A few easy adaptations will make most of these foods safe to eat. For example, you can cut the hot dog into strips, cook the carrot (or celery) stick until it is slightly soft before cutting it and cut the grapes into smaller pieces.