Knowing how much your children eat and knowing what they should eat is of concern to most parents. Parents Ask expert and pediatrician Dr. Guy Efron answers some commonly asked questions from parents in today's Parents Are Asking....

Q: On average how many calories should a child ages 2-5, 5-8, 8-11 be consuming daily? How can you tell if your child is eating enough?

A: Caloric needs as per the Food and Nutrition Board are as following: for 1-2 yr olds are 1046 kcal/d for boys and 992 kcal, for 3-8 yr olds are 1742 kcal/day for boys and 1642 kcal/d for girls and for 9-13 yr olds 2279 kcal/d for both.  I ofcourse try and keep parents from quantifying the caloric amounts since its so tedious and leads to control struggles with food (unless there is a blatant nutritional problem).

Knowing if your child is eating enough is usually most difficult in the toddler age since they are so finicky. But I always say to parents "you decide the quality (ie healthy food) and let them decide the quantity (ie amount)", since healthy children will RARELY starve themselves. The mistake comes (and we're all guilty of it to some extent) when you fear your toddler hasnt eaten well all day and you offer him his favorite snack (ie mac n cheese) to try and fill him up.  Thats how you get the 2 or 3 year old who only eats mac ncheese (because they will inevitably hold out for this and not eat dinner, since they know you will give in). In terms of measurements at the doctors office et al, during the toddler and school age years, they should gain ~ 4.5-6.5 pounds per year.

Q: Just how bad are snacks like Goldfish and pretzels? How about Gummy vitamins?

A: I prefer a wide variety of snacks if possible to get kids from getting hooked and creating balanced intake.  All things in moderation as they say..and pretzels (high salt) and goldfish are included in that. As for the gummy vitamins, I am not a big fan. They have less vitamin content then chewables (ie Flinstones complete) and dentists hate them too!!  I usually recommend a liquid multivitamin until the age of 2 (ie poly-vi-sol) and then a switch to chewables.

Dr. Guy Efron received his Medical Degree from Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty School of Medicine after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of California at Berkeley. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the highly acclaimed Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Dr. Efron is a spokesperson for Similac, an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and was given the distinguished honor of being named Cedars-Sinai’s Pediatrician of the Year, 2008.

See Also:

-Better Than Chicken Nuggets: Recipes for Adult-Friendly Kid Food!

-The Food Battle: What Works? What Doesn't?

-Do You Use Food as a Reward for Kids?