Olwen Anderson's Blog

What's the mineral that pre-school children are most likely to become deficient in? Full marks if you chose 'iron'. There are other very important minerals too, including zinc, calcium and iodine; but children between one and three are most at risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. Why? Because during the huge growth spurt in their first year of life, your child used up a vast amount of their iron stores to create more haemoglobin (that's the red part of blood cells that carries oxygen around your body).

In a perfect world, your child's diet would easily fulfil this extra need for iron. But there's a problem. Pre-school children rapidly develop firmly held concepts of what food they like and dislike, to the immense frustration of their concerned parents! To compound the situation, the relatively slower growth rate of the pre-schooler often reduces their appetite as well. Parents often shake their heads, baffled about how their child is continuing to thrive on what seems to be a small selection of tiny quantities of specific foods.

The most easily absorbed sources of iron come from animal sources, especially red meat, but your child probably isn't interested in chewing through that carefully cooked steak or stew; instead, present easily eaten foods like rissoles, eggs or fish cakes. (When you're preparing the rissole mix, add some finely chopped spinach, as leafy green vegetables are also a good source of iron.)

To ensure your pre-schooler has a better chance of obtaining the nutrients they need, offer smaller quantities more often, in finger-food sizes, and with a variety of textures and colours. A general rule of thumb is to offer one tablespoon of each food for every year of age. For example, you could offer your two year old a small rissole with a little pumpkin mash, plus green beans. Or for lunch, a fish cake accompanied by a selection of raw carrot, capsicum and zucchini in easy-to-handle pieces. For breakfast, try scrambled eggs, or a soft-boiled egg with toast 'soldiers' to dip into the nutrient-dense yolk. For snacks, try small fruit serves like strawberries, grapes or apple wedges.

There are lots of great books out there to give you recipes and ideas to create meals your pre-schooler is more likely to eat.

Conflict with your pre-schooler over food may achieve little more than increasing your personal stress levels! Just keep offering a wide variety of healthy foods, small quantities, and leave those lollies, soft drinks and biscuits on the supermarket shelf.

If you're concerned that your child may have become malnourished from their fussy food choices, don't just reach for the vitamin supplement – talk to your health practitioner for an assessment, support, and ideas to improve your child's nutrition.