​Age Appropriate Food Serving Sizes

In America, The Land of Gigantic Portions, it's really hard to know what an appropriate serving size is. Just think back to the 12-ounce sirloin steak you had for dinner last night. That big hunk of meat is four times the 3-ounce serving size recommended by the American Cancer Society.

As childhood obesity continues to climb at an astonishing rate, keeping your children healthy and fit is largely a matter of feeding them healthy food in human-sized portions. But how big, exactly, should those portions be? Well, it's hard to say. It really has more to do with the amount of nutrients and the number of calories your kids get each day, and to determine those numbers, we turn to the USDA.

Choose My Plate

The My Plate icon was established in 2011 by the USDA, replacing the age-old Food Guide Pyramid. My Plate provides the recommended amounts of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy that should be consumed each day.

Giving your child three squares a day, along with a few healthy snacks, gives you the opportunity to ensure your young’un is getting all the nutrients needed for overall good health. But it's important to understand that the recommended portions are a guideline. Your kid may be voracious all the time, or you may worry that she's going to wither away to nothing because she has the appetite of a small insect. All children are not alike, and neither are their metabolisms.

First, here's how to estimate portions without getting out your measuring cup:

•  ¼ cup is about the size of an egg.
•  ½ cup is about half the size of a baseball
• 1 cup is about the size of a baseball

And here, to give you an idea of what sorts of foods your child should be eating, is how much food from each group your child should eat each day from age two to age 8:

• Fruits - 1.5 cups
• Vegetables - 1.5 cups
• Grains - 5 ounces
• Protein - 4 ounces
• Dairy - 2.5 cups

And finally, here's the recommended daily caloric intake for children from age 2 to age 18:

• Children ages 2 to 3: 1000 calories
• Children ages 4 to 8: 1200 - 1400 calories
• Girls ages 9 to13: 1600 calories
• Boys ages 9 to 13: 1800 calories
• Girls ages 14 to 18: 1800 calories
• Boys ages 14 to 18: 2200 calories

Now, these caloric values are based on a child who gets 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity per day. So if your child is actively involved in dance, running, soccer, gymnastics or similar activities, you can expect he will have a larger caloric intake need. But if his physical activity is pretty much limited to moving his thumbs as he navigates his Xbox, well, you might want to either cut a few of those calories out or, better yet, throw the Xbox in the garbage and send him out for some fresh air and exercise.

Listen to Your Child!

One of the most challenging food issues for parents knowing how much of each type of food their children need according to age. The serving sizes on food package labels keep increasing every year, probably at the same rate our waistlines expand in that time. Food label servings are designated for adults, but sometimes, that's the amount a child is given to eat. And if the children in your home are expected to join the Clean Plate Club, you may be dramatically over-feeding your kiddos.

If your child is leaving food on the plate at every meal, the portion may be too large for her. Try cutting back the portion sizes, or let your child stop eating when she says she's full. Now, if you suspect that what she means by full is, "I hate Brussels sprouts and refuse to eat them," well, no dessert for that one! But it might be wise to cut back the amount of food on your child's plate each meal, and offer a healthy snack in between meals.

Bon Appetite!