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Kids Nutrition Pyramid

In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. The Food Pyramid is one of the center's tools for helping Americans learn to eat a more healthy diet. There are special pyramids for kids and for pregnant and breastfeeding women. There are two pyramids for kids: one for kids age 2 to 5 and one for kids age 6 to 11.

  1. Food Groups

    • The food groups on the kids' pyramids are the same as on the pyramid for the general population: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk (dairy) and protein (meat and beans). There is a thin section for oils, but this usually is discussed separately. The wider the section at the bottom of the pyramid, the greater the number of servings should come from that food group each day. The food pyramid literature also stresses the importance of daily exercise.

    Servings From Each Group

    • The Nutrition Exploration website from the National Dairy Council provides an easy way for children to remember the number of servings they should strive for from each of the food groups. They instruct children to begin at the left of the pyramid and think of the number of servings from each group as the numbers of an address. Children age 7 to 10 should have five grain servings, four vegetable servings, three fruit servings, three milk/dairy servings and two meat servings. Their address is 54332. Children age 11 to 13 should increase their grain and vegetable servings by one serving each, for an address of 65332. Both groups are encouraged to include small amounts of healthy oils in their diet, such as vegetable or fish oils.

    Making Good Choices

    • At least half of each day's servings of grains should come from whole grain foods. Children are encouraged to choose brightly colored vegetables, including dark green vegetables like broccoli and spinach, and orange vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots. Fruit selections should focus on fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruits as opposed to juice, which should be 100 percent juice when used. Fruits are good choices for snacks. Milk and milk products should be fat-free or low-fat. Protein choices should be lean cuts of meat, fish or poultry. Children are encouraged to consider beans as another protein source. Adding beans, seeds or nuts to a salad is a good way to get additional protein, and beans may be added to soups, stews and casseroles. Foods that have little or no nutritional value, such as potato chips, soda or sugary breakfast cereals, should be avoided.

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