As a parent, we know that you’ll want to do everything possible to ensure your child is meeting their nutritional needs, staying healthy and happy, and not running into any medical problems as they progress throughout their preschool years. However, at this age, children have many needs, so we understand if it can feel impossible to have all the knowledge to prevent every single issue they could potentially run into!

But knowledge is power, and armed with the right information, no issue big or small will feel like too much to handle.

So, we’ve put together some information on why children will run into three common nutritional problems, and how to prevent them. Namely, dental decay, iron deficiency, and obesity.

Let’s start with dental decay.

Why do some children develop dental decay?

Dental decay is one of the most common issues seen in children under five, mainly due to poor dental healthcare in the home, and frequent eating and drinking of sugary, acidic food and drinks. In fact, 23% of 5-year-olds have been reported to have some experience of dental decay with an average of 3-4 teeth affected.

The risk is known to be higher in children:

Whose tooth-brushing began later.

Who always brushed their own teeth compared to those who had an adult helping them.

Who more frequently consumed free sugars, confectionery and carbonated drinks.

Now that we’ve understood why some children develop dental decay, let’s talk about how you can prevent it from happening to your child.

How do I prevent dental decay?

Here are some tips that may help your child prevent dental decay:

Ensure your child brushes their teeth for two minutes, twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste containing 1000 ppm of fluoride, a smear for children up to 3 years.

Ensure your child brushes once in the morning and once the last thing at night before bed.

After brushing, make sure your child spits out excess toothpaste but does not rinse, as rinsing washes away the fluoride. Also, try to help them avoid swallowing the toothpaste.

As a parent or carer, it's recommended that you supervise tooth brushing up until the age of six or seven, as young children lack the know-how to brush as they should.

Limit sweet and acidic foods in their diet.

Next, let’s look at another common nutritional problem preschoolers experience, iron deficiency anaemia.

Why do some children develop iron deficiency anaemia?

Iron deficiency and anaemia tend to be more common in the preschool age group in comparison to others. The risks are increased if parents:

Begin complementary feeding after 6 months or inappropriate complementary foods during infancy.

Change to cow’s milk as the main drink before 12 months of age.

Consume excessive amounts of cow’s milk frequently from a bottle, an excess is more than 400 millilitres a day.

Iron deficiency may cause tiredness, irritability, reduced exercise tolerance, poor appetite, increased risk of infection, and more.

But how do you prevent iron deficiency anaemia from happening to your child?

How do I prevent iron deficiency anaemia?

To help your child prevent iron deficiency anaemia, try following these tips:

Don’t make the change to cow’s milk as the main milk drink before 12 months of age and then restrict it to 360 millilitres a day or less if your toddler is eating yoghurt and cheese.

Encourage consumption of iron-rich foods e.g. red meat, oily fish, eggs, iron-fortified breakfast cereals, beans and pulses, nuts, dark green vegetables and dried fruit.

Give your child vitamin C-rich fruit and vegetables with vegetarian meals as this will promote iron absorption. E.g. strawberries, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.

Advise against giving tea as a drink with meals and snacks as it contains tannin, which decreases the absorption of iron in food.

Next, let’s talk about the problem of obesity, and why some children may develop it.

Why do some children develop obesity?

Obesity in children is one of the biggest problems worldwide, especially in the age range of 1-4. Measured by body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.

The risk of your child becoming obese increases if you:

Do not understand the principles of healthy eating and age-appropriate food portion sizes.

Do not have the cooking skills necessary to prepare simple home-cooked meals and instead rely on convenience foods which are usually higher in energy, fat, salt and sugar.

Do not have set meal times either as a family or for your children so that frequent snacking forms part of their eating pattern.

But how do you prevent your child from developing obesity?

So, how do I prevent obesity?

As family lifestyle is the most common cause of child obesity, with organic and medical causes of obesity being very rare, you as a parent have an important role in preventing this issue from developing in your child. Therefore, we recommend that you:

Try to actively engage your child in the importance of nutrition, and introduce them to nutrition education early on. Encourage your children to have 5 portions of fruit a day.

Encourage your child to engage in physical activities such as dancing, walking, jumping, climbing, active play, riding a bike and skipping. Overall, you want to make sure they are active for more than 3 hours each day.

Make sure they are not inactive for long periods, except when they are asleep. For example, avoid their being strapped into a buggy for long periods.

Avoid showing love by giving extra food. Always stick to a recommended healthy diet for their age group.

How do I prevent common nutritional problems in my preschooler?

Prevention is better than cure. Unii tells you how to achieve it.