Healthy snacks for preschools | safefood education

Healthy snacks & food swaps

Children have small stomachs so they require food at regular intervals, roughly every 2-3 hours.

Drinks

Water is the best thirst quencher.
Milk is an important part of a growing child’s diet.
Milk and water are the most tooth-friendly drinks and can be given throughout the day.
Keep juice to mealtimes only and try to limit to once a day.
All fizzy drinks should be avoided.
Tea and coffee are not suitable for young children.

Related pages

Picky or fussy eating is a common problem all parents face at some point often making mealtimes a misery. In most cases it's just a phase but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with and many parents become stressed when food is refused.

Menu plans and recipes

This 3 week menu plan resource, implemented by the HSE provides a practical guide for pre-schools to carry out the guidelines and to provide balanced, nutritious meal ideas that will satisfy a growing child.

Serving size guide

Portion size matters. It is important to offer children child-sized portions.