Updated June 09, 2015.

Calcium

When considering their children's nutrition, parents often think more about fat grams, carbs, and calories, and forget about calcium, a mineral that is important to help build strong and healthy bones. Fortunately, if your children are meeting their daily requirements for drinking milk, then they are getting enough calcium. There are plenty of other calcium rich foods.

• Encourage your kids to eat calcium rich foods, including those that have hidden sources of calcium.

• Consider giving your child a calcium supplement if you don't think he can get enough calcium from his diet.

Fiber

Many children, since they don't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and they have a relatively high fat diet, tend to have diets that are low in fiber, which can lead to their becoming constipated and future health problems. Remember that according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in their Guide to Your Child's Nutrition, "a person's daily intake of fiber should equal his or her age plus 5 grams (thus, for a 7-year-old, 7 + 5 = 12 grams a day) up to a maximum of 35 grams a day."

• Encourage your kids to eat high fiber foods, including many fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans), breads, and cereals.
• Check the nutrition label to find high fiber foods, avoid adding high fat toppings to your high fiber foods, and encourage your kids to eat their fruits, like apples, with the skin on.

Calories

Kids who are overweight, in addition to not exercising enough, typically get too many calories.

Although you shouldn't usually have to count calories, it can help to learn how many calories your kids need each day. Observing if your kids are gaining too much or too little weight can be a good general guide as to whether or they are getting the right amount of calories too.

• Avoid most high calorie foods, especially on a regular basis.
• Don't let your kids get too many calories from drinks, like juice and soda.
• Review the serving size of foods so that your child's portions aren't too large.

Fast Food

While the occasional visit to a fast food restaurant can be a fun treat, eating there on a regular basis is likely not going to contribute to a very healthy diet.

• Learn to make healthy choices at fast food restaurants, including small portions, salad and fruit, milk instead of soda, etc.

Common Mistakes

• Switching to whole milk before a baby is twelve months old.
• Not giving their kids enough milk or other calcium rich foods.
• Giving their kids fruit drinks instead of 100% fruit juice. Many of the more popular products that parents buy are not actually 100% fruit juice.
• Letting their kids drink soda, tea, and other drinks with caffeine.
• Allowing their kids too get too many calories from the things they drink, whether it is soda, fruit drinks, or 100% fruit juice and not encouraging their kids to drink water instead.
• Making serving sizes too large, which is a common way that kids get too many calories.
• Eating too much fast food.

References:
¹AAP Policy Statment. Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No. 2 February 2005, pp. 496-506.
²AAP Clinical Report. Optimizing Bone Health and Calcium Intakes of Infants, Children, and Adolescents. PEDIATRICS Vol. 117 No. 2 February 2006, pp. 578-585.
³AAP Policy Statment. The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics. PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 5 May 2001, pp. 1210-1213