One way to get variety and be sure of getting all the nutrients is to serve foods from each different food group. Serving sizes vary according to the age of the child and the food served. In other words, a 3 year old would get 3 Tablespoons of rice for one serving, and a 4 year old would get 4 Tablespoons. A serving of milk is usually 1 cup, but a small child may not drink a whole serving at one time. Iron deficiency Iron deficiency anemia is more common in children age 2-5, but it can occur at any age.
Anemia causes children to become tired, irritable, pale, and have short attention spans.
Severe cases can stunt growth and alter physical and mental performance. There are several reasons why iron deficiency is so common in the preschool age group. First, preschoolers are growing rapidly and they need more iron than before. Second, many preschoolers may still be consuming a lot of milk which doesn't contain much iron, and excluding iron-containing foods. Some children dislike many food sources of iron such as green vegetables and red meats.