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5.2
Common Nutritional Problems in
Preschool Children
Summary
●● The common nutritional problems seen in 1–4 ●● Many parents need support to improve healthy
year olds are dental caries, iron-deficiency eating, management of mealtimes and
anaemia, obesity, constipation, diarrhoea, challenging eating behaviours in their young
gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, selective children.
eating, faltering growth and rickets.
●● If their feeding problems affect health and
●● Following the healthy eating guidelines for growth, some children may need a referral to a
children aged 1–4 will prevent most of these specialist feeding clinic.
conditions except selective eating and
constipation.
Dental Caries The most important preventative measure in
preschool children is brushing teeth twice a day
Dental caries is common in under-fives and is with fluoridated toothpaste. This procedure should
mainly due to poor dental healthcare in the home. be supervised as young children lack the dexterity
to brush properly and care should be taken to avoid
Thirty per cent of children 3–5 years old have swallowing toothpaste and excessive rinsing
some experience of dental decay (Hinds and (Gibson and Williams 1999).
Gregory 1995, Department of Health 2009) and in
the National Diet and Nutrition Survey in 1995 the More recently, dentists report that increasing
risk was higher in children: rates of dental erosion are caused by frequent
consumption of fruit juice in under-fives. Many
●● from lower socio-economic groups dentists advise against giving under-fives any
drinks of fruit juice as well as sweetened squashes
●● whose teeth brushing began at a later age and fizzy drinks.
●● whose teeth were brushed less frequently than Sweet, acidic foods should be limited to just 4
twice a day feeding episodes each day and children should not
be allowed to graze on food throughout the day but
●● who always brushed their own teeth compared should follow a routine of 3 meals and 2–3 planned
to those who had an adult helping them nutritious snacks. Water is the best drink to offer
outside these times.
●● who used a bottle, dinky feeder or dummy
Saliva has a protective effect on teeth but saliva
●● who more frequently ate sugar and confectionery production reduces during sleep. Hence sweet or
and carbonated drinks acidic drinks given at bedtime are very harmful.
●● who had a drink containing non-milk extrinsic
sugars in bed at night.
