Nutrition - recommendations from the Directorate of Health

-Automatic translation

Educational materials on nutrition and diet for people working with preschool-age children:

 All the primary information for parents and guardians can be found on Heilsuvera.is (Icelandic) 

Official dietary recommendations

Nutrition in the first years of life lays the foundation for food habits. Children need the opportunity to eat varied and healthy food to thrive and develop.

Children in the first year of life

The Infant Nutrition (Icelandic) brochure contains information about children in their first year. Additional material for health professionals can be found in the recommendations on infant nutrition (Icelandic).

Children from the age of 2 years

Dietary recommendations are for adults and children from the age of 2, and there, you can find a wide range of information and advice on healthy foods.

The recommendations emphasise the diet as a whole rather than individual nutrients, that people eat various foods in reasonable amounts, have regular meals and enjoy eating. There are good suggestions on how to follow them easily daily. Eating healthy doesn't have to be complicated.

The Office's website also contains information on:

• Recommended Daily Doses and adequate intake of Vitamins and Minerals (Icelandic)

• Vitamin D

• Vegetarian diet

• Vegan diet for children from birth to 6 years

Information for preschool kitchens

The booklet Advice on infant nutrition - For day parents and staff of infant pre-schools contains advice on the nutrition of children up to the age of two and is mainly intended for daycare providers and nursery school staff, but can also be helpful for parents. The booklet is also published in other languages: Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Thai.

In the Preschool Kitchen Handbook (Icelandic), You can find a wide range of diet information relevant to staff who work with children. In addition to information on nutrition and healthy eating, there is also an emphasis on the food environment and its importance. The setting creates good eating habits, so creating a calm, pleasant atmosphere with plenty of time to feed and enjoy is essential.

The handbook contains information on:

• The food environment

• Picky eating

• The health and composition of the food

• Menu

• Shopping

• Safe food

Health-Promoting Preschool

Health-promoting preschool supports preschools in systematic health-promoting activities. This involves creating an environment that promotes the mental, physical, and social health and well-being of children and staff in collaboration with the home and local community. One of the checklists in Health-Promoting Preschools specifically covers nutrition and diet.

Dietary recommendations for preschools. Seminar - video (Icelandic)