Toddlers eat small amounts of food and take their time with eating. As a general rule, at each meal, serve one tablespoon of food from each food group for each year of your child’s age.
If your toddler asks for more of something, give it to them. It’s ok if they eat some things and not others. The goal is to offer 4-5 food groups for main meals and 2-3 for snacks.
One tablespoon of finely chopped chicken
One tablespoon of soft-cooked peas
One tablespoon of cottage cheese
One tablespoon of chopped very-ripe pear
One tablespoon of o-shaped cereal
One tablespoon of soft-cooked peas
One tablespoon of chopped very-ripe pear
1 ounce is one
egg, 1 ounce
chopped meat, ¼
cup beans or
lentils, 1
tablespoon
peanut butter
1 ounce is 1 cup
ready-to-eat
cereal, 1 slice
bread, 1 tortilla, ½
cup cooked rice
or pasta
Three meals and 2 to 3 small snacks a day is ideal. Encourage water: Offer your child water between meals. Offer milk or 100% juice only with meals or snacks, not by itself.
Make mealtime a family time. Start to offer your toddler the same foods everyone else eats. Then, let them choose how much to eat. Don’t force or bribe them to eat. Keep it relaxed and stress-free.
Your job (as a parent or caregiver) is to offer your child healthy foods. You choose what to offer and when. Your child’s job is to decide how much to eat or if they’ll eat at all. Don’t punish or trick them to eat more. Let their body guide their eating.
Write down everything your child eats and drinks to see the whole picture. You will see they eat more at one time and not so much at other times. Their appetite is like a roller coaster and that is normal.
Breakfast – 7:00 a.m.
Morning Snack – 10:00 a.m.
Lunch – 12:30 p.m.
Afternoon Snack – 3:30 p.m.
Dinner – 6:00 p.m.
Bedtime Snack – 7:30 p.m.
Do you find this Blog helpful?
Show some love here!
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!