Here are some more tips for feeding your toddler.

  • Try eating together as a family, you should have at least one food that your toddler likes in the menu. Try serving same meal for the whole family. Try not to make a separate meal for the child if he refuses to eat what’s served.
  • Try to avoid TV/electronics during meal times.
  • Encourage your toddler to eat, try not pressure or force your child to eat. Applaud him for trying the food. Don’t give up trying if your child refuses to eat a certain food one time, keep trying new foods and also those that your child did not like before. Eventually they may want to try it.
  • Avoid eating on the go. Your little one can choke on chunks of food. Make sure the food he eats is mashed up or cut into small easily chewable pieces. When eating with kids, sit down together and eat.

It’s okay for the child to try to feed himself and be messy. They want to exercise independence. Try giving him a soft-tipped spoon to hold while you feed him with another spoon. He will get used to holding the spoon himself and will also be distracted from grabbing your spoon.

Toddlers like finger foods, you could cut solid foods into small bite size easily chewable pieces and let him eat on his own.

Try to make food fun and colorful with different types of fruits and vegetables. You can get more variety of nutrients too. You could try different dips with veggies/ crackers like hummus, cheese, avocado dips and peanut butter. For veggies you could try them in different forms, you could dice them, grate or mash them, some could be eaten raw or cooked. You could add the veggies to soups, pancakes, muffins, pasta, pizza, stir fry, veggie and fruit smoothies, homemade pasta sauces and dips. The meats have to be softer too and cut into small pieces as well.

Avoid offering milk or other fluids with meals.

Please do not restrict fat from a toddler’s diet. Babies and toddlers should get half of their calories from fat. Fats are important for their growth and development at this age. Once your child turns two, you can gradually reduce the amount of fat in the diet (lowering it to about one-third of daily calories by ages four to five).

Please don’t offer peanuts, whole grapes, cherry tomatoes (unless they’re cut in small pieces), whole carrots, seeds, example pumpkin or sunflower seeds, whole or large chunks of hot dogs, meat sticks, or hard candies (including jelly beans or gummy bears), or chunks of peanut butter (it’s fine to thinly spread peanut butter on a cracker or bread).

Please avoid foods that are heavily spiced, salted or sweetened.

This blog provides general information and discussions about health and nutrition. The information and other content provided in this blog, website or in any linked materials is not a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your health care provider or seek other professional medical treatment immediately. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something that you have read on this blog, website or in any linked materials.

References:

  1. AAP Pediatric Nutrition, 8th Edition
  2. Nutrition, 2nd Edition, What every parent needs to know by AAP
  3. HealthyChidlren.org