Nutrition Tips for Toddlers
Feeding toddlers can be challenging and confusing all at the same time. With their changing appetites and picky eating patterns, it can be hard to think about proper nutrition. In order to help you along the right path, here are a few key nutrition tips that you can try:
Introduce New foods
The toddler age is the perfect time to start introducing variety into their diets. This will help them get a taste for different types of food and get to know flavor, texture, etc. Start with two new foods per week. Try to incorporate those foods into the whole family’s meal so that your little one is more encouraged to try them. Make sure the meals are cut up into bite-sized pieces to make it easier for them to feed themselves, which is an essential part of their learning/growth. If they aren’t eating enough on their own, then you can step in and help feed.
Let Them Learn
Allowing your toddler to play with their food might not sound like a good thing to do but it actually is! Playing with food by allowing them to touch, smell, and spit out then re-eat (yeah, I know it sounds nasty), let’s them learn about it. This is how he/she will get to fully understand food and appreciate it as they get older. You can talk about the food’s shape, color, and flavor to get them even more interested. Another trick to getting kids interested in eating healthy foods is to include them in shopping and food preparation. Let them assist you in picking out fruits and vegetables to make them feel involved and excited about eating them. Try to come up with simple tasks that they can do when you are preparing snacks or meals. They’ll feel proud of what they’ve made/helped with and will be more inclined to actually eat it.
Stick To A Routine
This can be difficult when your toddler has a mind of their own when it comes to eating. But try to serve snacks and meals around the same time every day. This will help them get into a pattern that prevents overeating and will help you better gauge how much they are consuming throughout the day. An eating schedule will also help you plan snacks/meals so that you can incorporate healthy foods packed with nutrients. Serve small snacks during the day, and small meals at regular meal times with the rest of the family if possible. Healthy snacks throughout the day are essential to a toddler’s energy and nutrition, so don’t cut back if they aren’t eating much of their “meals”, it is totally normal for them to eat little amounts.
Drink Water
This is an obvious nutrition tip for adults, but sometimes us parents can forget that kids need water too. As a toddler and up, their main drink should be water. This helps them get used to it’s taste, instead of sugary juice or soda. One way to ensure a good balance throughout the day is to give your toddler milk with their meals and sometimes a limited amount of 100% juice, and then water in between all snacks and meals. This will help prevent them from filling up on milk/juice during the day and not wanting to eat their food.
Expect Change
Even if you stick to an eating routine, your toddler may have different needs from day to day. Some days they may eat lots while others it can be a challenge to feed them. This is completely normal and expected of toddlers so don’t stress! Set their eating times and encourage them to eat, but allow them to decide whether or not they are hungry. Even at this age they are aware of how much food they need. You can also do a bit of research to see how many calories your toddler should be taking in throughout the day, depending on their age, size, and physical activity level. Just remember that every child is different so the “guidelines” are just that, guidelines.
Avoid Heavy Salt And Sugar
Most of our salt intake doesn’t come from the salt shaker, but from processed foods. Some of a toddler’s favorite things like hot dogs, frozen chicken nuggets, and boxed macaroni are all loaded with salt. Too much of it is a bad thing, especially at such a crucial young age. Try to cook from scratch as much as you can and season foods with spices and herbs instead of salt. This will help reduce the risk of problems later on in your kid’s life as well as help them appreciate the flavors of different foods. The same goes for foods high in sugar. Fruit contains natural sugars that are beneficial to your toddler, whereas other types of sweets, sodas, and juice are packed full of the refined sugars that you’ll want to avoid. Sweet and salty cravings start at a young age, so anything you can do to get their taste buds set on the right track is a positive thing.
These are just a few of the many nutrition tips out there for young children, but ones that we think are a good start! Don’t forget to stay flexible when it comes to your toddler’s specific needs and wants, healthy eating should be a positive experience for them!
My weekly meal plans are packed with healthy recipes that’ll help your entire family (toddlers included) get the nutrients they need… Learn more about them HERE!