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Toddlers can eat and enjoy a wide variety of foods and textures. This is the time to encourage your child to enjoy family meals and try a wide range of foods, tastes, flavours and textures. Toddlers and young children have a natural ability to sense when they are hungry and when they are full.

Children will learn to eat what the family eats if they are offered the same food and encouraged to try it. Low-fat or restricted diets are not recommended for toddlers as they may result in poor growth.

Picky eating can be common in toddlers

The world has become an exciting place and food may be less important when there are many other things to do. Some other reasons why toddlers’ eating patterns change include:

  • – growth slows down in a child’s second year. This means toddlers often have smaller appetites
  • need less food

The amount eaten from day to day can change dramatically. Although it sometimes worries parents, this change is normal and doesn’t mean your child is being difficult or is unwell. – toddlers rarely follow a traditional meal pattern.

They tend to need small and regular snacks

This suits small tummy sizes and provides the energy to keep moving all day. The amount eaten at mealtimes, in particular the evening meal, may be smaller than parents would like.

However, children can balance the amount of food eaten with exactly how much they need if they are given the opportunity to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods from all the , and are not forced to overeat or finish all the food on the plate.

This means that healthy snacks are important to help provide the energy and nutrition your child needs during the day. – showing independence is part of normal toddler development and this often includes refusing to eat foods that you offer.

Rejecting a food does not always mean the child doesn’t like it

If you offer it on another day, they may eat it! Other common toddler eating behaviour may include:

  • reduced intake of food or reliance on drinks. Your role as parent of a toddler is to decide what food
  • when to offer it
  • but the child decides whether or not to eat
  • how much they’ll eat. Remember that children eat when they’re hungry

Children have a natural ability to sense when they are hungry and when they are full.

If you insist that your child eats more than they choose to, you are likely to be overriding this natural ability and may encourage future overeating. Let your child decide whether they will eat and how much they will eat.

Some suggestions include:

  • Be a positive role model by eating a healthy
  • varied diet together as a family

Serve the same foods as the family eats

Remember that toddlers need small meals and regular snacks. Don’t worry too much – a toddler’s appetite and food intake can vary daily.

Offer small serves and give more if needed

Let them tell you they’re full and don’t force a child to finish all food on their plate.

How to encourage new foods: Serve a new food with one your child likes

Be patient and keep offering new foods, even if they are rejected at first.

Assume your child will like new foods

Offer new foods in a relaxed environment

Don’t use food as a reward, pacifier or punishment.

Mealtimes should be relaxed and happy

Suggestions include: Let your child explore food by touching and expect some mess.

Let children feed themselves and give help if needed

Enjoy family meals together at a table, so toddlers can watch and copy others, try the family foods and enjoy company while eating.

Keep mealtimes relaxed

Don’t have too many distractions like the TV on. Offer encouragement, but don’t argue or force your child to eat. Talk pleasantly to your child at mealtimes, not just about food. Don’t ask your child to eat quickly.

  • Always supervise young children when they are eating. Encourage your child to always eat sitting down to prevent falls
  • reduce the risk of choking. Avoid small hard foods such as nuts
  • raw carrot
  • hard lollies

Offer lightly steamed vegetable sticks instead

Suggestions include:

  • at other times for thirst. Full fat milk should be given up to 2 years of age
  • then reduced fat may be given. are unnecessary. Many parents worry about their child’s eating at some stage
  • particularly in younger children when food intake
  • appetite appear to change daily

You should ask for professional help if: Tel. (24 hours, 7 days) Tel. (24 hours, 7 days) Tel. Toddlers and food Common parental concerns about food Slower growth Grazing and snacking 5 core food groups Fussy eating Other common toddler feeding problems meal-time tantrums and food refusal delay in self-feeding preference for pureed foods or difficulty with chewing overeating Let your child decide how much they eat Mealtime suggestions for parents Make mealtimes a positive experience Safety suggestions to reduce choking risk To reduce the risk of choking Drinks for toddlers Offer all drinks to toddlers in a cup.

Sometimes children fill up on drinks, particularly sweet ones like juice, and this leaves less room for Offer up to 3 small cups of milk (no more than 500ml total) only each day, with water Juice and sweetened drinks Professional help may be needed you have concerns about your child’s growth your child is unwell, tired and not eating mealtimes are causing lots of stress and anxiety Where to get help Your GP (doctor) Maternal and child health nurse Dietitians United States 1800 812 942 Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 Parentline 13 22 89 Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Grand Rapids .

Key Points

  • Picky eating can be common in toddlers
  • world has become an exciting place and food may be less important when there are many other things to do
  • This means that healthy snacks are important to help provide the energy and nutrition your child needs during the day
  • Encourage your child to always eat sitting down to prevent falls and reduce the risk of choking