Eating tips for children (2) - young toddlers

Toddlers can eat a wide variety of foods and textures. After 12 months of age, there are few foods a child cannot have. 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 given 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.

Common parental concerns
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:

• Slower growth – growth slows down in a child’s second year. This means toddlers often have smaller appetites and need less food. The amount eaten from day to day can change dramatically. Although this sometimes worries parents, this change is normal and doesn’t mean your child is being difficult or is unwell.
• Grazing and snacking – 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 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.
• Fussy eating – showing independence is part of normal toddler development and this often includes refusing to eat foods to see what will happen. Rejecting a food does not always mean the child doesn’t like it. If you offer it on another day, they may eat it!

• Meal-time tantrums and food refusal
• Unusual food habits or ‘pica’ (eating non-food items)
• Delay in self-feeding
• Preference for pureed foods or difficulty with chewing
• Overeating
• Reduced intake of food or reliance on drinks.

• Be a role model by eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet.
• 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.
• Serve the same foods as the family eats.
• 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.
• Let them tell you they’re full and don’t force a child to finish all food on their plate.
• Remove food after 20 minutes if your child has lost interest.
• Offer new foods in a relaxed environment.
• Don’t use food as a reward, pacifier or punishment.
• Use mealtimes as an opportunity to give some nutrition education to your toddler.

• Let your child explore food by touching and expect some mess.
• Let children feed themselves and give help if needed.
• Toddlers should sit at the table and eat with the family whenever possible so they can watch and copy others, try the family foods and enjoy company while eating.
• Keep it 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.

• Young children should always be supervised when eating.
• Encourage your child to always eat sitting down to prevent falls and reduce the risk of choking.
• Avoid small hard foods such as nuts, raw carrot, hard lollies and popcorn. Offer lightly steamed vegetable sticks instead.

• Offer up to three glasses of milk only each day with water at other times. Full fat milk should be given up to two years of age and then reduced fat may be given.
• Give food before drinks at mealtimes, particularly for small or picky eaters.
• Juice and sweetened drinks are unnecessary.

• You have concerns about your child’s growth
• Your child is unwell, tired and not eating
• Mealtimes are causing lots of stress and anxiety.

• Your doctor
• An Accredited Practising Dietitian, contact the Dietitians Association of Australia
• Maternal and Child Health nurse
• Maternal and Child Health Line (24 hours) Tel. 132 229
• Parentline (24 hours) Tel. 132 289

• The parent may decide what and when to feed, but the child will decide whether or not to eat and how much they’ll eat.
• Toddlers’ appetites and food intake can vary daily.
• New foods may be rejected at first, so be patient and keep offering them.

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