Feeding your fussy toddler.

Gone are the days when I would cook up batches of healthy, nutritious food and my little one would eat every last bit. There wasn’t anything he didn’t like and I was always satisfied and happy…boy have things changed! As he approaches his second birthday I often think to myself at the end of lunch or dinner what exactly has he eaten? I never really know how a meal will go but I have learnt to stay calm and I tell myself that it’s natural and all part of being a toddler.

So what can you do?

It is normal for toddlers to be wary of new foods and sometimes it can take 10 to 15 attempts before they will try it but if you can be a good role model and eat healthy foods yourself chances are your child will develop good eating habits. Remember, it is a stage they are going through and a healthy child will not starve if they have access to a wide variety of wholesome food.

Children also have the ability to know how much food they need and usually will not overeat. It is our job as parents to offer a selection of nutritious food and not try and force children to eat or pressure them to eat everything on their plate. Doing this could lead to weight problems later in life.

Toddlers will also eat different amounts at different meals and on different days. This can also be affected by how active they are and whether they are tired or ill. Below is a rough guide on what to give your child every day but don’t be too concerned if this isn’t consumed every single day.

How can you encourage your toddler to eat?

1. Provide a wide range of nutritious food giving children a choice.
2. Lead by example and eat healthy food yourself. Don’t make negative comments about the food you don’t like.
3. Offer a savoury course and a sweet course. This gives two opportunities to consume nutrients and increases variety.
4. Involving the toddler in the meal preparation or setting the table gets them interested.
5. Don’t pile the food on their plate, let them ask for more.
6. Eating with the family encourages your little one to eat too.
7. Often seeing other children eat can help. Try and arrange for your toddler to eat with other toddlers as often as possible.
8. Children love routine so make mealtimes regular and in a relaxing environment.
9. Don’t offer dessert as a reward for eating the main meal as this makes the dessert more important. Bribes don’t really work over time.
10. For every food there is almost always a substitute. If they won’t drink their milk offer them cheese and yoghurt. If they won’t eat their veggies, give them plenty of fruit. If they don’t like chewing meat, give them meatballs, chicken, baked beans or fish.
11. Fussy eaters are often slow eaters so you won’t get anywhere trying to hurry them.
12. Limit mealtimes to 20 – 30 minutes. It is better to wait until the next snack or meal and offer something wholesome rather than trying to coax your toddler into eating more. Most toddlers will eat what they desire in the first 20 minutes.
13. Praise your toddler when they are eating well. If you only give him attention when he is not eating, he could refuse food just to get some attention even if it is negative.
14. Don’t remove a refused meal and offer a totally different one in its place as your toddler will take advantage of this. Accept that there will be some foods that they will prefer over others, so maintain the family meal but ensure that there is at least one food that your toddler likes.
15. Remove uneaten food without fuss or comment.

Snack ideas.

Toddlers have little tummies and for some sitting still for more than five minutes is near impossible so offering healthy snacks is important. Here are some ideas…

• Pieces of fruit or simple fruit salads or fruit kebabs.
• Bread or toast with Vegemite.
• Plain biscuits.
• Sultanas and other dried fruit.
• Yoghurt.
• Cheese sticks or cubes.
• Hummus on small pieces of Lebanese bread.
• Homemade popcorn.
• A small sandwich.
• Vegetable sticks or bread sticks.

What to drink?

Try and phase out bottles and give all drinks in cups. Sucking on drinks from a bottle can damage teeth due to the drinking process being slowed down and prolonged exposure to harmful sugars. Water is the best drink to offer toddlers. Let them see you drink it and enjoy it!

Limit the amount of full cream milk you offer your toddler to 600 mls per day. This will ensure there is room for other food.

Avoid fruit juice and cordials as these are high in sugar and can take away the appetite. If given ensure they are watered down.

Foods to avoid.

• High fibre foods or a lot of fruit juice can cause diarrhoea in some children.
• Soy milk is not recommended for toddlers but if you do offer this ensure that it has calcium added.
• Avoid peanut products if your toddler has family members who suffer from asthma, eczema, or food allergies. Other nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, pecans are O.K but don’t give them whole as they are a choking hazard.
• Don’t give soft drinks and avoid sugary, fatty and fast foods.
• Avoid tea and coffee as they reduce the absorption of iron in food.
• Raw or partially cooked shellfish and eggs can cause food poisoning in some toddlers so cook them right through.
• Large fish such as shark, marlin and swordfish may contain high levels of mercury and should not be given to children.

If you are still concerned…

Jot down a list of all the foods your toddler eats and drinks for one week. If this list includes foods from all the food groups and some variety then don’t be too alarmed. If you are still concerned or you think your toddler is underweight talk to your GP. 

Remember it’s your role as a parent to provide nutritious food and it’s your toddler’s job to decide if, what and how much they will eat.

Need more info?

Parentlink – www.parentlink.act.gov.au

Nutrition Australian – www.nutritionaustralia.org

Maternal and Child Health – www.health.act.gov.au

Child and Youth Health – www.cyh.com