Toddlers often don't want to stop to eat, and they often tend toward pickiness. Nonetheless, toddlerhood is the ideal time to introduce healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. By providing age-appropriate healthy foods and giving your child the chance to exert some control over his meals, you can help teach him how to choose nutritious foods.
Step 1
Create healthy meals and snacks and offer them at appropriate times. Try to serve toddler-appropriate versions of healthy food you are eating so that your toddler learns by example. Avoid foods high in saturated fat, refined grains, sugar and sodium. Serve these healthy foods at set mealtimes instead of leaving food out all day so that your child can start noticing her internal hunger signals as mealtimes approach.
Step 2
Allow your toddler to opt out of foods or meals he isn't interested in. Allowing him to control when he eats helps teach him what it feels like to be hungry and full. This lesson is useful later in life because it can help prevent obesity brought on by oversized portions.
Step 3
Offer new foods frequently, but don't get discouraged if she doesn't want to eat them. Toddlers sometimes take up to 15 exposures to a new food before they are willing to try it. Try to always offer something she does like along with the new food so that there is always something on hand she can eat. Present new foods in extremely small portions as a way to make them seem less threatening.
Step 4
Dine as a family. Having family meals lets your child know that food is more than just physical sustenance. Don't allow your toddler, or anyone else in the family, to watch TV, play video games or work on the computer during official mealtimes. Focus on enjoying your time together. Encourage your child to savor the tastes of the nutritious food you have served him.
Step 5
Educate your child about healthy foods and good nutrition, but make it fun. Read picture books about food and discuss with her whether the things mentioned are healthy or unhealthy and why.
Tips and Warnings
- Your toddler doesn't have to get every essential vitamin, mineral and nutrient every single day. As long as he gets an average of the minimum daily recommended amount for his age over the course of each week, his needs will be met.
- Don't use treats as a reward for eating something healthy, like promising dessert if she eats all her vegetables. This tactic can backfire by making the nutritious food seem undesirable compared to the treat.
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