The foods your toddler eats gives her the nutrients needed for healthy growth and development. Toddlers ages 12 to 36 months grow at a much slower rate than they did during their first year of life, but nutrition remains extremely important during this period of maturation. New physical and social milestones play a large role in the foods a toddler eats, and providing healthy food choices sets the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.
Physical Development
As a toddler, your child's fine-motor skills are developing. Allow your toddler to participate in mealtime by giving him a child-size spoon and fork so that he can practice feeding himself while fine-tuning his developing motor skills. Although a toddler is much larger than he was at birth, remember that he still has a very small stomachs in comparison with an adult. Offer your toddler about 1/3 to 1/4 of the amount of food you would serve to an adult. Snacks are important for toddlers, providing nutrition between meals. Serve a meal or snack about every two to three hours on a regular schedule throughout the day.
Social and Emotional Development
Your toddler's social and emotional development can also largely affect eating behaviors. Toddlers often form strong opinions about foods as a way of expressing their independence and autonomy. Give your child some choice in the healthy foods she would like, making her feel that she has a measure of control over what she eats. Toddlers may also develop food jags, when they will eat only one particular food. Continue to present your child with a variety of healthy foods at meals and snacks, and in time this phase will pass.
Meal Time Roles
As a parent or a caregiver of a toddler, your role at mealtime is to provide a variety of healthy foods that are safe for your child to eat. Your toddler can then choose which foods to eat, and how much he wants. Do not force your child to eat, which can quickly turn into a power struggle. As long as your toddler is following a healthy growth curve, rest assured that he is getting enough to eat. Be a good role model for your child, and eat a balanced diet of healthy foods. Even if your child does not like a food the first time he tries it, continue to offer the food again and again, remembering that sometimes it takes numerous exposures to a food before a toddler will eat it.
Foods to Avoid
Although toddlers are able to eat most of the foods that adults eat, there are still a few foods that should not be given to toddlers. Many foods can present a choking hazard, including grapes, cherry tomatoes, nuts, seeds, cheese cubes, cubed meat, hard candy, gummy candy, thick layers of nut butters and popcorn. Cut foods such as hot dogs and grapes into small pieces to the risk of choking, and don't give your toddler foods that cannot be cut into small pieces.
