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Toddler Food
Food
The toddler months provide an opportunity to encourage healthy eating and teethcleaning habits that will last a lifetime. We show you how…
Healthy options
Toddlers are notorious for being picky eaters, but there are ways to steer meals and snacks in a healthy direction.
Toddlers can usually eat the same food as the rest of the family, with the exception of very strong spices, as long as it’s cut up into toddler-sized pieces. Toddlers still have small stomachs, so they may need to eat little and often. Don’t be frustrated if your toddler eats hardly any of the meal you’ve prepared, and then announces that he needs a snack an hour later. Letting him eat as much or as little as he likes at mealtimes is a good strategy, as long as the snacks you offer in between are healthy. If your toddler fills up on sweet foods and fizzy drinks, he won’t have room for the nutritious food he needs. You’ll also be encouraging your child to develop a sweet tooth, which can lead to tooth decay and weight problems.
Try these, for example, instead:
  • a piece of wholemeal bread and butter
  • a banana
  • carrot and cucumber sticks
  • a glass of milk.
Make sure that your toddler eats foods from these four groups for a balanced diet:
  1. Starchy foods - including bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and potatoes
  2. Fruit and vegetables - of any sort, including frozen, canned and juice, five times a day (frozen vegetables may even contain more vitamins than fresh ones which have been sitting on a shelf)
  3. Protein foods - meat, fish and eggs, as well as vegetarian alternatives such as tofu, dhal (lentils), pulses and nut pastes e.g. peanut butter
  4. Dairy products - like cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais and milk.
You don’t have to offer all four at every meal, but if you make sure that your child eats from all four groups each day, you will go a long way towards making sure that he’s getting the nutrition he needs for healthy growth and development.

Motor control
Your toddler gradually develops more control over his body. Your toddler will learn to:
  • make big movements like kicking a ball
  • make very fine movements, like picking up a pea from his plate
  • use a spoon and fork while he’s eating (it may get messy, but that’s what splash mats are for!)
  • hold crayons, a paintbrush or a pencil
  • stir with a wooden spoon
  • build three bricks into a tower… and then knock them down again
  • try to dress or undress himself.


Picky eaters
Toddlers will not starve themselves; they will eat when they’re hungry and they do get calories and nourishment from drinking milk. However, from 12 months to five years old, children need only a maximum of a pint of milk a day. So don’t let him drink too much milk and spoil his appetite.
If refusing to eat is a way of getting your attention, try sitting with him while he eats. Offer foods which he can ‘make’ for himself; most toddlers like dips, so try vegetables he can dip into hummus, or fruit slices to dip into yogurt, let him make sandwiches with bread, cheese and slices of tomato and cucumber…
But if he still won’t eat, stay calm, take the food away and try again later. Don’t give him a biscuit just to fill him up!

What sort of milk?
Once your child is a year old, you can give him whole milk to drink. Don’t give semi-skimmed milk until after two years. Semiskimmed milk is fine then, as long as they have a good appetite and are eating a varied diet. If not, stick to whole milk. Children shouldn’t be given skimmed milk until after the age of five.

Cups and spoons
Most toddlers learn to use spoons and forks; though not all of the food will go in the mouth every time! Don’t be surprised if some experimenting goes on. You may not have thought of squishing porridge through your fingers to see how it feels… but your toddler might!
No bottles
Your toddler should be drinking from a cup, not a bottle. Some toddlers enjoy the comfort of sucking from a bottle but it’s not good for their teeth and can delay speech development. So it’s really important to wean them off the bottle and onto a cup. If your toddler wants a bottle, try offering only water in the bottle, and milk or welldiluted juice in the cup.

Salt warning
Children between 1-3 years old should have no more than 2g of salt (0.8g sodium) a day.
Limit salty snacks like crisps and foods such as cheese, bacon and sausages. Processed foods can be high in salt too. Check the salt or sodium content on the label and choose ones that are lowest. Never add salt to your child’s food.

Foods to avoid
Young children shouldn’t be given shark, marlin or swordfish. These fish are quite high in mercury, which may affect a child’s developing nervous system. Tuna, however, is safe. Raw and undercooked egg, whole nuts, fizzy drinks, squash, coffee and tea should also be avoided. Remember, there is no need to add sugar or honey to children’s food.


Teeth and dental care
By the age of two-and-a-half, all the ‘baby’ teeth will probably have come through. Taking care of your toddler’s teeth is important. Set a good example by letting him see you clean your teeth every day. Clean his teeth twice a day using a soft brush and just a smear of baby toothpaste. Baby’s toothpastes are specially formulated with lower levels of fluoride than adult’s. However, ideally these toothpastes should still contain no less than and no more nore than 1,000 parts per million of fluoride so always check the packaging. Your dentist may recommend fluoride supplements, or using an adult toothpaste, in areas where the fluoride content in the tap water is low. Try to use a circular ‘scrub’ technique when brushing, ideally around each tooth – easier said than done with a wriggly toddler, but it gives you something to aim for!
Sticky sweets and drinks play a large part in tooth decay, so encourage your toddler to have drinks from a cup, not a bottle, and always dilute fruit juices well – one part fruit juice to ten parts water until one year old, then gradually dilute less as your child grows. Take your toddler with you when you go for your dental check-ups, and he will get used to the sights and smells of a dental surgery before he ever has to sit in the chair and open his own mouth! Remember, dental treatment on the NHS is free for children.

Vegetarian toddlers
If you’re bringing up your toddler in a vegetarian family, or your child refuses to eat meat, make sure you offer plenty of other forms of protein, such as milk, cheese, beans, peas, tofu, lentils… Make sure he gets enough iron by giving him fortified breakfast cereals, bread, green vegetables and dried fruit, too. The Vitamin C in a glass of diluted fruit juice drunk with his meal will help him absorb the iron he needs more easily.

Supplements
A daily supplement with vitamins A, C and D is recommended for all children, aged 1–5, especially if they are not good eaters or have limited exposure to sunlight. These are free if you are receiving Income Support or income-based Job Seekers Allowance. They can also be bought cheaply from child health clinics.

For the next Your Toddler Guide Chapter, Health, Click here arrow

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