Toddlerhood is a period, when the baby becomes more independent, develops his/ her own likes and dislikes and when it comes to eating, he wants to decide, what, when and how much to eat. Physiologically, this is a period when baby’s growth rate slows down and therefore, they show varied and low appetite. Hence, they are called by different names, Picky eaters, Fussy eaters, Food haters or Choosy eaters.
It, therefore, becomes a great challenge for mothers to feed their toddler healthy meals. In addition, this is the time when mothers have to inculcate healthy eating habits as well. This can be done in following ways-
- Provide small frequent meals and more of finger snacky foods.
- Finger foods can be in the form of Fruit/Veggie sticks with dips like hummus, cheese or yogurt, Whole grain bread sticks or Crackers with cheese.
- Make foods more attractive like, cutting pancakes or omelets with a biscuit cutter into interesting shapes. Try hiding new foods in toddler’s favorites.
- Try giving them more of natural foods and less of processed or refined foods, like Whole grain cereals, breads instead of refined ones.
- If toddler is a Milk hater, serve it in the form of Milk shake, Smoothies or, Low fat desserts.
- Let your toddler listen to the sign of hunger and also of fullness. This will help him to remain healthy and prevent him from getting overweight or obese.
- Self-feeding is very common. Let him develop feeding skills and finger food is the best way to encourage this habit.
- Give more of nutrient-dense foods and avoid calorie-dense foods. Example of nutrient-dense food are veggies, fruits, low fat dairy, fish, egg and chicken, while Calorie-dense foods are soda drinks, fruit nectars, cakes, fries, burgers, cookies, candies and so on.
- Do not start with any junk food like, soda beverages or salty or sweet foods. Habits formed now will be difficult to control in the later years.
- Teach him to satisfy thirst with water and not with sugary drinks or juices. Offer only 1 cup of Pure Juice in a day.
- Around 2 years of age, start talking to your toddler about food, ask for his/ her preference for different meals and try to involve him in meal planning.
- Mealtimes should not be television times. So keep your baby away from these distractions at mealtimes.
- Start teaching them table manners; how to hold different cutlery, how to use napkin and so forth. Slowly you can even involve them in laying your dinner table.
Remember, as a mother, your role is to create healthy meals. Do not force-feed as this may result in child developing a hatred for food. Make mealtimes fun and be more creative and help your child grow healthily in a happy and stress-free environment.
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