Feeding

Overview

Feeding toddlers can be a unique adventure. As little ones grow, their eating habits, tastes, and nutritional needs change. Creating healthy eating patterns early, will help your toddler have a good relationship with food and eating throughout life. Below are some helpful ways you can learn more to support your toddler.

Toddler Nutrition

Toddlers need a variety of food in their diet that includes fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein to support their growth and development. According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, a variety of healthy foods will meet your child’s daily nutritional needs. It’s important to remember your child’s appetite can vary a lot day-to-day.

• Fruits and Vegetables: Offer a colourful range of fruits and vegetables each day to provide essential vitamins and minerals.
• Protein: Include foods like lean meats, fish, eggs, beans, and lentils. These support muscle and tissue growth.
• Dairy: Milk, cheese, and yoghurt offer calcium for strong bones and teeth.
• Whole Grains: Offer whole grains like oats, brown rice, or wholemeal bread for energy and fibre.

Some days your toddler may eat very well and other days they might only nibble at meals. This is normal as they begin to listen to their body’s hunger cues.

Karitane Tip:
You decide what food, your toddler decides how much

Tips for Feeding Toddlers

1. Offer a Variety of Foods. Offer new foods slowly and repeatedly, even if they’re not an instant hit. Toddlers often need several exposures to a food before accepting it.
2. Create Routine Mealtimes. Meals offered around the same time each day help toddlers learn when it is mealtime in your family. Offer three meals and one to two healthy snacks each day to your child.
3. Allow Self-Feeding. Toddlers love trying to do things by themselves. Support them to feed themselves with child-safe spoons and forks, which will help increase their motor skills, like moving their hands to their mouth, it will also improve their confidence in feeding themselves.
4. Limit Sugary and Processed Foods. Toddler’s taste buds are very sensitive so they do not need sugar, salt or high amounts of fat to flavour their food. So if you are cooking for your child, try to limit these ingredients. Natural food are best ! It can be helpful to read labels or the ingredient list of foods at the grocery shop to help you decide what to buy. This label leading card can help you to understand nutrition labels.
5. Model Healthy Eating. Toddlers learn by watching. Sitting down to eat together and enjoying a home-cooked meal shows them that mealtime is a positive, shared experience.
6. Respect Their Appetite. Let your toddler decide how much they want to eat. At mealtimes, serve small portions of food and let them ask for more if they’re still hungry. Watch for their hunger and fullness cues, and when they have had enough. Watch for cues that show they are full like throwing food, pushing food away, wanting to get out of the chair, or crying. Trust your toddler knows when they have had enough. They are very good at listening to their appetite, some things you might like to say are "does your tummy feel full?

Not sure what to cook to feed your Toddler? Check out this Healthy recipe book.

Safety at Mealtimes

Supervision and safe practices at mealtimes are essential, as toddlers are still developing chewing skills and learning to handle food. Here are some tips to create a safe environment for your child while eating:

1. Supervise at All Times: Always stay with your toddler during meals and snacks. Being close by helps you step in if they start to choke and also encourages good eating habits.
2. Choose Safe Food Sizes and Textures:
   • Cut food into small, manageable pieces. Avoid foods that are hard, round, or sticky, as these can be choking hazards. For example, grapes, cherry tomatoes, and sausages should be cut into quarters lengthwise.
   • Avoid foods that are tough to chew for young children, such as whole nuts or hard lollies, large pieces of meat.
   • Cook or soften hard foods like raw carrots or apples by steaming or grating, making them easier for your child to chew.
3. Encourage Sitting Still While Eating:
   • Ensure your child is seated comfortably and securely  in a high chair or booster seat at the table to avoid the risks associated with eating on the go. Moving or playing or laughing  while eating increases the risk of choking.
4. Teach Slow Chewing and Small Bites:
   • Encourage your toddler to take small bites and chew slowly. Model this behaviour for them, as they often learn by watching adults and siblings.
5. Avoid Distractions:
   • Keep mealtime focused by removing toys, screens, or other distractions. Stay close or talk with your toddler instead. This way you are aware of what is happening, and you can support your child’s eating habits.
6. Know Basic First Aid for Choking:
   • Being familiar with first aid for choking can be invaluable. Here is a course we recommend.