First 5 Nevada County’s Blog

Toddler Nutrition

July 25, 2008

posted by Stephanie Gomez

Many concerned parents often worry that their new, walking toddler suddenly stops eating after their first birthday. This is an understandable concern when you consider primarily mothers have been the sole provider of nutrition during the child’s first year of life. Feeding an infant is a very primitive, instinctual and rewarding experience for many parents. However, in the second year of life, this dynamic rapidly shifts. The young toddler eats far less than one would expect. Whereas an infant nearly triples their birth weight in the first year, a toddler’s growth slows to only a few pounds in their second year of life. In addition, the child is mastering mobility and is far less interested in stopping to eat. To complicate matters, a child at this age is learning to individuate from their parent and learning to make choices for themselves and how to take control of any given situation. The best recommendation for establishing healthy eating habits in toddlers is to….lay off! By offering three nutritious meal options and two snacks a day, your child will generally choose what their bodies need in about a week’s time. If your child wants to eat nothing but blueberries on Monday, whole wheat noodles on Tuesday, and yogurt on Wednesday…she’ll be just fine. When they are hungry, they will eat, and when they do-stand back. I once saw a two-year-old eat almost half a chicken after being sick for a week! We just want to avoid getting into a power struggle and forcing or bribing our children to eat. If you still find feeding a challenge, consider this, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, one of the leading developmental pediatricians describes the minimum daily intake for toddler as:

1. One pint (16 oz.) of milk or milk product (cheese, yogurt, ice cream).
2. 2 oz. of iron-containing protein (meat, egg, legumes) or iron-fortified cereal.
3. 1 oz. of orange juice or fresh fruit.
4. One multi-vitamin, which is used to cover for uneaten vegetables.

For other great tips on establishing healthy eating behavior, visit www.ellynsatter.com

Entry Filed under: Nutrition. Tags: brazelton, toddler nutrition.