Keeping Your Toddler's Nutrition Up To Par
By Shawn Anderson
It is important to provide your toddler with proper nutrition. Toddlers can be picky. A lot of times they don't want to try new foods. Further, they want to play instead of eat at mealtimes, and sometimes require different mealtimes than the rest of the family just to get their interest.

Some common mistakes that are made when feeding toddlers is no transition from the bottle to the cup. A lot of toddlers are still drinking more than 16 to 24 ounces of milk a day and too much milk can make a toddler anemic plus fill them up when they should be eating a variety of foods instead. Also, a lot of times people allow their toddlers to have sweets and snacks in between meals and then when it comes to eating a meal, the toddler doesn't want to eat.


Never force your toddler to eat when they are not hungry. Further, don't give them large portions. They should technically eat about 1/4 of what an adult eats.

For a nutritious diet, your toddler should be eating about six servings of grains a day, three services of veggies and fruits, two servings of milk and meat and limited fat and sweets. If you

can manage to get your toddler to eat these things, you have beaten the battle.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your toddler is eating about 40 calories per every inch tall they are. This means if they didn't eat enough at mealtime, you do need to supplement. However, be careful of your supplemental choices. You can keep your toddler healthy by offering them an occasional piece of cheese or some jello or pudding. Keep away from chips and crackers and things that don't offer much in the value of nutrition.

Remember that your child is not growing as fast now as they were during their first year of life. Their growth has slowed, so they don't require as much energy. Because of this, it might be hard getting them to sit still long enough to eat a full meal. You can feed them smaller meals each day and still keep their needs of up to par.

Finally, keep junk food out of their lives and out of the house. There is no reason to allow your toddler to eat things like cheese puffs and potato chips. If you don't get them started in bad habits now, they likely won't have them in the future.
Even at a young age, nutrition and healthy eating is very important.