Feeding toddlers can be a tricky task and you need to make sure you catch them at the right moment. You may find that when you go to great lengths to make a meal for your toddler they just push it away and lose patience for food. While you are cooking dinner give your child a plate with cheese, gold fish, rice crackers, cucumbers and other snacks. Avoid sweet things like juice, or fruit. Once your child has something sweet all they will want is more sweet foods and they will not eat the rest of their dinner. If your child refuses to eat the meal you have prepared then they have still eaten some healthy snacks and you don’t have to worry about scrambling to prepare something else. Sometimes your child will only want to graze and will not commit to a full meal.
If your toddler refuses to eat because they are teething get creative. Make them blended smoothies with juice, fruit and yogurt. It will provide them with vitamins and minerals while soothing their gum’s.
When buying food for your toddler do not stick to conventional children snacks, explore you grocery store and let them try new things. Give your toddler a wide variety of foods. Offer them raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, mango, banana, pineapple, strawberries, and melons. Try different vegetables too. Try beans, asparagus, carrots, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and corn. Never under estimate your toddlers palate. Focus on building a strong foundation for future eating habits.
If you do feed your toddler traditional kid foods like Kraft dinner add nutrition to it by adding marble cheese and steamed broccoli. Try making them grilled cheese with whole wheat bread, non-processed cheese and slices of tomato. When you make your child pasta do not assume they will only like plain tomato sauce. Dice up onions, red pepper, spinach, zucchini and tomatoes. Add new vegetables to their foods gradually so if they do not respond well you know which vegetable it is that they don’t like. Do be afraid to allow your toddler to have better eating habits than you do. Food preferences are learned not inherent.
Do not spoil your children with sweets because they are young and they should “take advantage of it while they can” because this fosters poor eating habits. Children, like anyone else, can develop a physical addiction to sugar and simple carbohydrates. They will crave these foods because they provide a quick energy boost. The consequence is a sharp drop in energy levels later. If your Toddler eats a nutritious diet they will have more constant energy levels which will result in fewer temper tantrums.
