What To Feed Toddlers – Your Complete Starter Guide To Feeding Toddlers

Before we get into what to feed toddlers as far as  foods and recipes, it’s important to know how much of each food group your toddler needs, so you can use it to guide you when serving them.

Here is a visual breakdown of what toddlers ages 1-3 need, according to Healthychildren.org, which is powered by The American Academy Of Pediatrics:

With all that said, there are 5 other things about feeing toddlers I want you to know, that many parents don’t know…

1. Babies start out as intuitive eaters

Yes.

Unless they have developmental differences, the average baby eat intuitively which means they know when they are hungry or full, and will show signs that indicate this, whether that be fussing because of hunger pains, sucking on their hands, tracking foods with their eyes, or throwing food to the floor.

Babies can communicate hunger and fullness before they can speak.

As they grow into toddlerhood, influences in their environment can change whether they eat intuitively or not. 

Things like being forced to eat all their foods or forced to try new foods can change whether a toddler eats intuitively.

It can also change how they interact with those who serve foods to them, whether they enjoy or resent meal time, and can create food aversions.

If you let them follow their hunger cues, they will remain intuitive eaters and be less likely to overeat or eat as a coping mechanism.

2. Food discovery and learning can take time and requires creativity and patience from parents

Think about if you were to teach your child to read. 

Would you just force them?

Would you shame them if they couldn’t read right away?

Or would you look for ways to get them interested and excited about it?

And would you slowly teach them the letters, the sounds, then blending the letter sounds to make words?

It’s a progression, not an overnight thing, right?

The same is true for learning foods.

So, when it comes to feeding toddlers – us parents serve the balanced meals in different ways so we can discover what they enjoy + educate them on what their body needs, while the toddlers chooses what they eat, how much to eat, and what sauces to dip their foods in.

It will make ALL the difference in both picky eating AND everyone enjoying meal times together if you allow your child some choice in their meals, teach them about what foods do for our bodies, and let them freely eat without you staring and commenting.

How would you feel at a lunch with friends if everyone stared at you and commented on every thing you did or didn’t do?

What if you were always forced to eat?

What if you never has a say in what you can eat with meals?

A great rule of thumb is to serve 1-2 things you know your toddler likes OR let them choose 1 thing that they can have WITH the meal you serve.

For example, if you know your toddler loves berries, you can serve some type of berry with each meal.

This helps them feel safe and comfortable, instead of anxious when looking at their plate.

If they feel comfortable, they are less likely to fuss and more likely to try other foods too!

The other thing you can do is let them choose a component of the meal.

For example, if your toddler always asks for snacks around meal time, you can let them add a snack food to their plate.

A limit I set when I let them add a snack is that they cannot just eat the snack food. If they do, then I won’t be able to let them have snack with meals. They need to eat all different foods for their body, not just snack foods.

Us parents must be flexible, creative, patient, and give freedoms within limits with our toddlers at mealtime if we want them to be happy, healthy eaters.

Have you ever said or heard someone say, “I hate peas because my parents used to force me to sit and eat all of them before I could leave the table.”?

Or, “Mealtimes ar my house were always tense and stressful. Family dinners weren’t fun.”

How we are treated at the dinner table from toddlerhood, really affects how we feel about food and mealtimes.

3. Toddler palates are changing and adapting

Have you ever said, “I never used to like artichokes as a kid, but now I love them!”

Yeah, this is because our palates change over time, and exposure in different preparations can make all the difference!

Don’t think too much of it if your toddler doesn’t take to carrots today or this month. There are lots of other veggies and fruits that provide the vitamins and minerals your toddler requires! 

You are bound to find a handful of fruits or veggies they enjoy.

And if not, you can look more into available support like Feeding Therapy and feeding therapy techniques.

4. How you interact with your foods and the vibe you give off at mealtimes affects your child

Do you say, ‘no, I don’t eat that’ when someone offers you a new food?

Do you only eat chicken one way?

Do you call food, like chips, ‘trash’ and eat it anyway?

All of these things send messages to your child about food and how to interact with it.

Be aware of how you talk about food.

Be kind to yourself, make mealtimes about relaxing and enjoying, avoid saying negative things, prioritize a balanced plate, and stay curious about what new foods you or your toddler might like.

5. Avoid forcing, shaming, tricking, and bribing, as these will almost always worsen picky eating and cause resentment.

Instead, remember:

• That you need to teach your child about foods and what their body needs. 

• They need time to learn and discover foods.

• Letting them have a say in meal times (whether it be adding a snack food or choosing their plate and cup or helping prep meals) will make them feel involved and more excited to eat.

• Their palates are evolving.

• Keep serving different foods in different ways.

• Meal times can be chill and bonding or stressful and difficult, depending on our behaviors and attitudes.