How to Make Smart Toddler Food Choices

We’re raising a generation of kids who are becoming overweight at an alarming rate. It’s never too early to begin teaching your child about good nutrition, and it starts with the foods you serve. Enlist the help of your toddler’s pediatrician in developing nutrition-packed meals and snacks that will put your child on the road to a lifetime of healthy habits.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Know your portions. When most adults have so much trouble identifying a healthy portion, perhaps it’s no wonder that many parents don’t know what a toddler portion looks like. It’s actually much smaller than you would imagine, and very difficult to eyeball. Ask your pediatrician about the exact portions your child should be getting.

2. Snack smart. Just like many adults, lots of toddlers are snacking on the wrong things. There’s no reason for them to eat cookies or crackers with empty calories, and just because they’re marketed for toddlers doesn’t mean they’re any better than adult snack food. Give your toddler cup-up grapes instead of cookies or raisins, for example. There are far fewer calories in a cup of grapes than in one-fourth cup of raisins, and it’s more satisfying for her too.

3. Substitute better food. Yes, your toddler needs some fat in her diet, but he probably doesn’t need as much as he’s getting. Look for ways to make smart substitutions that your child probably won’t even notice. If your child likes hot dogs, buy the fat-free kind. Give him low-fat dairy products. Bake his chicken fingers rather than serve fried nuggets.

4. Determine how much milk and juice she’s drinking. Milk and 100 percent fruit juice don’t sound unhealthy, but too much of them can prove disastrous to your child’s nutrition. Kids need less milk than you may think—and they don’t need fruit juice at all. Part of the problem is that it’s tough to tell how much they’re really getting in those huge sippy cups. Measure it out for one day so you know how many ounces you’re giving your child and then check with your pediatrician to see if you’re on track.

Tips & Warnings

• Do your best to eat meals with your toddler. If you feed him dinner early and then the rest of the family eats later, he’ll probably want to sample food off of your plate, possibly providing him with too many calories.
• If lots of juice is providing your child with too many calories or causing her to be too full to eat nutritious food, try diluting her juice gradually until she’s drinking pure water.
• If you’re concerned about the quality of the snacks and meals your child is receiving at daycare, talk to the director. Like public schools, licensed daycares must adhere to strict nutritional guidelines set by the government, but that doesn’t mean that your toddler isn’t getting frosted pastries for breakfast and cookies for a snack. What you don’t know could be hurting your child.