How to Get More Fiber into a Toddler's Diet

How to get fiber in his diet.

It may be easier than you think to get more fiber into your toddler's diet. Many foods your toddler is already eating can be "tweaked" a bit to make them higher in fiber, without changing your toddler's diet so much that they notice a difference.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Offer a high-fiber, easy-to-eat cereal as part of your toddler's daily diet. Most toddlers will happily eat O's type cereals that are high in fiber.

2. Serve yogurts that have added fiber in them with meals. Toddlers usually love yogurt. Yogurts with added fiber are just as tasty and creamy as regular yogurt.

3. Make sandwiches with high-fiber wheat bread. Try serving your toddler peanut butter and jelly made on high-fiber wheat bread. If they refuse to eat it, try using a whole grain white bread. While whole grain white bread offers less fiber than 100 percent wheat bread, it definitely provides more fiber than traditional white bread.

4. Make high-fiber vegetables like broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach and cabbage an appealing part of your toddler's diet. Broccoli served with ranch dressing may prove to be virtually painless to your toddler's taste buds. You can serve sweet potatoes with a little butter and brown sugar for a toddler-pleasing dish, or add small amounts of spinach and shredded cabbage to a turkey sandwich without a toddler putting up much of a fuss.

5. Offer high-fiber fruits such as apples, pears and prunes to your toddler daily. Fruits are a painless way to add fiber to your toddler's diet.

6. Serve your toddler whole grain pasta and brown rice, instead of their highly refined white counterparts.

Tips & Warnings

• If your toddler is experiencing constipation or other bowel issues, speak to his pediatrician about adding a fiber supplement to his diet.

• When offering your toddler a snack, offer two or three high-fiber foods and allow him to choose which one he'd like to eat.

• Toddlers who have a low fiber diet may resist toilet training as bowel movements may be painful and cause your toddler to strain to make one.

• Don't force your toddler to eat. Offer foods that are healthy and high in fiber, but do not make mealtimes and snack times a power struggle between you and your toddler. Forcing a toddler to eat can cause an unhealthly relationship with food that can last a lifetime.

References

• Ask Dr. Sear: What Is Fiber?
• What To Expect: The Benefits of Fiber for Kids