Toddler food

Basic Facts When Feeding Toddlers

Things to keep in mind

Sugar ideally should not be added to a child’s diet. However, if a product has added sugars they should not be in the top three ingredients listed on the packet.
Take care when using fillings such as honey, jam or other spreads as they can limit the nutrition of a meal.
Likewise biscuits, chips, bars, lollies, flavoured milk, cakes and pastries can severely impact on the nutrition of a meal as well as displace health foods and meals later due to the large amount of energy in such foods.
Drinks containing caffeine should not be given to children.
Sodium should be minimised and ideally not exceed 120mg per 100g.
Fruit juices are not necessary. It is better to eat the fruit instead and water. Fruit juices may be a good source of some vitamins, but the downside is they are low in fibre, high in energy and can displace foods.
Potato is often the most heavily eaten vegetable and variety can be lost.
Potato chips are not the best way to eat potato. Most commercial brands are high in fat and salt, and best left for special occasions. Some healthier versions are available, and of course homemade chips in fresh olive oil can be a tasty treat.
Fruit bars and fruit straps are high in sugar. While these tasty morsels generally contain some fruit, they are often high in sugar (some in added sugars), low in fibre and become stuck to children’s teeth (increasing the chances of decay), so are best avoided.
Wash all fruit and vegetables. This will reduce the risk from any nasties.
Supervise young children. To reduce the risk of choking, toddlers and young children should always be seated and supervised while eating all foods, including chopped raw fruit, vegetables and all ‘hard’ foods.
Children with loose teeth or missing teeth may find softer foods such as bread instead of a roll easier to eat.
Picky eaters should still be offered healthy food even if they reject it continuously. And be tricky by grating, pureeing, grinding vegetables into foods such as scones, cakes, muffins, bolognaise, and opt for foods with vegetables already in them such as vegetable ravioli, healthy carrot cake etc.

This information has been provided by Leanne Cooper from Sneakys baby and child nutrition. Leanne is a qualified nutritionist and mother of two very active boys.