Food Ideas For Toddlers
Can you give me some food ideas for toddlers? She really seems to be disinterested with the foods I am offering her, and I am looking for some new ideas.
Trying to feed a toddler can be one of the most frustrating experiences a parent will ever encounter. Many parents would rather pull out their toenails with a pair of pliers than have to deal with their fussy toddler’s eating habits. While this may be a little over dramatic, it goes without saying that it takes an unlimited amount of patience when it comes to feeding most toddlers.
The key to getting your toddler to eat is to make meal time fun, which means a little bit of creativity on your part. Here are a few meal ideas for toddlers that work like a charm with our own kids:
- Create fun shapes out of the food and ask your toddler to identify if you have made a circle, square, etc. Then have your toddler eat away the shapes and form new ones.
- Allow your child to help you prepare the food. Kids love acting like adults and whenever they have a chance to prepare their own meals, they will generally take a greater interest in eating it.
- Make it an active eating experience. Prepare finger foods for your toddler that they can dip in cream cheese, yogurt, etc.
- Give your child a smoothie and let them pick out some of the ingredients that you put into it.
- Take your toddler shopping with you and allow them to pick out some healthy foods. They will be much more excited about eating something they have picked out themselves.
- Keep the portions small and cut into pieces. Remember, a toddler still has a very small stomach. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to see too much food on their plate. You can always offer your toddler more food if he clears his plate.
- Don’t be so stringent about feeding your toddler appropriate foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your child wants to have pancakes in the morning and chicken for breakfast, don’t sweat it as long as they are getting the nutrients they need.
- Changeup where your toddler eats. Toddlers can sometimes become bored with a routine. Something as simple as changing where he sits at the table can have a dramatic effect on how willing he is to eat. It may sound silly, but you may be shocked to find out that this applies to your own child.
It is important to remember that your toddler is going to have good days and bad days, just like the rest of us. Many times your child may be willing to eat just about anything you put in front of him, then suddenly the next day has become the pickiest eater in the world. You just have to learn how to relax and understand that this is typical toddler behavior. In the end nature will take over and your child will eventually eat out of necessity. You simply have to realize that how much your child eats is something that is out of your control.
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