Toddlers are notorious for their very unique eating habits. They are at the cross roads of a very important time in their lives: in between infancy and independence (relatively speaking). Frequently, toddlers have unique eating habits that can sometimes present a challenge to parents. The trick is to take it all in stride. Check out these tips to handling feeding your toddler!
I Love Green Foods! Just Green Foods!
Do you have one of those kids that only eats one thing? They decide that they like one particular type of food and they stick with it. They reject all other foods (or at least most of them) and just want that one food. I’m not necessarily talking about junk. I have one child that is on a carrots-and-plain-yogurt-with-onions-kick. I had another who only loved sweet potatoes and broccoli.
This is actually pretty normal eating behavior for toddlers. Frequently they’ll get fixated on one particular type of food and they don’t want anything else. Don’t worry. You should continue to offer a variety of foods because guess what? Next week they’ll only want orange foods!
One definite don’t: Don’t offer junk food. Since it is normal for toddlers to get fixated on a food, you definitely don’t want it to be the doughnuts or chocolate cake that you let them have.
I. . .Can’t. . .Sit. . .Still. . .To. . .Eat. . .I. . .Must. . .Goooooooo!
Sometimes I think parents of a toddler must’ve invented the concept of fast food. But mom, who has time to stop and eat? There are sounds coming from outside, things to see out the window, new toys to play with and old toys to discover anew. There’s just so much in a toddler’s world to explore and eating is definitely last on the list.
Although your toddler may get up (or indicate that she wants to get up), that doesn’t mean she’s done eating. It just means that her attention span is shorter. While we insist that our children sit at least a few minutes for a meal. . .we also went to plan b when it comes to toddler feeding. I cut up a tray of healthy snacks that my kids can kind of “graze” through. The tray generally includes cheese, fruits and veggies. You are much more likely to get more fruits and vegetables in your toddler this way.
Whatever your toddler eating challenge is remember not to enter into a power struggle. It is tempting for parents to insist that their child eat this or that. Many pediatricians suggest instead that if you do have a picky eater you set boundaries but allow some choice. Remember, the goal is to teach your toddler healthy eating habits that will carry him into adulthood!
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