As your toddler moves to more independent eating and drinking, and they experiment with different flavours and textures, it is hard to keep track of what is actually being consumed.

It might seem simple, but feeding your toddler may be more challenging than you thought! So how can you be confident that they are getting enough nutritious food?

Team work

Your job is to provide a variety of nutritious foods for your toddler, and their job is to decide what, and how much, they want to eat.

Offer a variety of nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, and lean meat. While you may need to encourage them to sit for meal times, you still ultimately need to let them decide when they’ve had enough.

Every day is different

If your toddler eats poorly on one day and well the next, that’s normal! Toddlers are known for erratic and unpredictable eating habits for a range of different reasons such as activity level, growth rate, general health, and metabolism.

Spread their meals over the day – three meals and two snacks is a great place to start.

Tracking their intake

Rather than focusing on how much your toddler eats for each individual meal or each day, look at their overall food and drink intake over the course of a week.

Keep a food diary if you are concerned about their eating as this is a good way to spot patterns yourself, and can also be very helpful if you see a doctor or dietitian.

A helping hand

If your toddler is not consuming a variety of foods, and in the right quantities, then a toddler milk may be an option to help ensure that they get the additional nutrients they need.

See more:

• Key Milestones In Your Toddler’s Eating Development
• Toddler Nutrition For A Bright Future