Mealtime Matters
Your almost two year old is learning to assert herself and test her independence. Choosing foods and when she wants to eat is a natural part of this process. Your responsibility is to provide her with a variety of healthy food choices and lay down boundaries about where and when food is eaten in your home. Keep the following in mind when feeding your toddler:
- Your toddler may be using food to gain attention or manipulate you. Watch her actions carefully, if it seems as if she refuses to eat because she wants you to offer her a reward for eating, ignore her behavior, put away the food and wait for her to ask you for food when she is hungry. Do not allow eating to become a power struggle in your home.
- Your toddler will eat when she is hungry. Respect your toddler’s intuitive wisdom about her own body. Resist the temptation to look only at what she has eaten at a single meal, rather judge his intake by looking at what she has eaten the past few days.
- Never force your child to eat. Instead,, train her to sit with the family when they eat. Put a plate with some food on it in front of her in a matter of fact manner, You shoud also engage her in conversation rather than focusing on her intake.
- Provide toddler sized portions and bites. Don’t put too much food on her plate. Instead cut vegetables and meat into little cubes that is easy for her to scoop up and chew.
- If she didn’t want to eat at dinner, don’t allow her to eat snacks other than fruit or vegetables after the meal.
- Tell her to drink water instead of mainly milk, tea or juice.
- If you feel concerned about your child’s nutrient intake, you may want to give him a vitamin and mineral supplement suitable for toddlers.
Remember not to be upset if your toddler doesn’t want to eat your carefully prepared food! Take a deep breath and try to add more nutritious ingredients to the food she does like to eat.
