Why do toddlers pick at their food?
At this age in their development toddler tend to pick at there food and we have since learnt that this is normal toddler behaviour. If you look at it in terms of the average one year old has tripe there since birth and toddlers tend to put weight on more slowly. Of course their eat habits also depend on their busy on the constant go lifestyle they have.
How to Cope with a fussy eater
Fussy eaters go though a phase of eating a small range of food. Experts have a name for this and it is food neophobia, which a lot of toddlers experience. Food neophobia basically means a fear of new foods.
What you need to do is show them that these foods are good and safe to eat. The best way to do this is to have them sit down at family meals where everyone eats the same thing. A good thing to do before meal times is to build up an appetite by running around and exercising but at this age most toddler will probably be doing that anyway.
Know when your toddler is full
For your toddler keep meals at small servings. Unsure about what size to give them? A rule of thumb is that a toddler stomach is about the size of their fist. So give them smaller meals and then refill their plate when they want it.
7 things not to do
Don’t coax, bribe or plead with your toddler to eat more
Don’t take away a refused meal and offer a different one in its place
Don’t offer the sweet course as a reward for eating the first course
Don’t offer large drinks of milk an hour before a meal
Don’t offer snacks just before or just after a meal
Don’t assume that because your toddler has refused a food he will never eat it again
Don’t feel guilty if one meal turns into a disaster
They are still learning so be patience and just keep doing what you’re doing they will learn in time it take a toddler about 10 to 15 times to eat something new so that’s a lot of offering food to them that they refuse.
Still got that nagging feeling that they don’t eat enough?
Have you still got that feeling that they don’t eat enough or they don’t have the right amount of good food. Then here is the best thing to do. Have a diary and in it write down everything your toddler eats everyday then after a week review what he has eaten.
You see a toddler doesn’t always eat the right amount of calories in a day or get everything they need in one day but over the course of one week they should be getting it somewhat right.
If you are still worries then you should talk to your health carer or doctor and they will be able to do some simple tests. Doing some calculation with your toddlers age, height and weight they will be able to give you some reassurance that everything is fine.
Want more?
Getting children to the table is hard and getting them to eat the right foods is even harder. My son is a really picky eater he grazes more than he sits down and eats. So I’m still trying to get him to sit down at all meals and eat.
He is getting better and he does sit down at two meals a day breakfast and dinner but lunch is a more on the go for him. However this doesn’t stop me from reading and hoping for more, a book that looks good in Amazon at the moment is Meals without Tears: How to Get Your Child to Eat Healthily and Happily
