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We should provide a toddler with three well-balanced meals each day.
Why? Simply because he or she is growing, needs lots of energy to play and to explore the world. Good nutrition is important to his/her overall health. It can also prevent many medical problems, including becoming overweight, developing weak bones, and developing diabetes.
What if my child has only one or two full meals each day? If your toddler has had a good breakfast and lunch, then it is okay that he doesn't want to eat much at dinner. The only time that you should worry is if your child isn't gaining weight or isn't very active.
You shouldn't worry about a toddler that:
· Doesn’t seem like he/she eats a lot. Remember that as long as he/she is gaining weight and is active and healthy, then he/she is likely getting enough calories.
· Only eats a few kinds of food each day, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or chicken nuggets and french fries.
· Won’t try any new foods. You still should keep trying to introduce new foods offered it 10 or more times.
· Doesn’t eat a balanced diet each day. Most kids don't. As long as his/her diet seems balanced over a week or two, he/she is likely getting enough variety. If he/she really isn't, talk to your Pediatrician about a vitamin supplement.
· Doesn’t finish everything on his/her plate. The idea that children should sit at the table until they 'clean' their plate is out of fashion. Instead, children should be taught to recognize when they are full and then stop eating. If your toddler isn't finishing what you offer, learn to offer smaller portions.
· Doesn’t eat what you prepare for him/her. Try to avoid making elaborate meals for your toddler or offering foods with a lot of spices or sauces. Instead, keep things simple. While you shouldn't have to prepare a separate meal for your toddler every day, don't be surprised if he/she doesn't want to eat 'adult' foods.
· Is overweight. Okay. Instead of restricting calories provide a healthy diet and encourage regular physical activity. Be sure to watch your serving and portion sizes (offer toddler size portions) and don't offer too much milk, juice, or high calorie snacks.
Feeding youngsters can be challenging. They are often picky eaters, are hesitant to try new foods, and in general, don't seem to eat very much.
You can keep trying to introduce new foods by putting a very small amount (like 1/2-1 tablespoon) on his/her plate and don't force him/her to try or finish it. Many kids won't try a new food until they have been offered it 10 or more times.
The best nutrition advice to keep your child healthy
includes encouraging him/her to:
· Eat a variety of foods.
· Balance the food you eat with physical activity.
· Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits.
· Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
· Choose a diet moderate in sugars and salt.
· Choose a diet that provides enough calcium and iron to meet their growing body's requirements.
The best way to promote good nutrition is starting from yourself by setting a good example for your child. Healthy eating habits and regular exercise should be a regular part of your family's life. It is much easier if everyone in the house follows these guidelines, than if your child has to do it alone.
Additional tips for caregivers:
- Use lean meats and skim or low fat dairy products.
- Use unsaturated vegetable oils and margarines.
- Read the nutrition label on foods to check for the amount and type of fat it includes.
- Limit foods that contain a large amount of saturated fats.
- Limit foods high in sugar and avoid adding extra sugar to your foods.
To prevent child from being too full you must remember:
- Do not let your child to drink more than 16-24 ounces of milk each day.
- Do not let your child to drink more than 4-6 ounces of juice each day.
- Do not let your child to fill up on sweets and snacks.
- Do not force your child to eat when he/she is not hungry.
- Do not give your child servings that are too big. The average toddler serving is about 1/4 of an adult serving size. Don't go by the serving size listed on nutrition labels, as these are mainly for older children and adults.
To prevent feeding problems we also need to remember:
- Not to use food as a bribe or reward for desired behaviors.
- Avoid punishing your child for not eating well.
- Limit mealtime conversation to positive and pleasant topics.
- Avoid discussing or commenting on your child's poor eating habits while at the table.
- Limit snacks to two nutritious snacks each day.
- Not to prepare more than one meal for your child. If the child doesn't want to eat what was prepared for the rest of the family, then he/she should not be forced to, but you should also not give him/her something else to eat. He/she will not starve after missing a single meal, and providing alternatives to the prepared meal will just cause more problems after.
Food Pyramid
There is not a toddler food pyramid. The
Kids' Food Pyramid is for children aged 2-6 years, but you can still use it to guide what your younger toddler eats, including 6 servings of grains, 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruits, 2 servings from the milk/dairy group, 2 servings from the meat and protein group, and a limited amount of fats and sweets. Just remember that the serving sizes will be smaller for younger toddlers and are equal to about 1/4 an adult's serving size.
The Basics of a Toddler's Diet is about 1300 calories each day. Bigger kids will need a little more and smaller kids a little less. A good hint is - 40 calories each day for each inch of his /her height.
Although you shouldn't usually count calories, knowing how many calories your toddler needs can help when planning his/her diet and can also help reassure you that your child is getting enough to eat.
A common problem is observed in a kid who don't eat much, but drinks 4 cups of milk and 3 cups of juice each day. That can add up to 1350 calories, which is probably more than he/she needs for all day. It is not surprising then that this child wouldn't be hungry for other foods.
If the parent follows the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations as to how much milk and juice he/she drinks, that will take care of:
· 300-455 calories (about 19 calories per ounce) from whole cow's milk (or a similar amount from breastmilk if you are breastfeeding your toddler 2-3 times a day) if he/she is drinking 16-24 ounces a day. Remember to not give low fat milk until your child is 2-3 years old and don't overdo it on milk. If he/she gets up to 48 ounces of milk a day, then he/she is getting over 900 calories a day just from milk, which is almost 70% of the number of calories he/she needs all day.
· 60-90 calories (about 15 calories per ounce) from juice. Don't overdo it on juice either. If your child is drinking 2-3 10 ounce sippie cups of juice that is giving him 300-450 extra calories.
· So you now have only another 550-950 calories to get in him/her, divided between three meals and two snacks. That is very little if you look bellow at the number of calories in foods kids usually eat.
Product | Calories |
american cheese (one slice) apple (1/2 small apple) banana (1/2) beef, ground ( ounces) bologna (1 slice) bread (1/2 - 1 slice) breakfast cereal (1/4-1/2 cup) chicken nuggets (3 - 6 pieces) eggs (1/2 - 1 egg) french fries (7 - 15 steak fries) french fries (8 - 17 Funky Fries) fruit cocktail, canned (1/4 ounce) Grahm Crackers (1 - 2 sheets) grape jelly (1 tablespoon) hot dog (1/2 - 1 hotdog) ice cream (1/2 cup) Macaroni & Cheese (2 1/2 ounces) mozzarella cheese (1 ounce) pancakes (1) peanut butter (1 tbspoon) pizza, cheese (1/2 - 1 slice) Pop Tart (1/2 - 1 pastry) popsicle (1) pudding (1/2 cup) vegetables (1 tbsp per year of age) yogurt (1/3 cup) | 45 calories 40 calories 50 calories 85 calories 90 calories 20-40 calories 40-80 calories 105-210 calories 35-70 calories 60 - 120 calories 150-300 calories 50 calories 60-120 calories 50 calories 60-120 calories 135 calories 260 calories 80 calories 60 calories 95 calories 140-290 calories 1-200 calories 70 calories 110 calories 25 calories 50 calories |
Sample Diet
Breakfast
· 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of cereal, + 1/4 cup of milk + 4 oz of orange juice = 230 calories.
· Or a slice of bread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and jelly + 4 oz of orange juice = 250 calories.
Lunch
· 1/2 sandwich (one slice of bread - 40 calories) + 1 slice of luncheon meat, e.g. bologna (90 calories) and cheese (45 calories) = 175 calories.
· Or a tuna fish sandwich (add 1/2 tablespoon of mayo to the tuna to get 50 extra calories).
· Or a sliced and quartered hot dog + water, juice or milk.
Dinner
· 1-2 ounces of chicken (75-100 calories) or beef (120-165 calories) + 2-3 tablespoons of vegetables (50-75 calories) + some bread (40 calories) + 1/2 cup of milk (76 calories) = 361-456 calories.
Snacks
· Your child will likely need a couple of small snacks mid-morning and in the early afternoon. These might include 1/2 cup of milk (76 calories) or juice (60 calories) + 2-3 tablespoons of fruit (50-75 calories), or a slice of cheese (45 calories). Alternatives might include some jelly, pudding, or yogurt.
This sample diet will give your child well over 1000 calories. In reality, he/she may not eat 3 full meals each day though. Many toddlers just eat one good meal a day and it is usually still fine. If he/she eats a good breakfast (250 calories), a small lunch and dinner (100 calories each), has a couple of snacks (150 calories each), 16 ounces of milk (300 calories), and 6 ounces of juice (90 calories), then he/she is still getting almost 1200 calories.
The Food Guide Pyramid was designed by the US Dept. of Agriculture to promote healthy nutrition in children age of 2 - 6 years. It is just a general guide. The focal emphasis is on the five major food groups, all of which are required for good health. The second emphasizes is that fat, oily and sweet food should be used with a big caution.
After the age of two or three years, you can begin to use 2%, low fat, or skim milk instead of whole milk. Your child's diet should resemble that of the rest of the families, with 3 meals and 2 nutritious snacks each day. You should limit milk and dairy products to about 16-24 oz each day and juice to about 4-6 oz each day and offer a variety of foods to encourage good eating habits later.
Feeding practices - avoid giving large amounts of sweet desserts, soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, sugarcoated cereals, chips or candy, as they have little nutritional value. Also avoid giving foods that your child can choke on, such as raw carrots, peanuts, whole grapes, tough meats, popcorn, chewing gum or hard candy.
What counts as one serving?
To ensure good nutrition in your child and that they grow up healthy, they will need to eat a large variety of food. The amount of food is much less important. Remember that your child's appetite may decrease and become pickier over the next few years as his growth rate slows. As long as they are gaining weight and have a normal activity level, then you have little to worry about. You can still offer them a variety of foods, but can decrease the serving sizes if they don't eat a lot.
I. Grain group
6 servings a day, e.g.:
1 slice of bread,
1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta,
1/2 cup of cooked cereal, and
1 ounce of ready to eat cereal
II. Vegetable group
3 servings a day, e.g.:
1/2 cup of chopped or raw vegetables, or
1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
III. Fruit group
2 servings a day, e.g.:
1 piece of fruit or melon wedge,
3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice,
1/2 cup of canned fruit, or
1/4 cup of dried fruit.
IV. Milk group
2 servings a day, e.g.:
1 cup of milk or yogurt or
2 ounces of cheese
V. Meat group
2 servings a day, e.g.
2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish,
1/2 cup of cooked dry beans.
You can substitute
2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1 egg for 1 ounce of meat.
Fats, Oils and Sweets
No more than 30% of your diet should come from fats. For a 1600 calorie diet, that would equal 53g of fat each day, with most preschool children requiring even less. The type of fat that you eat is also important. Saturated fats in foods such as meats, dairy products, coconut, palm and palm kernal oil, raise cholesterol more than unsaturated fats, which are found in olive, peanut, and canola oils, or polyunsaturated fats in safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean and cottonseed oils. Limit saturated fats to no more than 10% of daily calories.
Sugars supply is a large amount of calories, with little nutritional value. They include white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey and molasses and foods like candy, soft drinks, jams, and jellies.
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