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Feeding Issues With Toddlers
Is My Toddler Getting Proper Nutrition?
By Melinda Copp
Even if playing with your toddler's vegetables doesn't work with your little one, you probably have no reason to worry as long as he eats plenty of fruit.
"Some vegetables have a strong taste, and some toddlers may refuse them," Meyer says. But fruits can substitute vegetables, and most toddlers like eating fruit. The key is to offer one or the other at every meal. For example, if your toddler wouldn't eat peas at lunch, then offer cantaloupe at dinner. The fruit can balance your child's diet, even if he won't eat anything green.
"Never try to force feed kids," says Dr. Charles Shubin, director of pediatrics for Mercy Medical Center Family Care in Baltimore, Md. "They're in a control battle."
Offering a variety of healthy choices at every meal will likely result in a balanced diet, regardless of whether or not your child eats a balanced meal at each sitting.
"Studies have shown that given a choice of healthy foods, [children] eat a balanced diet over time," Dr. Shubin says. If you think your child is not getting enough from a particular food group, think of alternatives to things you've already tried, such as crackers instead of bread, fruit flavored yogurt instead of milk and eggs instead of meat.