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Home › Articles › Toddler Nutrition › Tiny Bites, Big Nutritional Needs

Tiny Bites, Big Nutritional Needs

Exploring a Toddler's Dietary Requirements

By Katherine Bontrager

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"Parents must model healthy food behaviors and choices," Sandon says. "Don't expect your toddler to eat their fruits and vegetables if you don't either. Parents want what is best for the health of their child but don't always follow their own advice."

Somer agrees. Her second basic rule for parents is to model the behavior you want your child to learn. That means if you want children to love veggies, you must love them, eat them daily and serve them at every meal.

A Family That Cooks Together...

Somer suggests getting kids involved in the purchasing and preparation of food. "A reluctant eater is much more likely to eat something he prepared himself," she says.

Swinney also urges parents to get their children involved in the cooking process – from planning to clean up. "Your child can be involved at the grocery store by choosing which new fruit or vegetable to try," she says. "Just being exposed to the produce section is a sensory experience for a child. Think of all the colors, shapes and smells! At home, give your child choices, but don't make it seem like a restaurant. For example, 'Should we have peas or carrots tonight?' A 2-year-old can be involved in setting the table, such as putting the napkins or forks on the table. Finally, let your child be involved in the cooking. Toddlers can do simple tasks like dumping ingredients in a bowl, helping to stir, tearing lettuce for salad or setting the timer."

The final trick to getting toddlers to eat is to be creative with your dishes. Sandon finds that offering a variety of foods in a variety of forms may help small children get all the nutrition their growing bodies need.

"For example, toddlers may not want to eat a raw apple but maye would eat applesauce," Sandon says. "Or they may not want to eat a hamburger but would eat ground meat in spaghetti sauce or in a taco. Celery sticks with low-fat ranch or humus may not be appealing to a toddler, but celery filled with peanut butter and raisins goes down without a fuss. Go ahead and melt some cheese on top of the broccoli; your child just might get their vegetable and calcium needs met all in one. Who really likes raw broccoli anyway? So sometimes it's just a matter of changing how the food is presented and prepared to get a child to accept it."


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