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Toddler meal times

How should I give them food?

• Encourage your toddler to sit at the table, whether with the family or at their own toddler-size table.
• Encourage table manners, but don’t force them. Set the example yourself.
• Feed them dinner before they get overtired in the afternoon.
• Keep meal times at a regular time.
• Let them practice spoon-feeding themselves.
• Keep meal times interesting, with small amounts of different food. Offer two or three small courses at each meal.

What should I do when they won’t eat?

• Perhaps they are overtired. Try moving the mealtime to an earlier time of day.
• Often they won’t let you feed them because they are asserting their independence. Try presenting all the food as finger food where possible.
• Offer the food, but take the plate away after a reasonable time, or when the rest of the family have finished their meal, even if the food’s not eaten. Don’t insist on all the food being eaten.
• If they refuse the main meal, don’t offer extra snacks.
• Don’t let meal times become a battle.

Helpful hints on meal times

• Present different coloured food (e.g. green beans, carrots and potato) and different shapes (sticks of carrot, cubes of potato, flowers of broccoli, wedges of tomato).
• Always have some finger food at each meal, as toddlers love to play with and feel their food.
• Try to avoid foods with added preservatives, sugar and salt.
• Create meal times as a social family occasion. Eat together wherever possible, as children will follow your eating habits and be more inclined to eat if they have company.
• If your toddler won’t eat, don’t   force   the issue — they’ll eat when they’re hungry.
• If you have concerns, discuss them with your Child Health Nurse.

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