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Encouraging Good Eating Habits in Toddlers

At this stage, baby will discover his favorite foods, and trying to get him to eat anything else becomes a challenge. I know this because Michael was stuck on macaroni and cheese for four years and Brandon still wants Bagel Bites as a side dish at age eight. Oops!

Teach your child to feed himself by letting him feed himself. It gets messy, but be patient. Eventually the mess will probably bother your child more than you! Yay!

• The oldest and best rule ever for getting children to eat their meals is to limit snacks during the day. Especially limit sweet snacks and encourage fresh fruit, vegetables, and water!

• The correct portion for a toddler's meal is one tablespoon of each food served for every year of age. For example, a two-year-old might get two tablespoons each of applesauce, chicken, and carrots, where a one-year-old would only get one tablespoon of each.

• If your child wants to eat the same thing every day, such as warm mashed potatoes, he may be telling you he prefers food with that particular texture and/or temperature. Find alternate foods with the same qualities (such as rice, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, warmed applesauce, custards, and thick soups)—he may like them also.

• Don't be surprised if your toddler gets attached to a certain food and wants to eat only that food for a while. My brother ate a peanut butter sandwich every day for four years. But on his first day of school he switched to bologna with ketchup. Think of it as comfort food. As long as it's a decent, healthy choice (not candy), it's okay. He will drop it when he's ready.

• Whenever you have more than one child with you, always buy each child the exact same food, the exact same toy, the same color balloon...you get the idea.

• Cooking, preparing, and baking can be fun! Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut small shapes from bread slices. It's easier if you freeze a loaf of sliced bread first. Then get out the peanut butter and jelly and you're set for a tea party! Add a little colored sugar on top of each "tea sandwich" for real excitement.

• Use a regular pair of scissors to cut pizza and toast into fun shapes. You can make a meal into an adventure!

• Most toddlers love eating animal-shaped snacks: animal crackers, graham cracker teddy bears, and goldfish crackers are very popular choices.

• If you can't build a snowman, bake one! Use a sugar cookie recipe and your imagination, and you're on your way.

• Toddlers can be a handful in restaurants, but a strategically planned meal can keep them occupied:
  • Always bring along snacks your toddler likes. A great snack to keep on hand is pretzel rods (the larger ones). Give one to him as soon as you get situated.
  • Place your order right away.
  • Order buttered noodles—eating slippery noodles keeps toddlers busy.
  • Use spoon foods like applesauce to occupy hands.
  • Dipping foods, like chicken strips or cheese sticks, are ideal.

• Consider ordering one or two small appetizers served back to back. The point of this is to divert your toddler's attention with a new activity. Order foods that require different movements: dipping, stirring, and pulling.

• Be advised: Older children will attempt to show your baby by example which foods to eat—and which to avoid. Feed your baby separately if you have older children who won't eat what you want her to eat.

• Children this age generally dislike green foods and foods with strong odors. To a toddler, a sprinkle of parsley ruins a serving of buttered noodles—otherwise a sure winner. Advise your server of this every time you order any meal in a restaurant. Think plain.

• Bring flat magnets and/or small toys and books with you to restaurants as a backup. The way to keep a toddler sitting in his chair is to keep his mind and hands busy. Don't go empty-handed unless you're planning to dine for less than five minutes—and that includes the four minutes it takes to strap him into the high chair.

• While in the restaurant, try to keep baby at the table until the end of the meal. Usually a little one-on-one attention goes a long way, so if baby acts up, try playing a round of peek-a-boo or offer a book.

• If your child tries to eat something you wouldn't expect him to like, watch for a reaction, but remember some toddlers really like spicy or unusual foods. To our great surprise, my friend's toddler loved Caesar salad and wanted it all the time!

• If your toddler is a really fussy eater, serve his food on a standard-size dinner plate, rather than a child-size plate. He may think he is eating less than usual.

• Our toddler would refuse to eat apples on certain days and yet he adored them on others. It drove me nuts trying to figure out why. One day after he learned to talk, he said, "Mommy, I don't like the apples when they have garbage on them." I realized he was talking about apples that his busy mother had washed without removing the grocery store sticker.

• How do you encourage your toddler to drink from a cup and drop his bottle dependency? Serve good old-fashioned lemonade! Just squeeze a lemon wedge into eight to ten ounces of water and add sugar or honey.

• If your toddler doesn't like fruits and vegetables, start slipping them into other foods. Try potato pancakes, applesauce pancakes, and fruits mixed into gelatin. Add grated carrots to spaghetti sauce and celery and onions to meatballs. Be creative, and use a blender or food processor to help you disguise foods.

• My grandmother used to say, "I made you eggs, sugar, and toast with butter for breakfast." Then she would give me an oatmeal cookie! That's how she slipped oatmeal into my diet. And it worked!

• You should consider your family mealtime a number-one priority. If you teach your child from an early age that no matter what the stress or challenge of the day, there will always be dinner with family, then you will be feeding her soul.

• The point of a mealtime together is to provide a consistent schedule for everyone to rely on. If you don't like to cook at night, no worries! Order a pizza on Tuesdays or go out for dinner on Wednesdays. Do whatever works for your family.

• It amazes me how many toddlers absolutely adore Chinese food! Don't be afraid to try it out with your family, especially fun things like spareribs. Toddlers love to gnaw on bones.

• Whenever you purchase treats such as lollipops, sort them by color and repackage them in separate bags. When other children are around—especially other toddlers—you'll have only one color to offer, and you'll avoid the challenges of competition.

• If your child clings to your leg while you're in the kitchen, he could be hungry. Anywhere else, he could be starving for attention—that's when you "feed" him with lots of hugs and kisses!