Feeding Your Toddler

By the age of 18 months your baby will already be eating more or less the same foods as you, and she will probably take about one third to half an adult portion at meals. You should try to ensure that she has at least one protein food at each meal, and four servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Don't give your child highly seasoned or sugary foods - fresh fruit or yogurt rather than sweetened desserts should be offered. You also should avoid any small, hard pieces of food that your child could choke on, like whole nuts or popcorn, fruits with pits or seeds, or very small pieces of raw fruit or vegetables.

Family Eating

Now that your toddler is feeding herself, she will enjoy sitting at the table during family mealtimes. Although she's eating the same food as everyone else, you may need to mash or chop it so that she can eat it without much help. A very messy eater can be fed beforehand, then allowed to sit at the table with some finger foods. Difficult eaters feel encouraged to eat more at family meals.

It will be some time, however, before your child is ready to sit still during mealtimes. If she wants to get down from the table, let her go, and don't try to make her come back to finish her food if she has obviously lost interest in it; she will make up for it by eating more at the next meal.

Messy Eaters

Your child may regard mealtimes as just another game and will see nothing wrong in getting food everywhere. Although it may seem to you that she is doing it on purpose, it's just a phase, and her coordination will improve eventually. Make mealtimes easier on yourself by surrounding the high chair with newspaper, which can be gathered up after each meal. Being tidy can be turned into a game: you could draw a circle on the tray of the high chair to show your toddler where her cup should go; if she keeps it there, reward her.

Menu Planning

The menus below assume that your toddler will eat three meals a day and several snacks. If you find in practice that she eats fewer meals and more snacks, just make sure you choose snack foods that you would have served at mealtimes.