Your child, who has reached the age of 2, has almost tasted almost every food. Now you know his own taste, the food he loves and dislikes. Age 3 is an important age that you ensure him to get a healthy eating habit.
Some children easily accept vegetables while most of them do not like vegetables. However, one of the most important ways to ensure your child likes vegetables is that you, that is, his parents eat vegetables. Your child is old enough to imitate you, use it well and eat vegetables as a model for him. The more vegetables he sees that you eat, the easier he will get used to. It can also be a solution to serve the vegetables in the ways and with the foods that he will like, such as adding tiny vegetable pieces to a whole grain pasta or a thin slice of pizza or pastry.
Many healthy nutrition rules that apply to adults also apply to your toddler. Adapt the rules to your toddler’s diet from these ages such s to use whole grains rather than refined grains, to prefer fruits rather than refined sugar, not to neglect raw fruits and vegetables, to avoid margarine, to use olive oil and sunflower oil, to eat the fruit itself instead of fruit juice, to eat fish several times a week necessarily etc. If he gains healthy eating habits at this age, he is very likely to continue it in the future.
Give 6 portions of cereal, 3 portions of vegetables, 2 portions of fruit, 2 portions of protein, 450-500 grams of milk a day to a healthy growing child in this age (unless the doctor suggests otherwise). Daily fat intake should not exceed 20-30% of all calorie intake, and most of it consists of unsaturated (ie liquid) fats. Keep in mind that the portions mentioned here are not your own adult portion, but a portion of the child, their stomachs are small in their proportion and they get full with far less food than you.
Track your child’s height and weight. You can do this with percentile table and curves.
Do not Forget
Remember, each child is unique and shows its unique growth and developmental characteristics. Not all babies acquire exactly the same developmental characteristics at the same time. Thus, do not compare your toddler with his peers and consider his own development line while following your baby. Please talk to your doctor if your toddler has not shown the expected improvement in these months.
References
1. Murkoff HE. What to expect the second year. Workman Publishing, New York, 2011
2. Murkoff H, Eienberg A. What to expect the toddler years. Workman Publishing, New York, 2009
3. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/ (Accessed on: April 2018)
4. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/photo-gallery/toddler-milestones.aspx (Accessed on: April 2018)
5. https://www.whattoexpect.com/growth-and-child-development-tips.aspx (Accessed on: April 2018)
6. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-development/developmental-milestones.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
7. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/potty-training/signs-of-readiness.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
8. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/grooming/toddler-teething.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
9. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/eating-and-nutrition/ (Accessed on: May 2018)
10. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/eating-basics.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
11. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-eating-and-nutrition-tips.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
12. https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-your-baby/milk-allergy-in-infants.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)
13. https://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler-nutrition/toddler-eating-enough.aspx (Accessed on: May 2018)