Healthy diet – What should my baby or toddler be eating?
During the first months of your baby’s life you have the choice to either breast feed or use formula milk and this should be decided upon once you’ve discussed it with your health visitor. The recommended time for solids to be introduced is around the 6-month mark, starting with something simple like baby rice mixed with mum’s or formula milk.
Whilst they are still young, get them interested in new and exciting foods. Colours and textures can be explored. It’s a whole new world opening up for those little taste buds. Whether it’s homemade purees or ready-made jars of vegetable or meat dinners, there’s a fair bit of experimentation that goes on before your toddler’s favourite foods emerge. When this happens, you’ll probably breathe a sigh of relief that you’ve actually found something they like. But make sure you vary their diet a bit, too. After all, a healthy diet is not a diet of just one or two things.
Getting your toddler to eat a balanced diet is advisable and more exotic foods can be introduced as they grow and develop. It’s all about giving your child access to a wide variety of foods that over a long period of time will give them all the goodness their body needs. Foods that have high amounts of salt, sugar and saturated fat should be avoided, whilst fruit and vegetables are a definite must for your child’s growth and development.
During this time you may experience periods when your toddler is fussy about what they eat and however much you try, it is sometimes difficult to get your child to eat a balanced diet. A comprehensive range of vitamin and mineral supplements can never replace a balanced diet. However supplements can provide mums with peace of mind that they are giving their child additional nutritional support when their child is not managing to eat a balanced diet.
Tips
- 1165 cals a day [girls]
- 1230 cals a day [boys]
- Go easy on the fibre – little stomachs can’t digest heavy foods
- Choose full fat dairy foods
- Cram in calcium for healthy growth
For more information about Baby & Toddlers visit these great pages
- Baby & Toddler Good Nutrition
- Baby & Toddler Good Health & Growth
- Baby & Toddler Brain Development
- Baby & Toddler Fun and Games
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Between ages 1 – 3 years - don’t go overboard on high-fibre food such as wholemeal pasta – young stomachs can’t process fibre as easily as adults which can affect your little one’s mineral absorption.
At 1 year old – your child can eat pretty much the same food as you, but prepare yourself for them being fussy and inconsistent when it comes to what they like.
To help a 1-3 year old get their calcium - the Dairy Council recommends three servings of full fat milk or other dairy produce a day [like a beaker of milk, a yoghurt or grated cheese on pasta].
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