Toddlers and a healthy diet

Making sure your toddler gets a healthy, balanced diet is fairly simple but don't assume what's good for adults is necessarily the best choice for a toddler.

A 1 yr-old can eat at the table with the rest of the family and join in. Take whatever you're eating and mash it or mince it. Avoid foods that are salty or very spicy. As they get older you can introduce finger foods and more texture and by the age of two they can eat the same type of food as you.

A balanced diet

To get the nutrients he needs, a toddler should have a diet that contains all the main food groups - protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. If you eat a mixed diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and your child eats the same, you'll have no need to worry. Avoid cutting out any whole category of foodstuffs - fat-free diets aren't good for toddlers.

It's hard to make a toddler plump

He needs plenty of food to fuel his growth. Don't ever restrict his diet for fear of making him fat. Let him eat what he wants and that way he'll keep in touch with his appetite. When he's had enough, don't force him to eat more or say 'just one extra spoonful'. If he's energetic and lively, he's getting enough nutrition, even if he seems to eat very little.

Convenience foods

Frozen and chilled food is generally nutritionally sound. Food that's dehydrated or tinned may fill the stomach, but doesn't have the nutrition of fresh food. Dehydrated food has a great deal of salt, which will put strain on the kidneys of under-2s. Processed foods also have chemical colourings, flavourings and preservatives, the effect of which is unknown.

Drinks

Avoid sweetened drinks. They're bad for your baby's teeth and give her a taste for overly sweet things. Even those labelled 'no added sugar' contain enough fruit-sugar to harm the teeth. If she's thirsty, boiled cooled water is best. If she's hungry between meals, she can still have a bottle of milk.

Calories

Many foods are sold as 'low calorie' and restricting calorie intake is common among adults. Low calorie foods are not suitable for toddlers. They need extra calories to fuel their growth.

Avoid sweetened breakfast cereals and salty chips. Give her complex carbohydrates, like bananas, bread or pasta, to fill her up and give her enough energy to keep going. Toddlers eat little and often. As well as eating 3 times a day with you, she'll also need nutritious snacks to keep her going between meals.

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