What your toddler needs
Between two and three years of age, your toddler needs three small balanced meals with two to three nutritious snacks in-between.
Allowing him to feed himself and help you out in preparing meals will help develop his motor skills and indulge that independent streak he likes to display.
Making good food fun!
Kick off the day with a small beaker of fruit juice and a bowl of iron-fortified cereal. If your little one is still hungry, try cutting out some wholemeal toast into fun shapes with a cookie cutter and spread a little butter or margarine on top.
Include a balanced meal at lunchtime, consisting of something high in carbohydrates such as potato, rice, or pasta, protein rich foods such as meat, fish, poultry or pulses and at least two different vegetables. Finish off with a little fruit or dairy dessert.
Two to three year olds just love helping out in the kitchen.
So, when preparing lunch, let your toddler rinse the vegetables and then pop them in the saucepan. When they're cooked, try making a funny vegetable man, with, for example, some curly green broccoli hair and a big carrot nose (just like Daddy…). Your toddler's much more likely to eat something if he was involved in its creation – so making feeding fun means making cooking fun too!
Fun spaghetti shapes in tomato sauce with toast fingers make a tasty teatime treat. Follow with some fruit pieces, which can be transformed into a smiley face of berry eyes and orange lips! When it comes to making food fun and attractive to look at, the list is truly endless!
Find out more about feeding your baby at this stage »
