Offering a healthy diet to your toddler

Feeding and nutrition
At around age one, baby experiences a surge of independence which extends to her experiences with food. She is open to new tastes, and she wants to feed herself. Your baby is developing her pincer reflex -- the thumb-and-forefinger manoeuvre that allows her to capture small bits of food -- and feeds herself slowly, but with ever-increasing confidence. Now you can push her chair up to the family table and include her in mealtimes. She is highly imitative and will quickly absorb the family attitudes toward good food and good manners. At the age of one, your baby can enjoy most of the foods the rest of the family eats, as long as they are served in a safe form. Children remain susceptible to choking on food until about three years of age. Grate most hard vegetables and fruits rather than cutting them in adult bite-size; avoid wieners cut in rounds, popcorn, peanuts and most other nuts, grapes, and hard candies.

Nutritional requirements
Toddlers from one to two years require approximately one-quarter to one-third of the adult portions recommended in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Each of the four food groups provides its own set of nutrients, which include fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. But no food group offers sufficient nutrition on its own; only a balanced diet offers complete nutrition.

Your toddler will want small servings, frequently offered. Along with three meals a day, offer her a mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and perhaps a before-bedtime snack. Offer at least four servings of breads and cereals -- as little as a quarter of a muffin constitutes a serving. Serve two to three portions of meat or alternatives -- a tablespoon of peanut butter equals a serving. Offer four or more servings of fruit and vegetables -- fruit juice is fine for two of those servings, but don't allow your child to fill up on juice.

Give up to three servings of dairy products -- try a few spoonfuls of yogurt or grated cheese, offer whole milk from age one to age two -- toddlers need more fat than adults to promote growth and development, especially of brain cells and nervous tissue.

North American pediatricians disagree about how quickly fats should be reduced in the diet once a child reaches the age of two. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends a gradual decline in fat intake from age two through late adolescence. When growth is complete, fat should comprise no more than 30 per cent of a healthy diet. The American Academy of Pediatricians favours an immediate reduction in fat intake at age two.