When it comes to toddler nutrition, many parents will at some stage worry that their child isn’t eating enough or getting enough variety in their diets.

Almost all young children go through a phase of being picky eaters, and this can be a cause of concern not to mention frustration – I know only too well that demoralising feeling when you’ve slaved over a hot stove for the last hour only to watch your toddler turn up their nose at their meal!

That said, there are a couple of tricks you can try to make sure that your child eats an adequate and varied amount of food.

Eating Together

The first way to try and instil healthy toddler nutrition habits is to make mealtimes a regular, family affair.

Children learn from what they see around them. So if your child sees their parents and any siblings sitting at the dinner table eating proper meals every day, they may be less inclined to skip these in favour of snacks throughout the day.

Involve Them In The Process

Young children just love to help out, and involving them in the preparation or cooking process can be a great way of encouraging healthy eating habits.

Next time you make a meal why not get them to help out, perhaps by washing the vegetables or laying the dinner table. With a bit of luck they’ll be more amenable to trying out a meal they’ve had a hand in!

No Snacks Before Mealtimes

Parents looking to improve toddler nutrition levels may also find that it helps to limit any snacks, even healthy ones, at least an hour before mealtimes.

If your toddler has built up an appetite and comes to the dinner table feeling hungry, you stand a much better chance of getting them to eat the meal you’ve prepared for them.

Make Sure Any Snacks Are Nutrient-Dense

Lastly, however, it’s also worth bearing in mind that young children still have very small tummies and there may be occasions where they just won’t entertain a whole meal.

If this is the case and you’re really struggling to get your toddler to eat proper meals, then do make sure that any snacks you offer are nutrient-dense, i.e. lots of nutrients contained even in small amounts of food.

Examples of foods which provide good toddler nutrition include cheese, yoghurts, poultry, pasta, potatoes and brown rice.