Your two-year-old should be eating three healthy meals a day, plus one or two snacks. He or she can eat the same food as the rest of the family. With his or her improved language and social skills, your child can become an active participant at mealtimes if given the chance to eat with everyone else.
- Do not fixate on amounts.
- Do not make mealtimes a battle.
- Do pay attention to adopting healthy eating habits—including sitting as a family at mealtime.
- Do make healthy food choices as a family.
Unsafe Foods for Toddlers
At age two, your child should be able to use a spoon, drink from a cup with just one hand, and feed him or herself a wide variety of finger foods. However, he or she is still learning to chew and swallow efficiently and may gulp food down when in a hurry to get on with playing. For that reason, the risk of choking is high. See Table below.
Unsafe Foods for Toddlers – Table
Healthy Eating Basics & Picky Eaters
Make sure your child eats from each of the basic four food groups each day:
- Meat, fish, poultry, eggs
- Milk, cheese, and other dairy products
- Fruits and vegetables
- Cereals, potatoes, rice, flour products
Don’t be alarmed if your child he doesn’t always meet this ideal. Many toddlers resist eating certain foods—or insist on eating only one or two favorite foods. The more you struggle with your child over his or her eating preferences, the more determined he or she will be to defy you.
Offering a variety of foods and leaving the choices up to your child will eventually allow him or her to eat a balanced diet on his or her own. Toddlers also like to feed themselves, so whenever possible, offer your child finger foods instead of cooked ones that require a fork or spoon to ea
Last Updated 3/16/2017
Source Section on Obesity (Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
