My 2-year-old is a fantastic eater, and he's been one since we started solid foods when he was 4 months old. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm saying it because even though he loves food and isn't the least bit picky, toddlerhood has brought with it a few eating challenges. Once babies become mobile, I think mealtime frustrations are a fact of life. Here are some feeding challenges you're likely to encounter with your toddler, along with my real mom tips on how to get through them.
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First off, I'm a firm believer that if you start your child off right from the time they can eat table food, you'll reap the benefits as they enter into toddlerhood. That means, barring any allergy issues, you should make family meals a priority, model healthy eating practices and serve your kids either the exact meal you're eating or an age-appropriate variation of the same meal. Your toddler doesn't need to eat "kid food," like chicken nuggets and boxed mac and cheese.
Challenge 1: Your child will only eat a few foods. Resist the urge to be pushy and attempt to force new foods on your child. When you serve up a meal always add one or two things to the plate that you know your child will eat. Make sure everything else looks and smells appealing, and know that if they don't try something or try it and don't like it, they'll still have something on the plate to fill up their bellies. And remember, it can take dozens of tries for a toddler to acquire a taste for a new food.
Challenge 2: You toddler eats very little at a time. Don't fret! Your baby is not going to starve. He'll eat as much as he needs to when he's hungry. As long as you are offering him food at regular intervals throughout the day, your child will have plenty of opportunities to get in his daily calories. Try not to pacify, quiet or entertain your child with food–this could unwittingly fill him up outside of scheduled feedings.
Challenge 3: You can't get your toddler to stay seated at the table. We all know it's important to teach our children manners, but this is a slow and steady process. Sometimes we can be unreasonable in our expectations. Most young toddlers can't be expected to sit in the same spot for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. I would suggest being okay with 10 minutes for young toddlers and working your way up to longer as your child gets older. After 10 minutes has passed, if your child is asking to get down or saying he's done, let him. You can tell him to come back if he decides he wants more, but try not to force him to.
Challenge 4: Your kid is a messy eater. Young toddlers can be especially messy as their motor skills are still developing. It might be annoying to continually clean up food splatters from every surface in your kitchen, but usually it's completely innocent and not actually misbehavior. Even older toddlers like to eat with their hands. If your child is intentionally throwing or smearing food, just for the sake of making a mess, chances are they're no longer hungry. Remove them from the dining area, clean up and offer food again later. Be consistent and do this every time intentional food messes are made. Eventually, your child will learn that the behavior won't be tolerated.
Challenge 5: Your toddler has issues with textures. A lot of kids reject certain foods because of texture. This isn't really an indication that your child doesn't like the flavor of a certain food, so don't give up on it. Unless there is a diagnosed sensory issue going on, most kids will grow out of it. In the meantime, try different cooking methods and preparations that could result in a more pleasing consistency. My son would consistently spit out zucchini until I made crispy baked zucchini tots, which he devoured.
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