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Feeding Toddlers · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to Talking Facts.
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  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized award winning podcast is hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals,
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  families and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello and welcome to Talking Facts.
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  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
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  I am your host,
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  Mindy mcculley Extension Specialist for instructional support with family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  Toddlers seem to have endless energy as they explore and learn about the world around them.
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  Offering a variety of healthy foods will give them a chance to learn about foods and what their bodies need to grow.
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  Play and learn.
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  Today,
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  my guest,
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  Doctor Courtney Luke Extension Specialist for food and nutrition is going to share with us about feeding toddlers.
• 1:02
  Welcome,
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  Courtney.
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  Thanks,
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  Mindy.
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  Nice to be here.
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  I am so glad that you're here.
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  I love having a toddler around my house as you know,
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  I have a granddaughter and we get to explore new foods all the time because she is the most adventurous eater that I think I have ever had the pleasure of feeding.
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  We eat new foods all of the time and I get tickled because so many times I'll talk to,
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  to other mothers or grandmothers and they'll say,
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  oh,
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  my kids won't eat anything lucky.
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  You're not.
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  Everyone has the same feelings or experience.
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  So,
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  what,
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  what is typical?
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  Yeah.
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  You know,
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  toddlers can have a reputation for being difficult to feed.
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  And part of this is this transition out of infancy where Children are growing so fast.
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  So for example,
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  in that first year of life,
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  infants,
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  body weight will triple and their length can increase by 50%.
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  Wow.
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  And so that is so much growth and they need a,
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  a lot of nutrition in terms of energy and they need high quality nutrition compared to their body size.
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  But once Children turn one and enter that toddler phase,
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  so toddlers could be Children,
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  ages 1 to 2,
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  you know,
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  up to that three years of age,
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  they get a reputation for being a little bit more difficult.
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  Um but that growth really decreases how fast it's happening,
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  that rate slows down a lot.
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  And so there's just not that same demand for from the body in terms of the amount of energy that's needed.
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  But we still need to have that high quality nutrition.
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  And what kind of high quality food and drink should people offer?
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  Toddlers?
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  Toddlers are going to need a variety of fruits and vegetables,
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  whole grains proteins and dairy or fortified soy alternatives.
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  So there's a lot on the market with toddler foods,
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  right.
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  That are like feed your child these special products.
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  But at the end of the day,
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  they just need the same types of foods from each of the food groups that we've learned about.
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  So whether it's fresh or frozen or canned or dried whole fruits instead of juice.
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  So we wanna focus on those whole fruits and we want a variety of colors and textures of vegetables,
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  as you indicated with your granddaughter,
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  it's a lot about exploring.
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  So getting them used to these new foods and so offering raw or cooked veggies of different colors of the rainbow can be really helpful.
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  Um cut up in appropriate sizes and focusing on whole grains.
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  So oatmeal or brown rice or whole wheat pasta or breads um will get toddlers kind of the most bang for their buck in terms of nutrition for grains.
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  And then switching to that low fat or fat free dairy after kiddos um turned two and then water is a great beverage choice for them as well.
• 4:02
  Well,
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  and I know she didn't eat a lot of those foods that were marketed to the toddler because she liked doing what she saw the adults in her life doing.
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  And so if we just cut it up for her size,
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  you know,
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  appropriately sized,
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  as you said,
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  then she was happy and,
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  and she would eat it because she wanted,
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  she thinks that she's a little adult.
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  Really.
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  So.
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  Right.
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  They are little adults.
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  But,
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  but to your point,
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  I think that's so helpful because the marketing can make us think we need to serve these certain types of foods.
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  But the reality is that we can,
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  and,
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  and we as adults can eat healthier if we kind of follow our model of what,
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  um,
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  if we serve healthy foods to the little ones in our lives.
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  So are there foods that we should avoid?
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  There are?
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  So I mentioned,
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  you know,
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  the rate of growth in that first year is really fast and then it kind of slows down.
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  And so with kiddos eating a little bit less or having kind of sporadic appetites if you will,
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  it's important to limit foods and drinks that have added sugars and sodium.
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  And that's because these types of foods are full of energy,
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  but they lack important nutrients to support that continued healthy growth.
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  So limiting things like soda or sugary cereals or cookies kind of premade pizza,
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  chicken nuggets,
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  people might be laughing or rolling their eyes like come on,
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  come on Courtney.
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  Um,
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  these are the things that my toddler eats,
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  but all in moderation,
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  right?
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  But limiting those because they crowd out some of the space that kids have to eat for those healthier foods that will support that growth,
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  right?
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  Ok.
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  So we know that that kids are going to not eat as much as we eat.
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  But how much should we be feeding cobblers?
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  If that's an important reminder that a toddler's bellies are smaller than adults,
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  their attention spans are shorter than adults.
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  And so keeping serving sizes small to start and then you can always ask them if they want more.
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  And so the,
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  the specific recommendations will vary depending on a child's age and their sex and then how active they are and how much they weigh.
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  And so if you want personalized recommendations,
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  you can go to my plate.gov and enter all this information for kiddos.
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  But with that being said,
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  in general,
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  daily offerings of about 1 to 1.5 cups of fruits and vegetables each each day.
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  So about 1 to 1.5 cups of 1 to 2 cups of vegetables offering about a quarter of a cup at time.
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  So you're like,
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  oh gosh,
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  that sounds like so much food.
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  But we,
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  we need to feed the toddlers consistently throughout the day.
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  Um Again,
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  because they eat smaller amounts at a time.
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  Um So about a quarter of a cup is kind of a nice smaller range to start with.
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  Um when it comes to those fruits and vegetables,
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  when it comes to protein.
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  So about 2 to 5 ounce equivalents a day.
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  So a boiled egg counts as one ounce equivalent.
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  So you could give them of,
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  of an egg at a time.
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  And that would be a great portion size to start with and they may or may not eat all of it.
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  And that's ok again that you'll get to know the kid and kind of their patterns.
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  Um,
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  and how much that they want to eat at any given time.
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  I have noticed as with the Children in my life,
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  some of them will eat everything you put in front of them in one sitting and some will like,
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  have nibble and be grazers and they'll eat a little bit at a time over a longer period of time.
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  Yes.
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  Yes.
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  So having those planned opportunities is really supportive for healthy eating for toddlers that they know they have dedicated times and spaces where you'll offer them a variety of foods.
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  Um You know,
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  at least two groups at a time if it's a snack and maybe at least 33 food groups at a time,
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  if it's a meal and they'll,
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  they'll eat what they need at that moment and then you'll feed them again later.
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  That's right.
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  That's right.
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  Courtney.
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  Thanks so much for sharing this time with me today.
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  I'm,
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  I'm a little bit hungry now that we've had all this discussion about food.
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  So maybe we should go have a snack.
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  That sounds good to me.
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  All right,
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