Food Strike!
Author: Tricia O'Brien
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Has dinner turned into a perpetual flight, one in which you struggle to get your toddler to take just a few bites? If you're worried that your 18- to 23-month-old isn't getting her requisite calories or nutritional balance, rest easy. "Finicky eating habits are standard fare for kids this age," says Dr. William Wilkoff, a pediatrician in Brunswick, Maine and the author of Coping With a Picky Eater. Children are people, and they do have preferences, he notes; their parents should acknowledge that.
They also have a lot to handle at this stage, adds Elizabeth Ward, a dietitian in Reading, Mass. and the author of Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids. They're exerting their independence, developing physical and communication skills, teething and, inevitably, coming down with colds or ear infections, any of which may distract them at mealtime. What's more, after a child turns one, her growth slows and nutritional needs diminish-a surprise for many parents.
"Weight usually triples during the first year of life," explains Sandra Nissenberg, a dietitian in Buffalo Grove, Ill. and the co-author of Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents. After the first birthday, however, gain ordinarily slows to five or six pounds a year, she says. A child simply doesn't need as much fuel as he once did. Add to this the fact that children this age tend to be neophobic-"They don't like new things, new colors or new textures," says Wilkoff-and fussy eating is the norm.
So relax, and let your toddler take his time. You have to learn to trust your wee one's wisdom, according to Ward. "Kids are born with a sense of how to regulate themselves when it comes to food," she says. Your child won't starve. "Don't get hung up on the exact amounts your child is eating. He's fine if he's moving up steadily in terms of height and weight," Nissenberg says.
Choose wisely
Since your child is likely eating less these days, be sure to avoid nutritionally worthless snacks-such as chips, cookies or fruit drinks that are less than 100% juice-and make sure that what she does eat is packed with food value.
Go for variety. At each sitting, offer your child one service from three to four of the basic food groups: grains, preferably whole ones; fruits and vegetables; dairy products; and high-quality protein, including meat, poultry, tofu and legumes.
Nutritionist say that a serving at this point equals about one tablespoon of food for each year of age; a serving can be a mere 1 ½ tablespoons for an 18-month-old. In addition, give your child two healthy snacks every day (a few pear slices in the morning and a fistful of whole-wheat crackers in the afternoon, for example).
Don't expect you son or daughter to get all the right nutrients at one meal or even in one day. "Present a varied, balanced diet, and let your child eat what she wishes. She'll end up consuming the right foods on a day-to-day, week-to-week or even month-to-month basis," Wilkoff says.
Leave room for solids. Youngsters often fill up on liquids before eating their meals. Save fluids for the end of the meal, says Nissenberg, who recommends that an 18-month-old be offered a half cup of whole milk (children usually switch over to low-fat milk at age two) or a quarter cup of juice or water at each sitting.
Ignore food fixations. For about three months, Colleen Alber's daughter Cassidy ate only avocados and bananas. "I would mash up carrots and potatoes, and she wanted nothing to do with them," reports the Missoula, Mont. mother. Cassidy was on what's called a food jag, which is typical for kids her age. "She will grow out of this phase," says Nissenberg, who recommends being persistent about offering a variety of alternative. Eventually curiosity will get the better of your child, and she'll try the new options.
Eat together. Ward is an advocate of regular mealtimes and sitting down to dinner as a family. You're building healthy habits for life, she explains. However, bad habits rub off on you youngster as easily as good ones. So if you avoid veggies and load up on starch during mealtime, your little one may take your lead and do so as well.
Be patient. "It's not unusual for a child to say, 'No, no, no,' and then suddenly accept a food he's been turning down," says Nissenberg. To make things easier, incorporate just one new food at a sitting and offer it along with something your child already likes.
Still need convincing that your child is on the right track nutritionally? Compare his height and weight to your pediatrician's growth chart, advises Wilkoff. That should reassure you that all's well with your little one.