The nutrition of your child is inherently linked with their healthy development and growth. If you are a new parent, it is essential that you inform yourself on how to properly plan and schedule your toddler’s diet. Failing to treat this topic with the attention it needs is a sure way to stunt your child’s growth and increase their risk for more serious health problems later in life.
The toddler years are a time of big changes in dietary habits and milks like those from the Aptamil toddler nutrition range are highly useful for optimizing your toddler’s dietary requirements. There are other nutritional nuances you need to be aware of, however. To make your life easier, we have assembled some timeless advice on how to correctly manage your toddler’s nutrition.
Let’s take a closer look at some specific aspects of how to correctly manage your toddler’s nutrition.
Inform Yourself Of The Basics
Even with the abundance of nutritional information available in books and online, many are not familiar with the basics of nutrition, even for their personal health. These days, there is really no excuse for not having some idea of the basics of good dietary habits. If you do not understand good nutrition in your own life, you will not be able to give your child the best attention to their dietary needs.
Knowledge really is power when it comes to nutrition. Informing yourself as to the basic nutritional requirements is essential to effective toddler nutrition management. Know the specific needs of the toddler years and learn how to plan meals or formulas effectively. Learn the differences between fats, carbohydrates, and proteins and know the basics of vitamins and minerals.
Consider Toddler Milks
Toddler milks are an increasingly popular means of ensuring that your child has all their nutritional needs met. Since the transition from breastfeeding to consuming cow’s milk can be difficult for some toddlers, using toddler milks as a stepping stone can make this change smoother.
Be sure to use a trusted source of toddler milk and read the labels on any products you are considering. Toddler milks also exist in specialised variants to accommodate any dietary conditions your child might have including lactose intolerance. Toddler milks also allow you to closely control the amount of nutrition you give to your child, allowing to assist them in growth and development while avoiding problems like obesity and heart disease.
Practice Good Family Eating Habits
Taking the time to plan out family meals which your toddler may or may not be sharing with you can set the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Toddlers are highly aware of their surroundings and absorb what they see and hear like a sponge. If you consistently prepare nutritious food and sit down to enjoy it together, this can instil healthy lifestyle habits that will significantly benefit your child in the future.
Be Flexible
Forcing your child to eat everything you provide all the time can be counterproductive to developing a healthy attitude towards food. While it is important that vegetables and fruits are a part of your child’s diet, insisting on their eating everything can lead to increased pickiness and a closed mind towards trying new things. If your child is refusing to try a particular fruit or is throwing a tantrum about eating the eggplants, for instance, you can try to think of more creative ways of introducing those foods to them. You can invest in some colorful bamboo kids’ dinner sets or even cut out the fruits in vegetables in playful shapes or forms to make the whole, healthy food intake process more exciting and adventurous for your little one. In the long run, your child may come around and explore new flavours and tastes. Try not to get too worked up about picky eating in the meantime.
Nutrition Nuances
Much has been written on the topic of toddler nutrition, so making the effort to sort through some of the information can give you a clearer picture of how to manage it. Applying this knowledge in the kitchen and at the table can give your child the best chance of growing up healthy and happy.
