Feeding Your Preschooler

Now is the time to introduce new foods to your child and teach your child healthy eating habits.

At 12 months of age, your child should be eating many of the same foods as the rest of the family, with some changes to make food safer to chew and swallow. During this second year of life, offer your child a variety of new foods that are safe to eat.

As your toddler moves into the preschool years (2-3 years), continue to offer a variety of foods that are safe to eat.

Here you will find information about introducing your preschooler to healthy eating, meal planning, choking prevention, allergy concerns , food safety, weaning your toddler , etc.

You can also check the Frequently Asked Questions about Preschool Nutrition

'Eating Well … Together - Everyone Has A Job To Do'

^{Based on Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding}

Your child needs to learn to eat for hunger and to stop eating when feeling satisfied. This happens best when adults and children each do their jobs.

Adults Decide

• When to eat - meals and snacks should be offered around the same time every day.
• Where to eat - at a table with an adult.
• What to eat - a variety of healthy food choices from Canada's Food Guide.

Your Child Decides

• Whether to eat when they are hungry.
• How much to eat depending on their growth and activity level; stopping when satisfied.

Tips For Parents

• Do not let your child eat between meal and snack times
• Offer water for thirst between meals
• Make eating times pleasant
• Never use food as a reward or a punishment
• Never force your child to eat, or to 'clean their plate'
• Show children how to behave at the table (good table manners).

For more information about this approach to healthy eating, visit Ellyn Satter's website.

Healthy Eating for Toddlers

Eating healthy is important to:

• Provide nutrients and energy for children to grow and develop.
• Help children learn to enjoy a variety of foods.
• Help children have lifelong healthy eating habits.

For toddlers between 1-2 years of age, food begins to replace milk as the main source of nutrients. When your toddler is eating a variety of foods, give breast milk or whole cow's milk after solid foods at meal time.

By one year of age, most toddlers should be drinking fluids from a cup or 'sippy' cup. If you are bottle feeding, and haven't started to wean your baby to a cup, now is the time to start. At first, your child may get less fluid from the cup, but it will get better over time. You should try to stop bottle feeding by the time your child is 18 months old.

If you are breastfeeding, continue to breastfeed your child as long as you like. You may also give breast milk or whole cow's milk to your child in a cup at mealtimes, so that they are used to drinking from a cup when you choose to stop breastfeeding.

For more information about weaning your toddler click here.

Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide

Canada's Food Guide can be used to plan meals for children starting at the age of two years. Remember this is just a guide for the total amount of food for the day. Don't worry if your child does not eat the amount of food suggested in Canada's Food Guide. As your child grows, they will eat more.

It is normal for your child's appetite to change from day to day.

When Feeding Toddlers and Preschoolers:

• Offer your child foods from each of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide everyday.
• Serve small portions of food and offer more if your child is still hungry. See the chart of toddler-size servings for examples of portions for toddlers and preschoolers.
• Gradually introduce a variety of foods with different tastes, textures and colours.
• Offer at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day.
• Don't limit fat in your toddler's diet - it provides energy and essential fatty acids needed for growth. After two years of age, you may switch to lower fat (1% or 2%) milk.
• Serve whole grain products to provide fibre and to start a lifelong habit.

Meal Planning

Young children have small stomachs and need to eat often.

• Plan for three meals and two to three snacks each day.
• Serve meals and snacks at regular times and places each day.
• For meals, include food from three or four different food groups.
• For snacks, include food from two different food groups.
• Try to include a vegetable or fruit at each meal and snack.
• When you introduce a new food, serve it with food your child already likes.
• You may need to offer a new food 15-20 times before your child will taste it.

Tips for Happy Mealtimes - A Fact Sheet with tips about meal planning and ways to make mealtimes easy.

Examples of Toddler Sized Servings - A guide for toddlers and preschoolers

Sample Menu for Toddlers - A guide for toddlers and preschoolers

How to Prevent Choking

Always watch your child closely during meals and snacks and make sure there are no distractions.

• Children should always eat sitting down.
• Ask your child not to talk with food in their mouth.
• Do not give your child round, hard or crunchy foods that may get caught in the throat.
• Always cut up food to a size that can be eaten safely (e.g. sausages and wieners, if served, should be cut lengthwise and then into bite size pieces.  
• Do not give hard raw vegetables, popcorn, nuts, chunky peanut butter, seeds, raisins, hard candies or chewing gum to children under four years of age.
• Hard vegetables and fruit should be cooked and cut into small pieces.
• Peel fruit and remove pits and seeds.
• Grapes should be cut in half and seeds removed.
• Spread sticky foods thinly. Never serve peanut butter from a spoon.

For more information about choking prevention check: Healthy Choices: Choking Prevention Tips for Parents 

Food Safety

Teach your child to wash hands before eating or preparing food. It should become part of your child's routine. Young kids learn by watching and by example.

• Always wash your hands before handling food.
• Eat cooked foods right away, or cover and refrigerate immediately.
• Never leave food out at room temperature.

Resources and Links

When Your Child is a Picky Eater - A resource with tips for dealing with a picky eater.

Tips for Happy Mealtimes - A Fact Sheet with tips about meal planning and ways to make mealtimes easy.

Frequently Asked Questions about Preschool Nutrition

When Your Child Refuses to Eat Vegetables - Learn how to get your child to eat vegetables.

Teddy Bear Toddlers - A guide for feeding toddlers

Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide - A guide for planning healthy meals and snacks starting at two years.