12 Tips to Get Your Picky Toddler to Eat

When we are faced with the immense responsibilities of parenthood, our children's nutritional intake and growth becomes a vital daily concern. For me, feeding my kids well-balanced meals is something I think of every day — but it’s not always easy. 

The first year of life consists of seemingly-endless feedings — babies are growing very rapidly and require a lot of nutrition, and hence a good portion of your time may be spent feeding.  So it can be frustrating when your kids abruptly reach toddlerhood, hit the dreadful appetite slump, and slow down their intake.

What happened, you may be wondering?  All of a sudden, it may seem like they don’t want to eat any longer.  And they may turn out to be extremely picky. Here are some complaints I repeatedly hear from parents when describing their toddler mealtime behaviors:

• The various foods on their plates can’t touch or may be considered “tainted” — goodness forbid you serve a mixed food such as a casserole! 

• They can’t seem to get enough of that pasta with red sauce today, but for whatever reason they seem repulsed by it the following day.

• Getting them to try new foods? Forget it — it's worse than pulling teeth. 

• You spend so much time, thought, and effort to prepare a meal that will be pleasing to the little tyke, only to become devastated when the first thing your toddler does is throw it on the floor without even so much as trying a bite.

Does this sound familiar? It can truly be maddening as a parent to try to feed a picky toddler, and it may often feel as though you are fighting a war with your own child at mealtimes.  Parents get understandably frustrated, sometimes to the point of a power struggle between a concerned parent and a stubborn toddler seeking to declare his independence (Just hope it’s not a glimpse into his upcoming teenaged years). 

Thankfully, I’ve been there, done that.  I have twin girls — two intensely picky, rambunctious, tantrum-throwing toddlers.  Double whammies at meal times for us, but we’re progressing nicely.  So…if we can achieve mealtime peace, so can you.

What Is “Normal” Toddler Appetite?

Infants may gain up to 15 pounds in the first year of life.  But after that rapid period of growth, they start to slow down after age 1 and normally gain only about 4-5 pounds per year...

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