Toddler Serving Sizes (Wholesome Toddler Food.com)

Toddlers eat weird stuff in weird amounts at weird times of the day. So, how do you, as the wise parent who desires your toddler to eat healthily, make sure he or she is getting enough of the right stuff and not too much of the wrong stuff? Check out Wholesome Toddler Food for a start. This website is packed with all kinds of information and recipes geared specifically to toddlers. One very helpful page outlines some serving sizes/amounts that might surprise you! For instance, a good guideline for a toddler serving is 1 tablespoon per age. In other words, my 2 year old should eat 2 tablespoons of sweet potato for it to "count" as a serving. Our pediatrician also told us to balance her diet over the week instead of each day. What a help! That means that the 3 serving equivalent amount of sweet potato she downed the other night can "count" for a couple of days, a blessing since she'll decide she doesn't like the vegetable the next night. So, don't sweat it. Keep offering those veggies, fruits, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean sources of protein like you do the rest of your family. Your toddler will pick and choose, but generally will come away with the right number of servings of the right foods if the choices are there.