Mealtime Basics - Child Care Answers

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Feeding and Nutrition Preschoolers

As a child care professional, families may look to you for advice about their child both inside and outside of the classroom. Feel free to use the below information to share with families via newsletters, emails, or other opportunities to support them as caregivers themselves. Indiana 2-1-1 is also an easy way to connect families to local organizations to meet their unique needs.

Developing healthy eating habits

Your child is growing, which means what they eat and how much they are eating are also changing. Parents can help children develop healthy eating habits with just a few parenting strategies. Check out our tips on mealtime basics, including making mealtime fun and dealing with picky eaters!

AAP Recommendations

Infant Feeding

In the first year of your baby’s life, your baby will eat a variety of things. These foods will support your baby’s growth and development. Until six months of age, your baby will consume only breastmilk and/or formula. Typically, breastfed babies eat about 12 times a day and formula-fed infants eat six to 10 times per day. Around six months of age, you can start introducing some solid foods.

What should my child be eating?

Toddlers and Preschoolers

Keep things simple and do not over stress. When you offer balanced options regularly, children will naturally consume what their bodies require. The toddler and preschool years are full of exploring and discovery. The best thing you can do is offer your child a variety of foods from each food group with different tastes, textures, and colors.

How much?

The amount of food your child needs depends on a variety of factors, including age, sex, and physical activity level. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides great guidelines for portion sizes based on a child’s age and sex.

As the parent, your job is to decide what foods are offered and when and where your child eats them. Let your child decide which of the foods offered they will eat and how much to eat.

Don’t overfeed. You shouldn’t force children to finish meals if they aren’t hungry as they often vary calorie intake from meal to meal. Consult your pediatrician for your child’s specific caloric needs.

How often?

Young children need to eat more frequently than adults so they have the energy and fuel to play, run, and climb. Once a child is self-feeding solids, usually around eight to ten months old, they typically need three meals and two snacks per day. This remains fairly consistent through adolescence, with the addition of a third evening snack for highly active school-agers.

You will likely want to feed your child before they get “hangry,” but a general rule of thumb is to offer a meal or snack every two to three hours. A typical feeding schedule or routine might look like:

7:00 a.m. – Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – Snack
11:30 a.m. – Lunch (followed by rest or nap for those who need it)
2:20 p.m. – Snack (after rest for napping children)
4:30 p.m. Optional evening snack, if needed
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Dinner

Foods to avoid

When it comes to feeding children, there really aren’t any “off limits” foods. Honey is the only no-no before one, but other than that, it is fair game!

While most foods are safe for young children, how you prepare them matters. Keep in mind the following:

Cut up foods that pose a choking risk, including whole grapes, large pieces of meats, hot dogs, raw carrots, etc. Choose frozen or fresh cubed and shredded veggie options to reduce the possibility of choking (and make your job easier!).
For children under three, avoid hard candy and cough drops, raw nuts and seeds, popcorn, chips, and hard pretzels.
Limit foods that are high in salt, sugar, and fat, including processed foods.

High-allergen foods

Unless there is a family history of food allergies, you can introduce any foods (other than honey) to children under one. Talk with your pediatrician if you have concerns around food allergies. While a child could be allergic to any food, these eight common allergens account for 90% of all reactions in kids:

Milk
Eggs
Fish
Shellfish
Tree Nuts
Peanuts
Wheat
Soybeans

Picky eaters

Eating is not ours to control! Continue to offer healthy options at every meal. It may take trying a new food 10 times before they like it. Never force your child to eat a food he or she doesn’t like. Offer multiple choices, so that he or she can choose something they like. It is not uncommon for toddlers to eat most of their calories at one meal – they will get what they need in a 24-hour period!

Culturally-responsive feeding practices

Many factors shape caregivers’ beliefs and practices about feeding, and it is important to remember that caregivers of different cultures follow different food-related beliefs. The first step in using culturally-responsive feeding practices is to recognize one’s own cultural beliefs regarding feeding.

In the link below, you will find resources and tips on topics including:

Increasing your knowledge about culturally-responsive feeding practices
Using culturally-responsive language with children
Eating family style
Identifying healthy alternatives to accommodate cultural preferences
And more!

Learn More

Tips and Tricks

Helpful feeding tips

Feeding and mealtimes do not have to be stressful! Check out these tips and tricks to reduce the stress, cut down on time, and enjoy mealtime together!

Make mealtimes fun and remove the pressure from eating. Throw out the “clean plate club” mentality!
Use kitchen scissors (instead of a knife) to cut up your child’s food.
Set a good example of healthy eating for your child by eating a variety of foods, or at least putting them on your plate, even if you know you won’t eat them!
Deconstruct your adult meal. Some children would rather eat all the components of a meal separate rather than touching or together. For example, place all the ingredients of a taco separately on their plate instead of inside a shell.
Don’t use food as a reward or punishment.When we use food, especially during mealtimes, as a reward or punishment, it can create power struggles and negative associations with food.

Diving Deeper

Rethinking the "Clean Plate Club"

Healthy Habits

Forcing kids to overeat teaches them to ignore their bodies' signals that they've had enough. This can set them up for a lifetime of eating when not hungry.

Dessert

Put dessert directly onto the plate with the rest of the dinner from the get-go. Call it reverse psychology or completely absurd, but it works. And the nutrition experts are totally on board.

Grandparents

A lot has changed regarding feeding and nutrition in the last 30 years. Talk to grandparents about how you choose to nurture your child's healthy eating habits.

Featured Resource

Toddler Mealtime Basics

Download a quick summary of our mealtime and feeding tips for toddlers!

Easy Meal Ideas

Tired of the dinnertime battle? Check out these dinner ideas from Taste of Home that will please little ones and parents alike.

Family Friendly Meal Ideas

Healthy muffin recipes

Filled with fruits, veggies, oats, whole grains, and healthy fats, these muffin recipes for little ones are as healthy as they are tasty! These recipes are great as they are, or you can easily adjust them. Try subbing apple for carrot, adding spices and fresh herbs, and pairing with a fun sauce or dip.

Easy family meal ideas

Looking for easy meals or snacks for kids? These creative snack ideas are perfect to pack in school lunches or munch on at home.