The amount of food that toddlers eat is a major concern for most parents. Most parents feel that their kids aren’t completely eating what they’re being given. Toddlers are still learning about the world around them and eating is one of those learning activities. Responding to the hunger instinct is essential for any child. Eating is the response to hunger instinct and how much one should eat is a matter that plays an important role in the years to come as well.

1. Toddlers Should Learn To Eat According To Their Hunger Cues http://parentinghealthybabies.com/toddlers-should-learn-to-eat-according-to-their-hunger-cues/
The amount of food that toddlers eat is a major concern for most parents. Most parents feel
that their kids aren’t completely eating what they’re being given. Toddlers are still learning
about the world around them and eating is one of those learning activities. Responding to the
hunger instinct is essential for any child. Eating is the response to hunger instinct and how
much one should eat is a matter that plays an important role in the years to come as well.
When given ample choice about how much of food to be eaten, a toddler might first find it
difficult, at first to stick to a certain amount of food, but as weeks months and few years pass
by, they’ll be able to identify their hunger cue well, with practice.
The hunger cue for all toddlers is not the
same and as parents we shouldn’t think
that it will be same. While some toddlers
might rightly identify their hunger, others
might not. This is very similar to the way
developments take place in infants. While
some infants start crawling by 6-7 months,
others start by 8-9 months and some other
infants don’t crawl but stand up right and
walk. So, we cannot say that all babies
behave in the similar manner. In the same
way, each toddler reacts differently to new
foods and he or she needs to adjust to the
new foods and more importantly to notice
one’s hunger and eat accordingly.
By forcing your child to eat more can disrupt this process and the child can develop the habit
of overeating right from a very early age. This can turn into a problem as the rates of obesity
are directly linked to the way children have their food. So, it is important for the parents to
recognize the cues the child is exhibiting while having food. This can be segregated as the
child is underfed, overfed or fed rightly.
When they’re hungry: Infants and toddlers exhibit actions such as crying, opening
the mouth, taking the spoon towards mouth or moving closer to the spoon, etc.
When they’re full: When they are full, they exhibit actions such as eating very
slowly, moving their head away from the food, closing their mouths, spitting out the
food, playing with leftover food, etc.
These are few signals that toddlers and infants exhibit more often while having food.

2. Many a times, parents end up forcing the child to have more food, even when the baby is
signalling that he or she is full. This is a bad practice because you’re over feeding your child
and it must be avoided as much as possible. For adults, the cue is usually the food platter and
we check whether or not the baby had completed the whole platter or the bowl. In such a
case, it is better to feed your baby in small quantities. For example, if your baby cannot eat
the whole bowl, then try serving with half of the bowl first and the next half broken down in
small quantities. In this way, you can arrive at a rough estimate about your baby’s appetite.
Negotiating with your child: Whenever a child throws away food that he or she
doesn’t like, parents try to negotiate with the child by bribing him or her with treats.
This is not considered to be a healthy habit because, it doesn’t inculcate any healthy
habits but it creates an impression that the particular food is a punishment and the
reward (a dessert or a candy) is better than the food. Do not negotiate with your child.
Let your child have that particular food, at least in small quantities. Of course, you
can encourage your kid to have more of the food, but do not force one.
Have family meals at least once a day: Toddlers and children imitate and learn from
their elders and everyone around them. So, make sure that you have a positive
atmosphere at home. This applies to food as well. Make a seat for your child at the
dinner table and have healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. This encourages
children to have more and more healthy foods from the beginning and it reinforces a
positive attitude about healthy food. This is perhaps, the starting point of inculcating
good habits.
Avoid feeding candy or chips: Avoid giving candy or chips or soft drinks to your
baby as much as possible. These foods only contain ‘junk’ nutrients and do not
provide anything healthy to your baby. These junk foods actually kill your child’s
appetite. Apart from killing the appetite, they also add in unnecessary calories and salt
to your child’s system, which is another risk factor.
Avoid TV watching during feeding time: Some parents have a habit of letting the
kids watch TV or YouTube or DVDs, etc while having food. Avoid this practice as
much as you can. There is a positive relation with children watching TV or any
visually engaging media are at a risk of gaining more weight.
With these measures in place, you can make sure that your child has healthy food from the
beginning. It might be a little difficult in the beginning, but these methods can have good
results in the future.
(Sources: Kids Health, University of Louisville, NC Medical Journal)
Website: www.parentinghealthybabies.com