Age-appropriate Portions for Toddlers (and Moms)

This post is by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, and is the third post in the three-part blog series about introducing solids to your little one.  Rachel is a mom to a toddler, a pediatric dietitian and instructor of “Introduction to Solids” and “Nutrition for Toddlers and Preschoolers” at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.  Join us for the next Nutrition for Toddlers and Preschoolers class on October 29th at 10:00am.  More information and registration can be found here.

In case you missed it, I discussed the feeding relationship in my previous two posts, and these may be summarized using the division of responsibility. Parents are responsible for the “what, when, and where of feeding; children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating” [1].  In this third post we discuss age appropriate serving sizes – however, as with all nutrition advice, sustainably learning the behaviors associated with this division of responsibility will be as important, if not more influential, than simply choosing specific serving size, as all of our young ones progress at slightly different paces and individual ways.

Most of the food we eat- and the nutrient measurements we rely on – use the idea of serving sizes. But what does a serving look like?

Adults struggle with this because it’s hard to learn at home, and when we eat out, it’s nearly impossible to get consistent feedback.  As children, most parents did not learn to react this way, and an age of abundant and convenient food has limited the effects of our natural impulses.  

When we feed our children, many parents second-guess themselves and their children’s eating behaviors.  Is my child eating enough?  Is my child eating too much?  Here are some helpful guidelines when it comes to your children and serving sizes, starting from the beginning, when first introducing solids.

Tips and guidelines when thinking about the appropriate serving size for your infant and toddler:

- Around 6-7 months, as your baby is first starting solids, it’s important to remember serving sizes are very small.  If you are offering purees, you will want to start by offering 1-2 teaspoons, keeping in mind initially your baby may not take more than a small taste.  You will most likely be advancing to 1-3 tablespoons as your baby moves toward 7-8 months.

- From 6 months to around 1 year, breast milk or a breastmilk substitute should still make up the majority of your baby’s calorie intake.  Offer breast milk or a breastmilk substitute before solids, especially when starting out. 

- All babies are different.  Some babies love solids right off the bat and may take more than 2-3 tablespoons.  That’s okay!  It may take other babies some time to begin their solid intake and they may refuse for a while.  That’s okay, too! The important thing is to continue to offer solids, but let your child decide whether he/she wants to eat.

A typical toddler breakfast: 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt, 1/4 cup fruit and 2-3 small pancakes (and it’s okay if they don’t finish the whole thing!).

-Around 8-11 months your baby continues to grow, so does his/her appetite.  Solid intake may increase, but not by much.  A full day’s worth of solids might be: ¼ cup of fruit, ¼ cup vegetables, 1-3 tablespoons protein and ¼ cup whole grains.  A serving of vegetables, however, may still be closer to 2-3 tablespoons.  

- After one year of age, baby’s growth slows (most babies triple their birth weight over the first year!).  With a decrease in growth rate may also come a decrease in appetite.  Do not be alarmed if intake decreases after one year of age.  It’s most important to monitor your baby’s weight gain and growth. 

Snacks and lunch packed for daycare: 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, blueberries, oat and spinach muffin, string cheese and nectarine slices.

Additionally, after one year of age, your toddler may be eating more meals and snacks throughout the day.  When thinking about meals and snacks to serve, try to offer something from each food group.  Meals should consist of a fruit or vegetable, carbohydrate and protein, while a snack might consist of a fruit and vegetable and a carbohydrate. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try new things.   One of my daughter’s favorite on the go snacks is a mix of chick peas and green peas;  a combination of protein and carbohydrates with a healthy mix of vitamins and minerals.  

Stay positive! Picky eating behaviors often develop during this time and can persist as a phase many healthy kids go through.  If you stay positive and dedicated to offering a broad variety of healthy, whole foods, you have the best chance of continuing to nourish your little one while accommodating their tastes and preferences.

To learn more about introducing solids to your little one, join me at the SDBFC in one of my Introduction to Solidsor Nutrition for Toddlers and Preschoolers classes.  More information can be found here.

[1] Satter, Ellen M.,  Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense, Bull Publishing Company; Revised edition (March 1, 2000) http://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Revised-Updated/dp/0923521518 

Rachel Rothman, MS, RD is a mom, pediatric dietitian, and instructor at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.  She lives in San Diego with her husband Ben and daughter Sydney. 

How to Help Your Little One Feel Full with Solids

This post is by Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, and is the second post of a three-part series about introducing solids to your little one.  Rachel is a mom to a toddler and a pediatric dietitian. Rachel is the instructor of "Toddler Nutrition" and “Introduction to Solids” classes at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. Join us for the next Toddler Nutrition class on October 29th at 10:00am.  More information and registration can be found here.

In my previous post, I addressed a parent’s responsibilities for the “when” (setting meal time) and the “what” (the food to be served) of feeding.  This approach is generally referred to as the feeding relationship: Parents are responsible for the “what, when, and where of feeding; children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating” [1].   The relationship is between parent and child, and between the child and the food they eat.  Now that we’ve established the parent’s responsibilities, we can move to the child’s responsibilities – whether to eat, and how much to eat.  

By controlling the WHAT, parents introduce foods, and should be actively monitoring how children respond. Getting started is fairly simple: you offer the food, and your child decides how much and WHETHER they want to eat it.  Yep, that’s it.  

However, this will surely bring a challenge (and for some, the harder obstacle to overcome) to be okay with how much and whether your child accepts the food.  

 

Start Small

When introducing solids to your little ones, starting small is essential to help him learn to physically accept solid food and learn to taste, chew, and swallow effectively.  If you choose to start by offering purees, offer a small amount of a pureed food to your little one.  If the child opens his/her mouth toward the spoon, help guide the food into his/her mouth.  If the child turns away from the spoon, trust his/her instincts that he/she does not want that food or is simply not ready.   If you choose to use the baby led weaning approach, start by placing food in front of your child on his/her high chair tray or the table. Trust that your baby knows what he/she needs.  And keep in mind, especially when starting out, breast milk or a breastmilk substitute will make up the majority of your little one’s calories and nutrition until he/she is close to a year old.  Your job is to help them learn how to eat.  You are letting them know they can choose how much and whether they would like to eat.  

When you move beyond purees and toward more complex foods, offered more frequently, this approach can, and often will, get more challenging.   As your child gets older and enters toddlerhood less of his/her nutrition may come from breast milk or a breastmilk substitute.  However, this is when it is more important than ever to keep in mind your child’s ability to self regulate.  As you offer more food at a given meal, you’ll be looking for signs that your child feels hungry.  That feeling (rather than a specific amount of food) helps your child to learn appropriate eating habits.

 

Experiencing Hunger and Feeling Full

Allow your child to experience the physical and cognitive effects of being hungry before eating - his/her young body’s regulatory reflexes come from feeling hungry and then knowing when he/she full.  

Research shows that children who are taught in this manner develop positive food attitudes, interest in eating a variety of foods, an intuitive sense of how much to eat, and long term skills for healthy eating and meal planning.[2]

There are a few things you can do to encourage your child to feel hungry and full, such as only offering a meal or snack every 2-3 hours (allow your child to feel hunger and sensation of fullness) and only offering water in between meals (rather than juice or sugary beverages).  

Eat Meals Together

Sit and have meals with your child, as time allows, and eat the same foods as they eat.  Not only will you be in a better position to monitor your baby’s preferences, but you can encourage her choices and ease her frustrations through words and sounds.  When your child tries a new food or enjoys an old favorite, you can show him that his choices matter to you.  Another benefit is cognitive: take the opportunity to teach your child the names of the foods he’s eating!

Lots of Exposure to the Same Foods

Keep in mind it can take up to 20 exposures of a new food before a child accepts it.  This is true when introducing solids to an infant as well as more complex foods to a toddler.  Before you rule out a food and dismiss your child as disliking it, keep offering it.  Chances are, after enough exposures, your child may have a change of heart.   While some degree of pickiness is normal, if you feel concerned with your child’s feeding habits, consult your pediatrician or a registered dietitian.

With the principles above, you’ll be on your way to raising a healthy eater!  Stay tuned for our next post, “Age-appropriate portions”.  If you’d like to keep exploring this topic with us, we’d love to see you in our next  Introduction to Solids class.

[1] Satter, Ellen M.,  Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense, Bull Publishing Company; Revised edition (March 1, 2000) http://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Revised-Updated/dp/0923521518

[2] Satter, “Eating Competence: Definition and Evidence for the Satter Eating Competence Model” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ● Volume 39, Number 5S, September/October 2007  http://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/cms-assets/documents/101150-596171.ecdefandev.pdf

Rachel Rothman, MS, RD is a mom, pediatric dietitian, and instructor at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.  She lives in San Diego with her husband, Ben, and daughter, Sydney.  You can contact Rachel here.

Two Things More Important than Portion Sizes when Offering Solids to Infants

Join Rachel Rothman, MS, RD in our three-part blog series to learn more about introducing solids to your little one.  Rachel is a pediatric dietitian and the instructor of our Introduction to Solids classes here at the SDBFC. 

Introduction to Solids, Serving Sizes, Feeding Relationship

When babies are 4-6 months of age, many moms start thinking about how much solid food kids should eat.  It’s easy to get caught up in a race toward the “starting solids” milestone, but what comes next?  Many parents wonder, now that their little one has started eating solid foods, how much is enough?  Am I making him/her overeat?  Am I wasting food? Am I teaching poor habits? 

What might reassure you is that as long as your selections contain a balance of protein, carbohydrate, fats and vitamins and minerals, measuring “servings” of food consumed may not necessarily be the best way to ensure your baby’s success at adopting a solid diet.  

First, take a step back. Renowned feeding expert Ellyn Satter, MS, RDN, MSSW gives parents the helpful suggestion of a “division of responsibility.”  Parents are responsible for the “what, when, and where of feeding; children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating” (Satter).   Babies have the innate ability to self regulate.  They will let you know when they want more, such as opening their mouths when food is offered.  Conversely, will let you know when they are full, such as turning away from the spoon and sealing their lips tightly.  

Rather than a fixed “serving” - offer food to your child, but look for signs that they are full.  With that in mind, you have two things in your control: when is mealtime, and what are you serving.

When is mealtime?  

A general idea of how many meals you should offer each day depends on the age of your child:

Once you have an idea of when those mealtimes and snack times fit into your baby’s wake and sleep schedule, you’ll want to establish some strategies for how much to offer at each serving.  Start small: when first introducing solids, 1-2 teaspoons is enough for your little one.  And remember, up to one year of age breast milk or formula will continue to make up the majority of your baby’s calorie intake.  

Next, think about the overall composition of the meal:

Thinking about the composition of meals, know that all babies are different and some may progress through textures more quickly (or more slowly) than others. That’s okay.  As discussed above, you can only control the what and when.  Your child is in control of the how much and whether.

This process is bigger than serving size.  You’re trying not merely to nourish your little one; but to introduce your little one to a variety of new foods, textures, flavors, and nutrients.  This diversity is part of a journey you’re on, together with your young child, to ensure their healthy relationship with food.  These approaches will help your child to develop the tools to succeed when making food decisions on his/her own.

Stay tuned for my next post: “How To Help Your Little One Feel Full” to learn more about introducing new foods to your child.