Healthy Eating for Toddlers: 1- 4 years course for Dietitians

This session describes ways of identifying what constitutes healthy eating to satisfy unique toddler requirements. In addition, the session also examines toddler behaviours such as fussy eating and food neophobia and the impact these behaviours can have on nutritional intake.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe optimal feeding routines and how to combine the five food groups to satisfy toddler nutrient requirements
• Outline the recommendation for vitamin A and D supplementation
• Describe normal toddler eating behaviours and advise on management to minimise eating difficulties that affect nutritional intake

Many toddlers will refuse to try new foods on sight and others may stop eating foods that they had eaten previously. Coupled with this, most have a preference for sweet high-calorie foods, and these foods need to be limited to avoid obesity.