Toddlers and Food

How can a parent not obsess over how much and what their kids are eating? It is to me one of the biggest sources of stress since Mason and Audrey were born.

From when their were babies, the stress started from determining if I was producing enough milk, how much they were eating, how often, and then came their transition from breast milk to formula and then solid foods. It evolved to what formula to get (Audrey got horrible stomach pains from the regular milk based formula), what baby foods to get (I didn't venture into making my own food), and when to add more solid food. The biggest source of stress came when they wouldn't eat, in most cases when they were sick and we didn't know it. With the second baby, the experience kicks in and you remind yourself that babies will get what they need, I knew I could produce enough milk for her, and if they refused food, there is a reason behind it.

As they grow to be toddlers and start eating table food, I was excited to stop buying jars of baby food, but stressed about how to create meals for the adults that toddlers could also enjoy. How to offer variety, balance and nutritious meals every day?

I'm grateful to have my parents help us prepare meals. They think up and prepare about half of our meals every week. Because of them, we hardly eat out and have sit down meals every day with the kids. When they are not around, I try to think up of easy meals I can make ahead of time and we do buy more take-out food from our favorite restaurants near by. And we still eat out a couple of times a week, Sushi Tokoro is one of our favorite spots. But regardless of where the meal comes from, there is the stress of "will my toddler eat well tonight?"

I know that they will eat if they are hungry, and we can always count on the "natural consequences" of them not eating taking care of the issue. I remember Bill's cousin Thad, who has 2 toddlers of his own, tell me about a study showed that when toddlers are provided the same variety of foods every day, they will choose different things over the course of a week and get a balance diet. They say toddlers know what they need. Which brings me to Mason and Audrey. Do they know what they need?

Audrey is 17 months now and eats very well. My Mom says that she never worries about Audrey eating too little, but eating too much! She may not like or eat everything you put in front of her, but she eats a wide variety of foods. Her favorites are tofu, rice, chicken, squash, broccoli, strawberries, bananas, yogurt and the list goes on! In addition, she still drinks about 24 ounces of whole milk every day. No wonder she grew 3 inches in 3 months at our last doctor visit.

Mason at 3 years is a different story. He eats a lot, but doesn't get much variety. He would be happy with chicken every day! He would skip lunch at school if that is something he didn't like, and eat only the fruit or the snack. He always finds something he likes and eats that instead. But he is becoming very stubborn about eating vegetables. I can list the complete list of food he eats: chicken, pork, beef, fish (if breaded and fried), rice, pizza, spaghetti, edamame, broccoli (some times), potatoes, bread, waffles, pancakes, muffins, strawberries, banana, oranges and water melon. That is pretty much it folks. Where are the vegetables? We are supplementing with vitamins and he likes my FiberOne breakfast bars that gives him at least a good source of fiber. My next strategy is hiding vegetables - zucchini chocolate chip cake will be my next venture.

More updates to come as the food affinities change...