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A 1 year old can eat almost everything that the family is eating, as long as it won’t cause choking. Children will likely get their molars at 18-24 months to also help with chewing.
Feeding Guide: 1-3 years old | ||
Food Groups | Child-Size Serving Examples* | Servings Per Day |
Grains Offer at least half the grains whole grain or fortified with iron and B-vitamins. (whole grain, whole wheat flour, whole oats, whole corn should be listed first in the ingredient list.) These foods will give your child energy needed for growth and development and are a good source of fiber. |
½ or 1 oz serving ½ slice bread = ½ oz ½ muffin, bagel, biscuit (small) = 1 oz ½ hot dog or hamburger buns = 1 oz ½ cup ready-to-eat cereal = ½ oz ¼ cup cooked cereal = ½ oz ¼ cup pasta or rice = ½ oz 2-3 whole wheat crackers = ½ oz 3-4 square or round crackers (not whole wheat) = ½ oz 6-inch tortilla = 1 oz |
2 ½ – 5 oz. per day |
Vegetables Vegetables provide your child with a good source of vitamin A every day. These foods will help your child develop good eyesight and keep skin and hair healthy. Vary the types of vegetables throughout the week. |
¼ cup serving ¼ cup cooked, raw, whole, 100% juice |
1-1 ½ cup per day |
Fruits Fruits provide your child with a good source of vitamin C every day. These foods will help your child’s body absorb iron and help prevent infections. Do not offer more than six ounces of 100% juice a day. Juices can be diluted with water. Focus on whole fruits more often than other types. |
¼ cup serving ¼ piece soft fruit ⅓ cup canned, drained = ⅓ cup 3 oz 100% juice = ⅓ cup |
1-1 ½ cup per day |
Protein These foods are a good source of protein and iron. Protein helps build and repair body tissues like skin, bone, hair, blood, and muscle. Iron rich foods help your child have healthy, strong blood. |
1 oz serving 2 Tbsp lean meat, poultry, fish = 1 oz 1 Egg = 1 oz ¼ cup cooked dry beans = 1 oz 1 Tbsp peanut butter = 1 oz |
2-4 oz. per day |
Dairy Dairy foods keep bones and teeth strong. Whole milk until age two may help ensure the child gets enough calories and essential nutrients for proper growth, including fatty acids important in brain development. Your WIC health professional can guide you on what type of milk is best for your child. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of whole milk for ages 1-2 years, rather than reduced fat milk like 2%, 1%, or skim. |
½ cup serving ½ cup whole milk = ½ cup (4 oz) ½ cup yogurt = ½ cup (4 oz) 1 ½ oz natural cheese (9-volt battery size) = 1 cup milk 1 slice cheese = ½ cup (4 oz) ½ cup cottage cheese = ¼ cup milk (2 oz) |
2-2 ½ cups per day |
Water |
Toddlers should be offered water throughout the day. Water intake will vary as milk intake decreases. 1-3 year olds should consume 1.3 Liters (L) of total water per day. This includes about 3.75 cups (0.9 L) as total beverages, including drinking water. | |
*Serving Size Hand Symbols for the Average Adult |
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Sources: • Nutrition Care Manual: Suggested Portion Sizes for Toddlers. • Grains group recommendation came from a combination of DGA’s 12-23 months and Nutrition Care Manual Suggested Portions for Toddlers. • https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/dietary-guidelines-and-myplate/kids-and-portion-control |
Children should wean from the bottle when they turn 1. See Weaning: Breastfed Baby and Weaning: Formula-Fed Baby for more information.
By offering liquids in a cup instead of a bottle you avoid baby bottle tooth decay.
Because growth slows down after the first birthday, your child’s appetite may slow down too. A child may eat more on some days than on others.
Parents are the best judges of what a child should eat. Children are the best judges of how much they should eat. Explore healthy eating tips for parents.
Do not start cow’s milk before 12 months. Switch to whole milk at age 1.
Fruit juice tastes great, but it has lots of sugar. It can leave little kids too full for healthier foods and harm their teeth.
All kids 5 and under should avoid drinking flavored milks, toddler formulas, plant-based/non-dairy milks (except for children with milk allergies), caffeinated beverages, sugar-sweetened drinks, and low-calorie sweetened beverages.
These beverages can be big sources of added sugars in young children’s diets and provide no unique nutritional value.
It is not uncommon for toddlers to dislike meat. Try offering ground meat, moistening with meat juice, cutting into tiny pieces, or mixing with other foods.
Remember it doesn’t take much for your 1 and 2 year old to get the protein they need. 2 tablespoons of meat equals about 1 oz of protein and they only need 2 oz total in a day!
If your child is still not interested, try these foods to help them get the iron they need:
Fish is an important part of a healthy eating pattern for young children to promote growth and development. Fish provides:
Serve fish to children 1-2 times per week from a variety of fish. On average, a serving size is about:
Many types of fish are both nutritious and lower in mercury. Use this guide to determine the best choices of fish to offer your family and those to avoid.
Snacks make up an important part of a child’s nutrition. Young children are growing rapidly and need small frequent meals and snacks. In planning snacks, you need to select nutritious foods to help promote this rapid growth.
Plan Snacks. Schedule them around the normal events of the day and offer at least 2 hours before a meal so that your child is hungry at meal time. Children should learn to get hungry, instead of feeling full all the time. Serve water between meals to quench your child’s thirst.
Include a variety of food. Selections can be made from any of the food groups. Foods in the fats, oils and sugars group provide many calories but few nutrients. Foods from this group should be used only occasionally.
See Picky Eating if your child is having a hard time trying and liking new foods.
Sources: CDC, Healthy Eating Research, USDA Infant Nutrition and Feeding – A Guide for Use in WIC
This post was last updated on June 23rd, 2022 at 12:06 PM
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