Healthy eating for toddlers – the food obsession

Oh the food topic. Probably one of the most discussed topics in baby & toddler playgroups (just after the topic of poo of course!)

There seems to be a complete obsession about how much we should feed kids, what we feed when, where to buy it, how much of this and that, what brand etc etc. Every country has different guidelines of course which makes it quite an overwhelming subject when you have friends & relatives in different countries where they tell you completely different things!

And should we always tell our toddlers to finish their plates?

I’m mainly talking about baby & toddler food advice here. What I’ve noticed is that in France and Germany there is so much choice of ready made baby and toddler food which suggests to me that “normal” food is not to be trusted!

I have friends that only feed their kids baby food from the jar because they think that’s best for them and I’ve got friends who swear by baby-led weaning where you don’t spoon feed at all the the baby decides what and how much to eat. We all want the best for our children of course but all this conflicting advice can be really confusing!

I have to say that we fed both of our kids the same food that we eat (minus salt) pretty much from when they were six months old. I can actually count on one hand the number of times they had a baby meal from a jar. I always cooked and always made an effort that they eat the same things that we eat as well. This was all to avoid that they would become fussy eaters and to create healthy eating habits of course…

Well it didn’t all go to plan unfortunately and my daughter was extremely fussy from about two until just a few months ago (she is nearly four now). She went through a phase of not eating anything except for cheese sandwiches and birthday cakes (luckily for her she gets to go to quite a lot of birthday parties!)

Eating is a hot topic in our household. My husband comes from a catering background so likes to feed (and to eat). I remember being a reluctant eater when I was a child but I was never ever forced to eating anything I didn’t like or to finish my plate.

Healthy eating habits are so important and so are portion sizes! What I don’t agree with is deciding as a parent how much your child should eat.

If I put food on her plate then I’m effectively making an assumption about how much she should eat. What do I know about what her body needs today? All I can do is offer healthy food but even that is sometimes tricky if you know that they will just pick the same things from the plate!

I have gone through a phase of being really frustrated because my daughter just wanted to eat pasta and cheese and pretty much rejected everything else that was put in front of her but luckily it slowly seems to get better. She doesn’t eat everything I offer her but then again who likes everything?

I’m definitely not perfect and unfortunately I have a sweet tooth myself and love Haribo, ice-cream and we all love a Gingerbread Man once a while!

I know as parents we want to do everything right but it’s really hard sometimes! All we can do is try not to get too obsessed and trust ourselves and our instincts.

And maybe learn how to make a really healthy birthday cake!