01/13/2026
Healthy eating is important at every age. Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy or fortified soy alternatives. When deciding what to eat or drink, choose options that are full of nutrients and limited in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. Start with these tips:
1️⃣ Provide foods full of nutrients: Offer your toddler a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy or fortified soy alternatives.
2️⃣ Look for cues: Children may be full if they push food away, close their mouths, turn heads away from food, or make sounds to let you know. Recognizing and responding to these cues helps children learn how to self-regulate their intake.
3️⃣ Prevent choking: Have toddlers sit at a table for meals and snacks and not wander around with food in their mouths. Check out the USDA website for information about age-specific foods that can be choking hazards.
4️⃣ Try new foods: Let children choose a new food to try at the grocery store. Serve something your child likes along with the new food. It may take up to a dozen tries for a child to accept a new food.
5️⃣ Get kids involved: Preschoolers can help at mealtimes by washing produce, tearing lettuce, stirring mixes, scooping ingredients, or setting the table.
6️⃣ Offer choices: Preschoolers like to have a say in what they eat. Offer healthy options, but let your child choose.
All information provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — https://fb.com/USDA
