Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Expanding Your One To Three-Year-Old's Diet

Expanding Your One to Three-Year-Old's Diet

Find a toddler's feeding guide, and learn how to build self-feeding skills.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

Expanding Your One to Three-Year-Old's Diet

Even though he's only one or two years old, it's never too early to help a child begin to develop healthy eating habits. You can do this in part by offering a variety of nutritious foods that are appropriate for your child's developmental stage. For the most part, you can put away the baby food now. After age one, your child can eat just about anything, as long as he's not allergic to it, and as long as it's in kid-friendly form—either pureed, mashed, or cut into small pieces.

It's one thing to prepare and serve healthy foods. What's tough is figuring out whether you're feeding a child the right amount. How do you know how much to serve?

The Pyramid Plan is based on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children, which applies to kids age two and up. It provides the details about what and how much your two-year-old should eat.

One-year-olds are another matter. You could go by the "rule of one," as I call it: Serve one tablespoon of each food you're eating at a meal for each year of your child's life, plus the recommended 16 to 24 ounces of milk throughout the day. So, if you're having mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, and chicken for dinner, serve a one-year-old at least a tablespoon of each food.

Here's a suggested daily feeding guide for a one-year-old.

Breakfast

  • 4 ounces whole milk

  • ¼ cup whole grain ready-to-eat cereal

  • ¼ medium banana

Snack
  • 2 graham cracker squares

  • 4 ounces 100 percent juice, preferably fortified with vitamin C and/or calcium
Lunch
  • 4 ounces whole milk

  • 1 ounce cooked chicken

  • 1-2 tablespoons cooked carrots

  • ½ teaspoon margarine or butter

  • ½ slice bread
Snack
  • 4 ounces full-fat yogurt such as Stonyfield Farms YoBaby

  • 2-3 whole grain crackers
Dinner
  • 8 ounces whole milk

  • ½ cup cooked noodles with 2 tablespoons meat sauce

  • 2 tablespoons cooked green beans

  • ½ teaspoon margarine or butter, if desired

  • ¼ cup canned pears, drained and chopped
Snack
  • 4 ounces whole milk

  • 6 animal crackers
Building Self-Feeding Skills
One- and two-year-olds are thrilled with their newfound physical prowess, including learning how to put things in their mouth. Until they hone this skill at about eighteen months or so, you'll be largely responsible for getting the majority of the meal into your child's mouth. Even so, your child will surely want to join in the feeding process, and should be encouraged to join in, no matter how messy it gets. She may not be able to verbalize it, but a toddler's body language and crying fits will let you know that she wants to feed herself. Self-feeding builds a child's confidence and helps her practice her fine motor skills. As she matures, the connection between her brain and her body movements is enhanced, and her ability to self-feed markedly improves.

What's hot

  • Ending Toddler Bedtime Struggles ToddlersSimple Steps to Ending…
  • Refusing to Eat ToddlersTwo-Year-Old Refuses to Eat
  • toddler potty training ToddlersPotty Training Tips for When…
  • Where food comes from ToddlersGetting to Know Food
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.