Ever wondered what constitutes a ‘toddler portion’? Or found yourself confused about whether a fruit snack is good (because of the vitamins) or bad (because of the acid) for your child?
If this is you, then help is at hand, with the launch of a new toddler diet initiative, Little People’s Plates, by the Infant & Toddler Forum, in a bid to help parents work out just what they should be feeding their toddlers.
It aims to fill the information gap that arises when your little one hits toddlerhood. For example, as parents we are encouraged to teach our children to eat the same food as us, but what happens if you eat a lot of ready meals or takeaways? Should you let your toddler join in?
A poll for Little People’s Plates found that:
- 29% of children under three consume a takeaway at least once a week
- 19% of toddlers are fed takeaways or adult ready meals for most meals
- 23% munch crisps and 16% guzzle fizzy drinks almost every day
- Yet, 83% of the mums polled believed their child had a healthy, balanced diet
The Little People’s Plates project was organized by the Infant & Toddler Forum. One of the forum’s members, Dr Carina Venter, will be joining us on babyexpert.com for a LIVE webchat.
She’ll be answering questions on the subject Your toddler’s diet: what he should be eating between 12 noon and 1pm on Tuesday April 21. The chat will take place here.
Carina is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth where she is doing a Post Doctorate on Food Hypersensitivity and development of food preferences in children.
She also works as a Senior Dietitian at The David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre where she sees adult and paediatric patients, as well as taking part in research.
Carina is a member of the British Dietetic Association and is the UK representative of the American Overseas Dietetic Association.
She is also mum to Manzi (aged 3) and Daniel (10 months), so is used to dealing on a daily basis with the issues surrounding healthy eating in young children!
Join Carina on Tuesday April 21st, 12-1pm for our webchat on Your toddler's diet: what he should be eating. Click here to post your question.
