While healthy foods keep toddlers in tiptop condition, healthy drinks are also very essential. Combining the two makes a toddler fit, helping him optimize his growth. But, not all drinks are nutritious to toddlers. Some of them lack what a toddler’s body requires for proper development. Thus, the need to be choosy when selecting the right drinks is imperative.

How can you tell which toddler drinks give ample vitamins and nutrients to your little one’s developing body? Evaluating nutrition labels might help but it can confuse you. Having a handy drink reference is more practical. Here is a guide to help you select which drinks are healthy and unhealthy for your child.

Healthy Toddler Drinks

Beverages Your Toddler Must Always Take

Water

Water is the most basic and the best beverage for your toddler. It plays a very important role – to make each of his body part function well. With all the physical activities your little one does on a day to day basis, drinking at least 10 to 20 glasses of water will keep him hydrated. Also, water makes his muscles work efficiently and lubricates his joints. Since it is an all-natural drink, it has no additives and contains fluoride which keeps cavities away.

If your toddler finds water too dull and bland, try serving a cold glass of water filled with ice cubes. You can also add a couple slices of lemon or any citrusy fruits to make water taste yummier. Or, you can get him a cup with a design of his favorite cartoon character. The vibrant color of the cup will make him interested to try out what is inside it.

Milk

Your toddler also needs a healthy dose of calcium, and milk is the number one toddler drink to give this nutrient. Milk has vitamin D which strongly builds teeth and bones. In addition, this toddler drink has age-appropriate vitamins and minerals that can completely nourish his overall development.

However, too much intake of milk can also cause side effects. For your little one, two to three daily servings of this dairy product is recommended. Anything more than that can slow down his appetite.

100% Real Fruit Juice

Contrary to popular belief that juice can make toddlers overweight, real fruit juices are actually a very good source of vitamin C which is essential in replenishing your child’s energy. Just make sure these juices are not made from artificial flavorings. Orange, apple, grapes, strawberry and mango fruit juices are good sources of vitamin B6, iron, magnesium and potassium, which helps strengthen his immune system. Let him drink his favorite fruit juice in a small cup at least once a day.

Beverages Your Toddler Must Take In Moderation

Sodas

Sodas contain a small serving of caffeine and refined sugar. While these beverages can cause tooth decay or increase your toddler’s sugar level, drinking sodas with restraint can be beneficial in boosting your toddler’s energy level especially when dehydrated. Since sweet drinks cannot be completely avoided, only let your toddler drink sodas if there is a special occasion, as his small treat for eating healthy for a whole week or during the family’s weekly DVD marathon.

Fruit Shakes

A friendlier alternative to sodas, fruit shakes are a much better beverage for satisfying your toddler’s sweet tooth. While it does contain milk and a small amount of sugar, the fruits used are all-natural which can supply nutrients to his body. Combine two kinds of fruit together, say a banana-mango or strawberry-apple fruit shake for a healthier drink.

Anything taken in moderation is safe. Let your toddler drink different kinds of child-friendly beverages to ensure he gets all the proper supplement he needs for his development.

Feeding toddlers can be challenging. Even more, a lot of parents find it complicated to teach their tots to eat healthy especially when junk food and sweets are so popular and readily accessible. A healthy diet is important in order to live long. Educating your toddler to eat appropriately is best done during this time since he is still eager to try out new foods. Teaching your little child correct healthy eating patterns to ensure a toddler healthy diet can be done in a few easy ways.

Toddler healthy diet is a must during this stage because it serves as the basis of how well his development is and whether or not he can function well. While fruits and vegetables are your tot’s number one enemy, helping them learn how to love them can be done by doing a few techniques.

How to Teach Your Child to Eat Healthy

Set An Example

What your child sees, he imitates. You are his role model and munching on fries, chocolates and junk foods all day long will only instil his mind that he can do the same. As the adult, you need to change your eating behavior. You have to show your tot that you enjoy eating healthy meals. Children learn from what they see so be a good example. You cannot expect your tot to practice what you preach when you yourself have poor eating habits.

Get The Family Involved

So now you have set a good example, but what about the others? It is not enough that he sees you eating fruits and vegetables if he sees his brother eat chips every day. Involve every family member in the household. Take meals equally. What you feed your tot the whole family needs to eat it as well.

Do Grocery Shopping Together

Your toddler will love the idea of accompanying you to the grocery store. It makes him feel like an adult since you allow him to select food for your home. Give your toddler the responsibility of picking out foods that are healthy. Give him a bag and let him pick out the beans, apples and oranges. In this way, he is encouraged to go through fruits, vegetables, snacks and drinks that provides proper body nourishment.

Cook Together

Having your toddler help you in the kitchen is fun for him. Involving him in preparing meals makes him curious and willing to try out the food you both cooked. Start out by assigning him to wash the vegetables. Then, you can assist him in peeling them. Let him do the mixing. To peak his interest more, concoct your own fruit shakes by combining different fruits together. Once meal time is ready, you will be sure that he tries out every single vegetable and fruit.

Have Him Pick Out Healthy Menus For The Week

Encourage your tot to assist you when planning healthy meals for the entire family. Ask him what veggies or fruits he likes. Be sure to include them in your meals. Once he sees his preference being served on everybody’s plate, most likely he can finish off food from his plate.

Visit A Farmer’s Market

Allow him to milk cows, collect eggs or pick out fruits from trees. By letting your toddler see where his food comes from, his interest is peaked making him more eager to try healthy foods.

Make Food Pyramid His Reference

Food pyramid is divided into different sections. To encourage him to eat healthy, have him cross out the food groups that he has already taken in. The remaining groups allow him to figure out what types of food he still needs to eat. Most likely, this will challenge him to complete the whole pyramid making him more willing to try them out.

Reward Him

While promoting healthy eating means you need to eat all the good food, it does not demand that sweets, chips and sodas are forbidden. Give your toddler a reward for a job well done. Say for example he finished eating his required servings of fruits and vegetables for the whole week. Come Sunday, you can treat him to burger and fries, a bar of chocolate or a glass of soda. In this way, your child learns that an occasional treat is good. Totally forbidding him with his indulgences only tempts him to eat poorly.

Healthy eating is all about balance. He needs to take good food for proper development and rewarding him once in a while makes him more determined to eat right.

Nutrition is vital for toddlers. When nourished well, proper toddler development is achieved. Almost everyone agrees that in order to get the best nutrition, breast milk must be taken by toddlers. Breastfeeding is the safest and most effective way to nurture your tot especially when he is a picky eater. Generally, this results to proper overall growth. Also, it serves as an effective shield eliminating allergies, diseases and sickness.

A mother’s milk contains vitamins and minerals that are not found in ordinary food. Since a toddler is too young to consume foods rich in nutrition, breastfeeding covers all bases of the toddler food pyramid. More so, it has been clinically proven that toddlers who were breast fed from infancy to ages one to three are more physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially fit.

In a toddler’s food pyramid, breastfeeding displays a lot of advantages. Here are some reasons as to why it is an essential part of a tot’s food pyramid:

Provides Complete Vitamins and Nutrients

A food pyramid is divided into different sections - proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Your toddler is too young to supply his delicate body with solid food. Thus, breastfeeding serves as an excellent alternative. It supplies just the right amount of nutrients for your child such as - protein is an essential balance in the food pyramid since this is the number one source of energy. Vitamin A serves as your toddler’s guard against infection. Vitamin B for building the muscles and strengthen the organs. While Vitamin D helps your tot grow in accordance with his age. It gives him calcium for the development of strong bones and teeth.

Strengthens Immune System

A toddler is not able to eat different foods in the food pyramid since this phase is very crucial. Picky eaters or loss of appetite is common hence the poor completion of the food pyramid. With breastfeeding, your toddler gets all the food he needs and is coupled with very rich nutrients that serves as antibodies for a stronger immune system making breast milk the number one food supplement to complete the food pyramid.

Balances Food Intake

Too much of something is bad. Admit it; your toddler does not want to eat all the food you offer him. He may prefer chips and sweets over vegetables. This is normal, but relying on these foods does not guarantee ample coverage of the food pyramid. With breastfeeding, every single nutrient needed by the body is given. So even though your child does not eat that much solid food, you are sure that he is completely nourished in every aspect of the food pyramid.

Improves Body Resistance From Sickness

During this time, your toddler can be too sensitive with the food he takes in. Allergies, infections and diseases can be found in foods like rice, dairy products or formula milk. Breastfeeding secures your tot against health conditions. It has an immunological system that safeguards the immune system minimizing serious risks like asthma, diabetes and respiratory viruses. Along with its antibodies, breastfeeding not only protects your toddler from illness but at the same time supplies him with all the nutrients needed for his age.

Breastfeeding is the primary source of a child’s nourishment. Even without solid food, breast milk covers every part of the food pyramid making it a highly recommended source of nutrition for toddlers.