From two to three years of age, meals more and more resemble those of adults. At this age, it is important to educate baby in good dietary practices and to lay the foundations for a balanced diet. You will also be his model in this matter! And if your child is difficult at the table, rest assured: it shouldn’t last!

At two years old, a child’s teeth allow him to chew food and his digestive tract is completely mature, which allows him to consume the same foods as adults.

But despite this, up to 3 years your baby’s nutritional needs remain specific to meet his physiological peculiarities. Their meals must therefore remain appropriate and perfectly balanced to ensure the good growth of the young child. The latter has a higher requirement of iron, calcium and fat than an adult in relation to his body weight, but his protein and sodium (salt) requirements are much lower.

From 24 months, your child begins to be relatively independent. The meal becomes a highlight of the day and you will be sure to sit down with your family as often as possible. The child acts a lot by mimicry and will develop good habits at the table when you too see you eat everything and take pleasure in eating. Meals are pleasant moments, when your little one will take the opportunity to fine-tune their coordination by eating alone like a grown-up. It is also the perfect opportunity to discuss all together! On the plate, pieces of medium size but with a melting texture follow the very small pieces. And to awaken baby’s taste, you can add spices, herbs and all kinds of aromatics to give more flavor to meals: curry, paprika, saffron, Provence herbs, parsley, dill, coriander, basil, chives by example and even, in a moderate way, garlic, shallot and onion.

Of course, you will continue to offer 4 meals a day to your child without ever neglecting the snack, essential to distribute the nutritional contributions over the day and restore energy to your child while waiting for the evening meal.

At two years old, the priority is twofold: to ensure the growth of your child and to introduce him to the basics of a varied and balanced diet. For that, you have to offer him everything (or almost, of course!) Without ever forcing him.

The only restrictions are as follows:

• Avoid offering cold cuts or fried foods more than once a week
• Avoid sugary drinks that have no nutritional value.
• Avoid prepared meals, the composition of which is absolutely not suitable for toddlers.

Proteins

Regarding proteins – meat, fish and eggs – also take care to adapt the quantities well because baby is not a small adult: dose well 30 g of protein per day only. You can therefore serve meat, fish or egg for lunch or dinner depending on what is most convenient for you. But if your child goes to nursery or if he is looked after by a nanny, think that he has most certainly already had his portion of protein at midday, so no need to rest him in the evening, otherwise you will clearly exceed the intakes. advised. On the days when you make all the meals, remember to vary between white or red meats, fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, trout, salmon, etc.) and less fatty, always favoring small fish because they contain less mercury. And if you have an egg on the menu, serve only half of it to your child (white + yellow).

Fruits and vegetables

The vegetables should always be well cooked through and the fruit very ripe to facilitate digestion. But make sure to always offer your baby a small portion of raw vegetables per day: cucumber, carrot, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, salad, etc. Even if he eats very little because raw vegetables are rarely appreciated before 3 years old, everything is to offer him. Ideally, fruits and vegetables will be chosen according to the seasons to benefit from all their nutritional virtues: vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.

Starchy foods

Regarding starchy foods, no restrictions for your child. He certainly loves potatoes, pasta and rice, but also consider giving him a regular taste of other sources of complex carbohydrates: sweet potato, semolina, corn, bulgur, quinoa, Ebly® wheat and don’t forget precious legumes rich in iron and Vitamin B9: lentils, split peas, white and red beans. Your child is certainly also a big fan of bread! Opt for real bread and avoid sandwich bread which is not of great nutritional interest even when it is complete: choose classic bread, wholemeal or better yet, multi-grain bread.

Dairy products

If your child is bottle-fed, it is important to continue to offer growth milk until he is 3 years old. This milk is in fact 6000 times richer in precious essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) essential for baby’s brain development. It is also very rich in zinc, Vitamins A and E as well as calcium and Vitamin D, essential for bone growth. But above all, even if its interest is not unanimous among health professionals, growth milk has an undeniable advantage: it is 23 times richer in iron than cow’s milk. A precious virtue when we know that a child’s diet, however diverse it may be, is not enough to cover his iron needs. In practice, the two-year-old should in fact eat 3 times more meat than the recommended intakes, which would inevitably lead to an excess of protein which would tire his fragile kidneys.

This is why, to ensure the optimal neurological development of your child, it is necessary to continue to give him growth milk, until he blows out his third candle. He will drink about 500 ml per day. For dairy products such as yoghurts, you can opt from time to time for sheep or goat yogurts, possibly for cow yogurt, but note that specific dairy products for babies over one year old are made with milk. growth milk and are even more suitable for baby’s needs.

If you really want to stop infant milk, opt in this case for whole cow’s milk (red cap) rather than the traditional semi-skimmed milk (blue cap) because it is richer in fatty acids, vitamins A, D and K. On the other hand, avoid vegetable drinks (oats, spelled, soya, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.), the intakes of which are far too far from the needs of young children.

In everyday life, everything is not always simple although you try to do the best to offer your child meals, admittedly simple, but balanced. So of course, the little things (fries, cookies, candies, appetizer cakes, etc.) are part of the life of the majority of families. And let’s be honest: so much the better! Because the important thing is to keep a certain flexibility towards your child, as well as for you. The key is to ensure that these pleasure meals remain punctual.

The basic rules

Here are some tips to give you the right eating habits for your child:

• Set aside special moments, such as festive meals, so that your child will realize the exceptional nature of this meal and appreciate it for its true value.
• Avoid sweet desserts (dessert cream, ice cream, cookies) but always offer your child the choice between fruit and dairy products at the end of the meal – preferably plain, to which you may add a little sugar or honey, for example.
• Continue to cook baby food without fat but add a teaspoon of oil before serving. Ideally, opt for a ready-made mixture of 4 oils that you will find in supermarkets: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds.
• Remember that water is the only drink baby needs: avoid sugary drinks, including light drinks, to avoid getting him used to the taste of sugar.
• Always offer your child fruits and vegetables at every meal, even if they don’t always eat them.
• Set up a snack during the day. You will thus avoid the bad habit of snacking between meals, from early childhood.

Meals

In theory, your child’s energy intake (calories) should be distributed throughout the day as follows:

• Breakfast: 25%
• Lunch: 30%
• Afternoon tea: 15%
• Dinner: 30%

The breakfast

Breakfast is absolutely necessary for the toddler and even after. It should be a real meal both to raise blood sugar after a long night’s sleep and at the same time to replenish energy for the whole morning. So don’t hesitate to wake up your child 15 minutes earlier and prepare the table the night before, if time is of the essence in the morning. A good breakfast will benefit him more than a quarter of an hour of sleep that he can make up for during the day, by going to bed earlier in the evening for example. However, do not hesitate to prepare your child before offering him his first meal of the day because some children need time in the morning to feel the sensation of hunger and wake up well before sitting down to the table.

For a balanced breakfast, you will offer your child his usual bottle of milk, preferably growth, unless you are still breastfeeding, of course. Then, a slice of bread with butter or jam as well as a piece of fruit (preferably fresh or possibly in the form of compote for busy mornings).

Lunch and dinner

For lunch and dinner, take care, when possible, to sit down with your child and eat the same meal as him or her. Because from now on, he can eat like an adult, provided of course that your meal is balanced. Always prepare beautiful colored plates, possibly with two containers for the meal: in one you will have either some raw vegetables (once a day) or soup, and in the other a complete meal with vegetables, starches and the portion of meat, fish or egg. However, be careful not to exceed 30 g of protein per day. For the evening, if you feel your child tired, you can however opt for a simple puree or a soup, which will require less effort to eat it. You will always end up offering your child a piece of fruit or dairy and every now and then a serving of cheese.

Afternoon tea

The snack is a real moment of pleasure for the children. Take the opportunity to give him good habits and avoid systematically offering cakes or pastries for example. Reserve nice surprises for your child because if a fruit (possibly in the form of compote, or even a compote to drink) as well as a dairy product are ideal, you can also offer him a slice of bread with a square of good quality chocolate or again a smoothie or a milkshake when you are at home, especially on weekends. Soft or dried fruits are also quite suitable, but also think of the eternal combination toast of bread + jam with a large glass of milk which is often a great success.

Here is an example of a typical eating day for your 24 month old. Of course, the quantities are given as an indication, and are to be adapted, according to the appetite of your child.

• Breakfast:

Breastfeeding or bottle 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Bread + butter or jam

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable or possibly in a compote

• Lunch:

Raw vegetables *: 2 tbsp. to s.

Optional: dressing

Vegetables in small pieces + unmixed but well cooked starches + 1 tsp. to c. oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): about 200 g – to be adapted according to your appetite

30 g of protein **: 6 tbsp. to c. meat or fish or 1/2 hard-boiled egg (white + yellow)

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable OR dairy (preferably infant milk)

• To taste :

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable + dairy, ideally with infant milk (yogurt, petits-suisse or fromage blanc)

OR Toast of bread + jam (or good quality square of chocolate) + glass of milk

• Dinner:

Vegetables in small pieces or mashed + starches + 1 tbsp. to c. of oil (ideally: mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Rapeseed, Oléisol, Grape seeds): 130 to 200 g depending on your appetite.

Fresh fruit, preferably chewable OR dairy (preferably infant milk)

Breastfeeding or bottle of 240 ml of growth milk with weakly mineralized water

Optional: Infant cereals (in the bottle)

* raw vegetables can be offered for lunch or dinner

** proteins (meat, fish or egg) can be given at noon or in the evening. The important thing is not to exceed the recommended amount of 30g of protein per day.

From 18 months, baby asserts his choices and preferences, a completely normal and essential stage for his development. At 2 years old, your child can suddenly be more difficult at mealtime: he does not like novelty and sometimes even refuses to eat.

In this case, be patient and encourage him when he agrees to take a bite of a new food. This period will not last and your child will certainly pose less difficulty at the table in a few short weeks.

In practice, it is better to serve it again than to force it to finish its plate and remember that the food structure given above is not a dogma! In short: relieve guilt! Especially since the food balance is assessed over the week and not over a meal. If your child ate little at one meal, he will most certainly catch up with the next one. So as long as her growth and weight charts are correct, there is no need to worry!

But do not give up so far: continue to offer him a variety of foods – including those he refuses – in different forms. Without forcing it, persevere because studies have shown that a new food always ends up being accepted after ten or fifteen presentations on average: psychologists call this “the phenomenon of repeated exposure”!

And if your child prefers to drink his milk from a bowl rather than a bottle, or says he only likes diced carrots and not sliced ​​for example, do not enter into a confrontation at the risk of pointing him out for a longer or longer period. less long. Be flexible because in the end, the important thing is that your child eats, in the most relaxed atmosphere possible, for you and for him!