How To Help Toddlers Enjoy Meals?

Getting toddlers to sit still to eat—and then try new foods at that—is, to put it gently, not always easy. 

With the feeding specialists from Solid Starts, find tips on how to introduce new foods, respond to picky eating, and how to get toddlers to sit at the table.

Getting Toddlers to Try New Foods

1. Reframe “Try it” to “What will this taste like?”

Taste is an exploratory word. It engages curiosity. The phrase “try it” begs the child to think: yes or no. Many kids default to “no.” We want to avoid the tendency to immediately judge the food and instead just focus on its characteristics: “That was crunchy” or “That tasted sweet.”

2. Game: Make a perfect bite

Have a competition with your child to build the perfect bite. Select your own favorite combination of foods to put on your fork and describe why you love that combo: “I like a teeny bit of butter, a medium splash of syrup, and a big bite of pancake, because to me it’s just the right amount of sweet and the pancake isn’t too soft. What’s your perfect bite?” Encourage the child to build their perfect bite and explain why they like it.

3. Complete a task 

Engage a child’s natural desire to learn with a task like cutting a food, stirring it, scooping it, pouring it from one bowl to another, or adding another food ingredient to the first food. These aren’t cooking tasks but activities that can happen at the table during the meal. You can ask your child to help you put a small serving of each food on every family member’s plate, or tell them “I forgot to add the dressing to the salad. Can you help me pour and stir it in?”

4. Embellish with sprinkles 

Classic confectionary sprinkles are a fun addition to any dish—even savory foods. Extend the definition of sprinkles to include foods like shredded cheese, shredded coconut, diced nuts, sesame seeds, chocolate chips, chia seeds or breadcrumbs. Let your child choose the sprinkle topping for the meal and put it on their own food.

Helping Them Taste Protein And Vegetables

1. Serve the foods, even if you don’t think they will eat them. 

It’s easy to get into a rut serving the same foods you know the child will eat and avoiding vegetables or proteins you’re sure they will refuse. But, the child will never taste or learn to eat the foods you don’t serve. Serve as many different meats and vegetables as you can, prepared in as many ways as possible, as often as you can. As always, keep any pressure to taste or eat the food low. Simply put the food on the table, and it’ll be available if your child shows interest.

2. Make it easy

Try offering easier-to-chew proteins or soft-cooked vegetables so the child can successfully eat the food while not working as hard to chew and break down the food. You can grind meat into meatballs, cook meat and veggies in a stew, or mash beans into bean dips or hummus.

3. Veggies and dip snack

Offer veggies away from the table when the pressure to eat is very low. Serve a veggie snack plate around 3-4 p.m. Include a dip like hummus, ranch, peanut butter, or even chocolate sauce or ketchup. Show the child how to dip the veggies. They might just play—that’s okay. No need to offer daily; once in a while is great.

4. Make-your-own sandwich bar

This fun construction task allows the child to make unique creations. Salty meats like ham, pastrami, or salami are often more readily accepted but offer lots of choices and options for them to explore.

Managing Toddlers at the Table

1. Exercise right before the meal

Sitting for any period of time is challenging for a toddler, especially when we ask them to leave preferred activities—toys! games! tablet!—to sit with the family for a meal. Before coming to the table, spend 10 minutes “shaking the sillies out” to provide the body with a big release of energy. Try 10 minutes of any exercise, like having a dance party, doing animal impersonations, or running around outside. 

2. Bring the child to the table hungry

A full child is unlikely willing to sit for very long at the table. Most toddlers are on a schedule where they eat three meals and two snacks per day, about every three hours. Make sure the toddler doesn’t have a snack or giant glass of milk or breast/chestfeed for 1.5 hours before asking them to sit down at the table.

3. Serve the meal right away once the child is in the chair

A toddler’s attention span is not very long, and it’s even shorter if tired or hungry. Knowing that your toddler is unlikely to stay in the chair very long, do not bring them to the table until the meal is prepared and ready to eat. If you need a few extra minutes, offer a quick “appetizer” of crunchy veggies to tide them over.

4. Make the table a place they want to be

Channel a dinner party vibe and make the table fun. Have them help pick background music, cheers your drinks, and tell funny stories and jokes during the meal.

Handling Food Refusal

1. Addressing food refusals

Handling food refusal is similar to encouraging a child to continue trying a sport or activity they are unsure about. Imagine signing up your child for t-ball but when you show up for the first practice, they refuse, saying that they don’t want to play. You can accept their refusal (no forcing) but also take active steps to help them reconsider. While yes, you want to respect their autonomy, remember: You’ve lived longer and have a lot more knowledge about what is healthy. 

How do you address refusals without engaging in a battle?
- Make sure they are hungry at the right times and set consistent mealtime schedules and routines.
- Limit distractions at the table and away from the table.
- Eat with your child, sharing same or similar foods.
- Manage the refusal in the moment.

2. Resetting hunger and fullness rhythms

Sticking to a mealtime schedule is one of the most important steps to combat food refusals because it helps the child establish hunger and fullness rhythms. For a child to eat well at the table, they need predictable periods throughout the day where they are not eating or sipping calorie-rich drinks like milk, smoothies, or juice. Hunger and fullness rhythms help kids understand when and why they should eat, motivate food intake at meals, and teach when to stop eating.

3. Eat with your child, sharing same or similar foods

Believe it or not, eating with a toddler and eating the same foods can prevent food refusal. Having a family meal and sharing food is a fun modeling experience and key to bringing a toddler to the table happy. The sociality of mealtime helps lower stress, increase hunger drive, and encourage food exploration.

4. Increase interest away from the table

If food refusals become a consistent issue, consider ways to involve the child in food prep. Research shows that cooking with a child increases their interest in food and can improve picky eating. Engage them with small tasks such as sprinkling or smashing, or show them  how to wash fruits and vegetables at the sink or in a bowl at a table