Real Mums
Sally Martin, Wraysbury
Son Dillen 20 months
"Meal times with Dillen are either a pleasure or a nightmare - and as he is a typical boisterous little boy, they can be very messy too! Up until a few months ago he'd eat pretty much anything and we never had any problems, but recently he has started to insist on feeding himself so I worry he's not actually eating enough as most of it tends to end up over him or the floor!
I've just muddled through mealtimes (after the weaning stage) using my own common sense to give him what I think is a balanced diet. Once you stop taking them to the clinic for weighing you're on your own really - I wouldn't bother the health visitors about feeding him, I've got a couple of books and meet other mums to share recipe ideas. If I get stuck, or we're going out and about, I get jars of baby food and toddler meals from the shops. I check the labels but am not really sure what I'm looking for - as long as they don't have lots of salt and sugar or preservatives I think they're fine alongside home cooked meals.
I cook him meals from scratch with jars of pasta sauce or curry sauce - his new favourite! I make things like ratatouille and spaghetti bolognaise because they do say you can feed them like the rest of the family now. I just don't add extra salt. On a typical day he'll have Weetabix for breakfast, ratatouille and pasta for lunch with a fromage frais or yoghurt, and a ham and cheese omelette for dinner with fruit afterwards.
He's a strong-willed little boy and even though I have the best intentions to get lots of fruit and vegetables in his diet, the reality is you can't force them to eat what they don't want. I will give him hot dogs and fish fingers that might not be great for him, but it's because I know he'll eat them. But if he doesn't eat his meals I try not to stress and just give him extra snacks until the next meal.
When I work, three days a week, he is looked after by his grandparents and I expect they give him a few too many 'treats' but what can you do? He does eat crisps, sweets and biscuits, but I do try and keep them to a minimum. I offer him fruit, cheese and breadsticks for snacks too. There's nothing wrong with a little treat though.
He's so curious about food that he insists on trying anything we're eating too - so he has tried takeaways if we're having them. He's had Indian, Chinese, pizza, burgers and chips, but he's not old enough to eat a whole takeaway meal yet."
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How lovely that some meals with Dillon are a pleasure and that he is feeding himself so keenly. He will be developing a good positive relationship with his food. The mess will get less as he becomes more adept. You sound as if you know exactly what a good balanced combination of foods is.
If he doesn't eat at a meal time then that is probably because he isn't hungry - you are right not to stress - just wait for the next planned snack or meal time when he will be more hungry unless you have given extra snacks in between.
Grandparents do tend to use food as treats which is unfortunate as too many can add extra unnecessary calories filling toddlers up with foods that are not very nutritious. Try talking to them and ask them to give any small treats as part of the meal -for instance a few chocolate buttons along with fresh fruit slices or a yogurt makes a nice pudding for a toddler.
Hot dogs and fish fingers are fine for him as long as you choose hot dogs with a high meat content and fish fingers that have lots of fish and less of the coating. Fish fingers are very easy to make yourself using some fish fillet, a whisked egg and some breadcrumbs. They will have less fat and salt than the packet ones and the rest of the family will enjoy them too.
As you are giving him the pasta and curry sauces you buy, you need to keep a check on the salt and fat content of these sauces. Look for sauces that are low in salt and sodium. This means the label will say there is less than 0.1g sodium or 0.3g salt per 100g sauce. Look for sauces with a low fat content. The label should say less then 3g fat per 100g sauce.
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