When your child is two years old, your child should eat three healthy meals a day, plus one or two snacks. He can already eat the same food as other family members eat. With better speaking skills and social skills, he will be more active when eating together with other people. Don't get hung up on the amount of food your child has to eat and never force it. Adopt healthy eating habits and provide healthy food choices for all family members. Eating with family is the beginning of good eating habits.
Fortunately, your child is becoming relatively more skilled at this point. By the time he was two, he could use a spoon and drink from a cup with only one hand and feed himself a variety of foods using his fingers. Even if he can eat properly, he still needs to learn to chew and swallow efficiently, and can choke on food when he is in a hurry to continue playing. To avoid the risk of choking, the following foods that can clog your throat need to be avoided
- Sausage (unless sliced lengthwise, then cut into small pieces)
- Whole beans (especially peas)
- Lollipops, hard candy or chewing gum
- Whole grapes
- A spoonful of peanut butter
- Whole raw carrots
- Whole cherries with seeds
- Raw celery
- Marshmallow
Ideally, make sure your child eats the following four basic food groups every day:
- Meat, fish, poultry, eggs
- Milk, cheese and other dairy products
- Fruits and vegetables
- Wheat cereals, potatoes, rice, starch products
Don't worry if he doesn't always meet his ideal dietary needs. Many preschoolers refuse to eat certain foods, or insist for a long time eating only one or two of their favorite foods. The more you force your child to eat, the more resistant he will be to you. As we said before, if you regularly offer your little one a variety of foods and let him choose his own food, over time he will eat a balanced diet. He may be more interested in healthy food if he can eat it with his own hands. If possible, offer him foods that can be eaten by hand (for example, fresh fruit or raw or cooked vegetables in addition to carrots and celery), not delicacies that require a fork or spoon to eat.
Vitamin supplements (except for vitamin D or iron) are rarely needed for preschoolers who eat a varied diet. However, additional iron may be needed if your child eats a small amount of iron-rich meats, cereals, or vegetables. But remember, drinking large amounts of milk (more than 960 ml per day) can interfere with iron absorption, thereby increasing the risk of iron deficiency. Your child should drink 16 ounces (480 ml) of low-fat or non-fat milk each day. This portion of milk will provide most of the calcium he needs for bone growth and does not interfere with his appetite for other foods, especially foods that contain iron.
A vitamin D supplement of 400 IU per day is important for children who are exposed to irregular sunlight, consume milk with less than 32 ounces of vitamin D per day, or are not taking a daily multivitamin supplement that contains at least 400 IU of vitamin D. this can prevent rickets.
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