Toddlers love to snack. They don’t mind nibbling on small meals all day, every day. As much as snacking can be healthy, too much of it will have a huge impact on the meal intake through the day. Here are 3 mistakes to avoid from now.
1. Eating round the clock
Toddlers are professional snackers! However, if they are left to nibble all day, they won’t be hungry at meal times and this often leads to picky eating or total loss of interest in food. It can also make them develop the habit of mindless eating. Schedule snack time. Mid-morning or mid-afternoon schedule will help your child understand the difference between meal time and snack time and also this reduces the chances of them playing with food as they know and opportunity lost is not coming back.
2. Snacking before mealtime
If it’s almost mealtime, avoid snack at all cost. Snacking before meal time will not only fill their tummy but also dull their appetite for food.
3. Mixing up “snacks” with ‘treats”
Ensure they snacks you offer are the same kinds of food you serve at mealtimes, like fruits, veggies, carrots, boiled eggs, yoghurt, milk, bread, plantain, muffins etc. Treats are therefore occasional foods, usually very appealing and delicious but sadly often rating poorly on the nutrition scale, being high in fat, salt and sugar. Treats are the chocolates, fizzy drinks and so on.
Also read:What Parents Need To Know About Sugar Consumption For Kids
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