Toddler Not Eating? Meals, Portions and Routine from 1 to 3 Years

They pushed away the tagine, spat out the courgette, asked for bread, then for their bottle of milk. At 18 months they devoured everything; at 2 years they sort. Grandma worries, suggests spoon-feeding them in front of a cartoon, and you wonder whether your toddler who isn't eating is really eating enough.

In the vast majority of cases, yes. Between 1 and 3 years, appetite changes and wariness of new foods sets in. Here are the guidelines to know what is normal, organise their meals and defuse battles at the table.

Why they eat less after age 1

Because they are growing more slowly. Around age 1, the pace of growth slows and appetite can drop or vary from day to day, explains the Quebec guide Mieux vivre avec notre enfant, published by the INSPQ. Your child is also more interested in exploring and playing than in eating. As long as they are in good form, cheerful and developing normally, there is no reason to worry.

The UK's NHS sums it up in one sentence: an active child who is gaining weight and seems well is eating enough. The final judge is their weight and height curve, followed at every paediatrician visit, not what is on a plate.

What meal routine between 1 and 3 years?

From age 1, a child has their three meals with the family and probably needs one or two snacks (INSPQ). The World Health Organization (WHO) provides, up to age 2, for 3 to 4 meals a day and 1 to 2 snacks as needed. The NHS sets a clear limit: two healthy snacks a day are enough.

This framework matters more than it seems. A child who grazes all day, biscuits in the buggy or pieces of bread on the go, arrives at the table without hunger. The NHS also advises not waiting until they are starving or overtired to get them to eat. To put together balanced snacks, take inspiration from our snack ideas for the week.

What amounts and portions?

Small ones. The INSPQ recommends serving small portions so as not to discourage them, even if it means giving seconds, and adapting the amount to their tastes and appetite. At each meal, offer foods from at least three of the four groups: vegetables and fruit, starchy foods, protein, milk and dairy products.

Whole milk is still advised: whole dairy foods are recommended up to age 2, and skimmed milk is not suitable as a main drink before age 5 (NHS). No salt is added to their share: most foods already contain enough (NHS).

Food neophobia: when they refuse everything new

Between 2 and 5 years, many children become cautious about foods they don't know. It is a normal stage of learning, called food neophobia, the NHS Somerset paediatric therapy service reminds us. The little one who swallowed everything at 15 months may suddenly refuse the tomato or couscous they used to like.

The answer is repeated exposure, without pressure. Sometimes a food has to be offered at least ten times before it is accepted, according to the French Society of Paediatrics (SFP). A child tames a food in stages: they look at it, smell it, touch it with their fingers or fork, lick it, then taste it. Every stage counts, even if they don't swallow it.

• Serve the new food next to one they like, in a small amount.
• Eat it yourself, with enjoyment: eating as a family exposes them to a wide variety of foods.
• Involve them in preparing it: washing vegetables, mixing the dough, setting the table.
• Change the presentation: the NHS gives the example of raw grated carrot, sometimes better accepted than cooked.

What helps at the table, and what makes it worse

Some very natural reactions keep the refusal going. The SFP advises against rewarding or punishing a child according to what they eat, and against making up for a refused meal with a dessert or a snack. The NHS adds not to use food as a reward, and to praise your child when they eat, even a little.

What helps:

• regular times and a meal taken seated, at the table, with you;
• a child sitting at the right height, on a booster seat or in their chair, with cutlery suited to their hand to eat on their own;
• patience with slow little eaters (NHS).

What makes it worse: the forced spoon, blackmail with dessert and threats.

Screens at the table: why to switch them off

The cartoon that makes them open their mouth "without realising" is a false solution. The INSPQ recommends avoiding distractions during meals, such as electronic devices and toys.

More broadly, the WHO recommends no sedentary screen time at age 1, and no more than one hour a day at age 2, adding that less is better. Our full guidelines are in our article on screens and young children.

Moroccan meal ideas for toddlers

Moroccan family cooking suits the meals of 1 to 3 year olds very well, as long as you take their share before the salt and stock cube, and cut foods into suitable pieces.

• Breakfast: raïb (Moroccan fermented milk) or plain yoghurt with mashed fruit, bread and scrambled egg, or plain baghrir (semolina pancakes), with no honey or added sugar.
• Lunch: vegetable and chicken tagine, vegetable couscous with mashed chickpeas, or fish with chermoula and potatoes.
• Snack: a seasonal fruit and a dairy food, or a slice of bread with cheese.
• Dinner: lightly salted harira taken out before seasoning, bissara (split-pea soup), loubia (white bean stew) or a vegetable omelette.

Sugar is limited and kept to mealtimes, without offering any before bed; dried fruit, such as dates, is given with meals rather than for grazing (NHS), cut into small pieces. Tea, even weak, and fizzy drinks are not suitable for young children (NHS). On drinks, our article on water for children takes stock. And to follow their progress at this age, see our portrait of the 2-year-old.

From the shop

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