Feeding Young Children

Feeding Your Baby

Health Canada’s Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants: Recommendations from Birth to 6 Months recommends exclusive breastfeeding/chestfeeding for the first 6 months, and up to 2 years or longer with appropriate complementary feeding. If it is not possible to breastfeed/chestfeed, commercial infant formula is the only alternative to ensure a baby is getting the nutrients they need until they are eating a variety of solid foods. 

You can find more information about breastfeeding/chestfeeding on our Lactation, Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding page.

For a comprehensive guide to formula feeding, take a peek at Best Start’s booklet (PDF). Aussi disponible en français (PDF). For a briefer guide, check out our Tips for Making and Feeding Infant Formula (PDF) handout.

 

Look for these signs of readiness before introducing complementary food to your 6-month-old infant:

  • Able to hold head up
  • Sits up in a high chair and can lean forward
  • Turns face away when they are full
  • Closes lips over the spoon
  • Can pick up food and try to put it in their mouth

Many parents worry about feeding their baby. Which foods should they introduce first? Is their child getting enough of the nutrients they need to grow? The following resource may help you feel more relaxed about feeding your baby, and answer some of your questions: Feeding Your Baby - From 6 months to 1 Year (PDF).

 

(Note: For a PDF version of the information below, download Feeding Young Children (PDF))

Meal and Snack Routines are Important

  • Offer three meals and two to three snacks each day
  • Leave two and a half to three hours between meals and snacks
  • Offer only water between meals and snacks to help encourage a good appetite

 

Children Eat Best When... 

The parent or caregiver decides:

  • Where to eat – seated at the table for meals and snacks
  • When to eat – keep to the meal and snack routine. Avoid extra snacking
  • What to offer – be mindful of their likes but do not cater to them

The child decides:

  • Which foods to eat – from the foods you offer
  • How much to eat – trust their tummy. They will eat the right amount for their growth and activity needs

 

You are a Role Model and Have an Impact

  • Take the time to enjoy mealtimes together
  • Offer your child the same foods that you eat
  • Serve foods family-style so they can pick which foods and how much from what is on the table
  • Have pleasant conversation and avoid talking about how much or little they eat
  • Put away toys and electronics (cell phones, tablets, TV) so the focus is on eating
  • Your child may be messy when they eat. With time and practice, it will get better

 

Remember that your child will eat best if:

  • Mealtimes are relaxed
  • They do not feel pressured to eat
  • Foods are easy to eat without help 
  • They are allowed to stop eating or leave the table when they are full

 

Meal Plan Using Canada's Food Guide:

  • Use the Food Guide plate to plan meals and snacks
  • Include foods from all food groupings (vegetables and fruit, whole grains and protein foods)
  • Include a vegetable or fruit (or both) at meals and snacks and choose ones with different textures, colours and shapes
  • Flavour food with herbs and spices instead of salt or sugar
  • Offer small portions of easy to chew foods
  • If your child does not eat what you offered, do not go back to the kitchen to get other food

 

Iron is Important for Growth and Development

  • Offer iron-rich foods two to three times each day 
  • Iron-rich foods include:
    • Legumes (kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas)
    • Soy products (tofu, edamame)
    • Eggs
    • Beef, dark meat chicken, turkey, pork, fish
    • Iron-fortified cereals
  • Vitamin C (vegetables, fruit) helps absorb iron
  • More than three cups (24 ounces or 750 mL) of milk can cause iron levels to go down

 

Some Foods Are Choking Risks

Avoid:

  • Hard, small and round foods (whole grapes, raw carrots, apples, nuts, fruit with pits, hot dogs)
  • Smooth and sticky foods (nut butter by spoon)

Make these foods safer:

  • Cook and chop these foods
  • Thinly spread peanut and nut butters

 

Baby Teeth Are Important 

  • Help your child brush their teeth twice a day and floss once a day
  • Help your child rinse their teeth with water when it is not possible to brush
  • Take your child to their first dental visit by their first birthday. Routine check-ups are important

 

Drinks Matter

Milk

  • Continue to breastfeed/chestfeed for as long as you and your child want
  • If breastmilk/chestmilk is offered, give a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU daily until two years
  • If your child’s milk source is not breastmilk/chestmilk, offer 3.25% M.F. cow’s milk. At two years, switch to skim, 1% or 2% M.F.
  • Your child only needs two cups (16 ounces or 500 mL) of milk each day
  • Offer ½ cup (four ounces or 125 mL) servings

Water and other beverages

  • Offer water when your child is thirsty
  • It is best to avoid juice and other beverages
  • By 18 months, offer all beverages by open cup

 

For Further Information

  • For more information or additional nutrition resources and videos, visit unlockfood.ca
  • To speak to a registered dietitian at no cost, call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.
  • To assess your child's eating, visit nutritionscreen.ca and complete Nutri-eSTEP for toddlers or preschoolers.
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