Toddler FAQs

As exciting it can be to witness how babies become toddlers, it does come with a whole new set of challenges at the table. Our Toddler Bundle has everything you need to navigate the toddler years with grace.

When do I need to stop bottle feeding/formula/nursing?

Although it may seem very straightforward, this decision is complex. The governing medical bodies (AAP, WHO, CDC) vary in their recommendations. Most medical providers agree that sometime between 12-18 months, most toddlers no longer need nutritional support from human milk or formula. However, most toddlers benefit from continued support as they gain efficiency and success with chewing and managing a wide range of table foods.

By 2 years, most toddlers are completely weaned from bottles and formula, and chest/breast feeding is supplemental and encouraged as enjoyed by lactating parent and child. If you continue breast/chest feeding, consider whether nursing impacts the child’s hunger for table food and implement a fluid schedule around milk feeds and mealtimes, as needed.

See our article Weaning Breast/Chest Feeds & Bottles for more.

My toddler doesn't eat enough

While we may think we know when our child eats enough or doesn't, the only person with access to the child's hunger cues is the child. As parents and caregivers, we must respect the child’s hunger and satiety cues—even if we suspect they are wrong—and allow them to live with the natural consequences that may occur—i.e., hunger.

We can control three things:

The child controls if they eat and how much.

Children will make mistakes—under-eating or overeating— but making mistakes is an important part of the learning process. If you suspect your child did not eat enough, consider asking: "Have you checked in with your belly to make sure it had enough to eat?" and leave it at that. If they request a snack soon after, remind them that food is not available right now, and say: "I wonder if you are feeling hungry because you didn't fill your belly enough during lunch?"  

Forcing, encouraging, or making a child eat a certain amount will either:

My toddler hates meat/always spits out meat

Meat is a challenging texture, even for toddlers with more advanced eating skills. It’s not uncommon for toddlers to spit out meat because it's harder to chew.

My toddler only eats one thing on the plate, ignores other foods, and asks for more. 

Continuing to re-fill their favorite foods when they haven't eaten other foods on the plate will not encourage them to explore less preferred or new foods. Serving the preferred food may decrease any initial anxiety around the meal, but when this serving is consistently re-filled, you remove the hunger motivation for the child to try anything else on the plate.

It is our strong professional opinion as feeding therapists to hold a boundary here:

Check out our guide on Handling Toddler Food Refusals for more. 

My toddler hates the high chair

It is common for toddlers, even as young as 12 months, to decide that the high chair is no longer for them. Consider the following:

Check out the High Chair Transitions guide for more guidance, step-by-step recommendations on transitioning chairs, and scripts to manage toddler high chair issues. 

Are weaning tables good for babies and toddlers?

Weaning tables or low-rise tables made specifically for toddlers can be a great way to build independence, provide a safe place for a child to sit for play activities, and serve as an age-appropriate place for meals for kids older than 18-24 months who understand basic safety rules (i.e., Food stays at the table.).

While weaning tables are suitable and can be safe, they can also prevent valuable modeling that happens at the family table; consider reserving toddler tables for snack time and keep primary meals at the family table. Opportunities to sit independently during the day may be enough for a climbing or wiggly toddler to sit happily in their seat for family mealtimes. Check out our High Chair Transitions guide for more in-depth guidance.

My toddler throws food

Food throwing, although very irritating, is typical, developmentally normal toddler mealtime behavior. Consider the following when a toddler is throwing food:

See the article Throwing Food or our guide How to Stop Throwing & Unwanted Behaviors for more.

How do I know if my toddler is picky or if they are just a typical toddler? 

Mealtimes with toddlers can be challenging to say the least.

Toddlers go through a phase of neophobia, or fear of new foods, that can last a few years, which makes them much more hesitant to explore new foods than they were in infancy. They also have a slowing growth rate compared to infancy (and therefore less hunger) and a strong drive to practice new skills of moving around, testing boundaries, and being in control. All these things can contribute to a phase of less-than-ideal eating and new refusals at the table that look a lot like picky eating. This is considered toddler selectivity, and caution parents from treating this like true picky eating, as strategies used for treating true picky eating can often prolong and worsen toddler selectivity.

Picky eating, which takes toddler selectivity to a new level, tends to be related to underlying issues like anxiety or fear around food and/or meals, sensory processing, or developmental delay. Children who exhibit true picky eating behaviors need slow, consistent change and challenges, balanced with love, some additional accommodation, and support scaffolding to learn to tolerate a typical mealtime environment and explore new foods. This level of support tends to be too much for typically developing selective toddlers and may worsen behavior and rigidity, preventing them from making progress.

It's likely true picky eating if your toddler…

See Is my child a picky eater? Toddler Selectivity vs Picky Eating for more.

My toddler refuses meals and then begs to nurse or will nurse at any time

This is a challenging yet common occurrence with toddlers who continue to chest/breast feed. Your child has had more than a year of practice nursing—it's a fast, efficient way to fill their belly, requires minimal work, and is a quiet, calming bonding activity in a busy toddler world. Chewing and swallowing are still developing skills requiring work and patience.

We are firm supporters of continued nursing for as long as the child and lactating parent desire, but some gentle boundaries may be needed if nursing interferes with eating nourishing table foods, which are important for healthy growth and development. These boundaries will look different for each lactating parent/child dyad, but if your toddler is refusing meals and then choosing to nurse, it may be important to set times of day when the chest/breast isn't available so the child learns to use table food to fill the belly.

See our Weaning Guide for a very detailed plan for managing these types of situations.