Toddler food

[gate_pourri]

Although I am rather new here, I am hoping the dis community can help me.

I am unexpectedly caring for my cousin. I am not sure what to feed her. She is 25 months old, and as far as I know, has no allergies. What can a 25 month old eat? I was thinking of giving her carrot/celery/pepper sticks with ranch and a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, and then thought maybe she is too young for those? I ended up just ordering a plain pizza, but she didn’t eat almost any of it. Now I feel she will wake in the nite hungry.

I don't know how long she will be staying with me, so any ideas/advice would be great.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Think EASY TO CHEW and NOT TOO SPICEY...

Fruit juices to keep everything moving.
Chicken nuggets are usually a hit.
Spaghetti is fun but messy.
Lunchables Cracker Stackers are good...just avoid the ones with Skittles, because they're hard to chew.
There's a complete line of toddler foods on the baby food aisle at the grocery. My daughter loved the vegetable sticks and crackers. Scrambled eggs are pretty good.

and milk. lots of milk.

Sometimes they'll eat; sometimes they won't. Good luck with her!

 

[2sweetangels]

My DD is 25 months old and she eats everything and anything, as long as they have all thier teeth and can chew good, they can eat jst about anything. My DD is eating peanuts and popcorn already. Toddlers at this age really like hotdog's, fishsticks and macaroni and chesse. I also care for my cousin who is 11 months and he eats anything, but peanuts. The mini carrot sticks are wonderful for toddlers and same with celery, so your on the right track. Also Bananas are usualy toddlers favorite also.

 

[beckmrk04]

Grilled cheese would be fine, just cut it into quarters. Toddlers are notoriously picky- so don't be surprised. Mac'n'cheese, spaghetti, various fruits/veggies. Try to avoid things that can present a choking hazard- grapes, cut up hot dogs (unles you cut into very small bites). Cereal, cheerios, goldfish, milk, applesauce...

 

[megan4777]

My dd#1 is 2.5 yrs. We offer her everything we eat for b-fast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes DD eats, sometime she doesn't...

DD loves grilled cheese, hotdogs, pizza, banana, apples (without the skin and cut up into wedges), chicken fingers, pancakes....

I would ask your cousin what she likes to eat and go from there. Just make sure if she's eating something that can cause her to choke, it's cut up into small enough pieces.

Good luck

 

[andromedaslove]

My youngest son is only 16 months, and eats just about everything we do. Tonight we had steak, corn, and mac'n'cheese. We don't really do anything special for him to eat except cut everything into baby sized pieces so they are easier to chew.

 

[luv2nascar]

they don't eat much at that age so don't be surprised. They should be able to eat just about anything. Just cut any meat you give them small. Choking is probably the biggest worry - they will cram food it and not chew so well sometimes. Just getting them to sit still is an issue. Milk is a good drink choice. PB & J goes over well my toddler. Soup is one of her favorite (esp. chicken noodle). She loves mac n cheese and any kid of noodle. Pancakes and french toast she gobbles up. Good luck and have fun.

 

[gate_pourri]

Thanks. I was worried that the carrot sticks were too hard to eat. So, to be sure, toddlers can eat hard things like carrot sticks? I guess I will have to run to Dominicks in the morning and hit the kid isles.

 

[beckmrk04]

Thanks. I was worried that the carrot sticks were too hard to eat. So, to be sure, toddlers can eat hard things like carrot sticks? I guess I will have to run to Dominicks in the morning and hit the kid isles.

As long as she's got teeth, she should be fine.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Does she have her molars? When in doubt, don't give the carrots. If you do, make sure they are cut in skinny pieces so when she bites off a piece she won't get a big chunk. Or you can steam them a little so they aren't quite as hard, but they aren't fully cooked, either. Like others have mentioned, it's important to not give rounds of hot dogs, etc. When my DD was that age she choked on a Ritz Bit and the woman watching her called 911. My DD did manage to cough it up, but it was scary for my DD, not to mention the person watching her.

Give her little portions and don't expect her to eat a lot at one time. You can always give more of what she likes.

My dr wanted me to wait to give peanut products until at least 3yo so I would wait on that since you don't know if she's eating peanuts yet.

Have fun with her!

 

[OceanAnnie]

My kids really like "surprises" and something "special" when it comes to food. I sometimes use a few dabs of coolwhip with a banana, apples, and/or grapes. (I cut up everything too.) If they weren't interested before, a little cool whip makes it all disappear. I also use yogurt for dipping fruit and ranch dressing for dipping veggies. Ranch dip is great for chicken nuggets too!

Dipping foods is such fun at that age! I learned the hard way after much coaxing and worrying. One day a light bulb went off. Dip = magic!

 

[Beth76]

Thanks. I was worried that the carrot sticks were too hard to eat. So, to be sure, toddlers can eat hard things like carrot sticks? I guess I will have to run to Dominicks in the morning and hit the kid isles.

You can always try to see if she'll eat it. My son is several months younger, but has all his teeth and he can't eat carrot stick. Although he loves to knaw on them. Really, at this age they can eat just about anything. Whether they will is another question altogether.

For breakfast, I usually give a mini-bagel, waffle, or english muffin and then some fruit. Sometimes we'll do eggs, but my older son doesn't like them. My little one gobbles them though. They both love sausage.

For lunch, I usually give lunchmeat, cheese, veggies and maybe another fruit. I don't make my little one sandwhiches because he just tears them apart. So, he'll get our crusts sometimes which he loves (I know I'm a terrible mother) My older son gets fresh veggies usually, but my younger son gets canned. He loves green beans and carrots the best.

For dinner, he mostly eats what we eat. He's not picky, but doesn't always eat the meat. He does like fish though.

Another thing that toddlers like is to dip their food into stuff. So offer ketchup or ranch dressing with veggies and other stuff.

 

[FreshTressa]

I would ask your cousin what she likes to eat and go from there. Just make sure if she's eating something that can cause her to choke, it's cut up into small enough pieces.

Second this...especially hot dogs! Kids that age don't eat a lot at once...they are frequently 'grazers' and eat every 2-3 hours.

Fruit is usually a hit, cut up
Kids love hotdogs, though I'm sure they are terrible for them!
Scrambled eggs, dry cereal, pb and j's are all for sure hits with mine.

 

[chell]

My 23 month old nephew loves bananas, apple sauce, apples, grapes cut into 2 or 4 pieces, oranges, ham steak (if you don't fry it too long it stays nice and tender), chicken nuggets or chicken bites, turkey (make sure it is very moist), stuffing, eggo waffles without syrup, eggs, green beans, baked beans, corn and yogurt. These are the "safe" items to feed him when we aren't sure if he will eat what else we are having. He isn't a big eater at all so don't be shocked if she is the same way. Sometimes he sucks all of his food down then other times he barely picks. It doesn't matter when it is but he loves to eat a banana.

 

[justhat]

My daughter just turned 2 last weekend and she often chokes on carrot sticks so we cut them into very thin slices and then she's fine with them. She also eats very little so I wouldn't be worried by that. She likes canned vegetables best (if she's going to eat a vegetable that is), especially the Gerber Graduates toddler vegetables. No canned fruit though, she'll only eat fresh fruit cause the canned is 'too slimy' for her. She LOVES all kinds of pasta and also rice and bread. Not a big fan of meats so we give her black beans for protein. Dairywise she loves yogurt, especially the drinkable kind, and she used to like cheese cubes but has recently boycotted them.

 

[kristen821]

Don't worry about her not eating much. Kids at that age don't eat a whole lot unless they are going through a growth spurt. They don't typically wake up at night to eat and will let you know when they are hungry. My kids ate anything we ate she make sure you cut the food up into small pieces especially hot dogs and grapes. They love to eat crackers.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How is she doing today? did she sleep ok last night? Eat much for breakfast?

Justhat, how is Madison doing? Let me know if you are ever up in Northern Mont County--maybe we can get together for ice cream or something. How are you feeling?

 

[gate_pourri]

Thanks for the replies. I never realized how easily it was for a toddler to chock. I never would have realized I needed to cut up grapes, and especially hot dogs. I would have just cut them into largish slices (like how I eat a hot dog at home) without a second thought.

She did eat some eggs for breakfast and I purchased a couple of those Gerber Graduates meals for lunch, that she seemed to enjoy.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030400.asp

CHOKABLE FOODS

To minimize the risk of a baby or toddler choking, follow these safe feeding tips:

• Be careful of big globs of food, such as golf ball-sized, pasty globs of white bread or spoonfuls of peanut butter. Even though these foods are soft, babies can choke on them. Don't spread peanut butter too thick, and monitor how quickly the bread gets packed into the mouth. The more whole grains in a bread, the less likely it is to form a pasty glob.
• Check the chunks. Once baby's molars appear (usually around the middle of the second year), chunky soft fruits (such as fruit cocktail-type size and texture) are safe.
• Allow toddlers finger foods only under supervision. Be sure they stay seated as they eat and are not lying down or running around. Choose snacks for the car carefully.
• Hold the hot-dogs . Since hotdogs are neither nutritious nor safe for baby, you can scratch them from the diet. If you are fortunate enough to find a healthy hotdog (nitrite-free, low in salt), slice it lengthwise in thin, noodle-like strips. Don't let your toddler bite chunks off a hotdog, since a hotdog chunk is about the size of a baby's windpipe.
• Avoid raw fruits and vegetables that snap into hard chunks, such as carrot and celery sticks and firm apples.
• Peel and slice grapes. Whole grapes can cause choking.

CHOKABLE FOODS

• cherries with pits
• meat
• chunks
• candy, hard
• nuts
• hot dog, whole chunks
• popcorn kernels
• raisins
• raw apples, pears, carrots, beans
• stringy foods
• whole olives
• whole grapes

 

[EthansMom]

My DD is 23 months and she'll eat pretty much the same things that we'll eat. I don't make anything special for DD, for instance. I do, however, cut foods up into VERY small pieces because toddlers aren't very good at chewing.

Some of DD's favorite foods: breakfast -- scrambled eggs, oatmeal, banana, milk

lunch -- apple juice (mix half juice and half water), applesauce, soup (very messy), peanut butter and jelly sandwich (a half sandwich cut in half -- so two quarters), occasionally a fast food hamburger with pickle removed (choking hazard)

dinner -- anything we're eating cut up in small pieces

Foods I avoid for choking reasons: carrots, lettuce & apples

I also try to buy the sweet foods that are "no sugar added". For instance, I buy juice and applesauce that is "no sugar added".

I always put a toddler spoon or fork at DD's place at the table, but she usually uses her fingers to eat. If you have your cousin sitting on one of your chairs, put down an old towel underneath to catch some of the food mess.

Also, toddlers are pretty finicky. Don't be surprised if your cousin won't touch some foods or won't eat anything for an entire meal. When my DS was little, he would eat anything you put in front of him at any time. DD will barely touch one meal, eat down the entire next meal, and then eat part of the next meal. And, sometimes, DD will refuse to even try something that has always been her favorite food.

I don't buy any specialized toddler food. It's expensive. You can save yourself some money if you just cut stuff up really small.

Also, if you're going to be caring for your cousin for a while, I highly recommend taking the Children's CPR course to learn how to remove food from a choking child.