Based upon evidence, a number of desired behaviors were identified as critical to helping families foster healthy active living for their toddler. For each desired behavior you can explore the evidence, learn what parents told us about these behaviors, identify opportunities to promote healthy behaviors at the point of care, review how to start conversations and access messages and resources to support families. Also available to inform your counseling is the Onset and Patterns of Risk Behaviors for Toddlers Timeline located above this section.
Choose milk or water for your child's beverage
Juices contribute an average of 100 calories a day to a toddler’s diet. Strong evidence exists regarding the benefit from consuming a diet rich in low or nonfat milk and other dairy products. More than half of toddlers and preschoolers consume one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day.
Many parents supported the "no juice" message but found it difficult to set limits. Some parents viewed juice as a way to provide their toddler with fruit/vegetable servings. A subset did not know that juice was unhealthy. The oral health argument was most convincing. Parents were confused by the difference between juice and 100% juice.
Explain the concerns around sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and juice, which include extra calories, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal distention, and dental caries. Explain the benefits of water and low fat milk, which include better hydration, more nutrients, and reduced dental decay. Take this opportunity to educate parents about flavored milk and that it contains sugar and is not equal to plain lowfat milk. Also explain the difference between juice drink and 100% juice. Offer strategies to increase water and milk consumption if needed.
Tell me a little bit more about what your child ate and drank yesterday and the day before? What is your child’s favorite drink? What kind of beverages is your child drinking between and with meals? Can you tell me what happens when you try to set limits on sugared beverage consumption? What are your feelings about juice?
Related HALF Messages:
Milk and water are the healthiest choices, and water is the best option between meals. If you choose to offer other drinks, try to limit them to 4-6 ounces a day of 100% juice and/or low fat, low sugar flavored milk. HALF Resources:
For realistic parent derived strategies to promote healthy beverages, refer parents to the following sections on healthychildren.org/growinghealthy: Also take advantage of the HealthyGrowth app to create personalized patient education for your patient.
Offer 2-3 healthy and nutritious snacks as part of your daily routine
Caregivers should provide their children with appropriate portions of healthy foods and maintain regular eating schedules while allowing the children to control the amount they eat. According to one comprehensive study, 86% of toddlers consume some type of sweetened beverage, dessert, sweet or salty snack in a day. Based upon the data, more children in this age range consumed sweetened beverages, desserts, and non-nutrient snack foods in a day than consumed distinct portions of fruits or vegetables (independently). Toddlers need 2-3 healthy snacks a day to meet nutritional requirements.
Parents strongly desired ideas for easy and healthy snacks. Some parents viewed snack time as treat time. They felt as though their child got all their nutrients at meal time, and that snacks were just for fun. Parents gravitated towards pre-packaged snacks because they were quick, portable, and perceived as safer in terms of choking hazards.
Help families understand that snacks are an opportunity to provide nutrients for their child, not treat time, and that toddlers actually need more nutrients than they can get at meal time. Toddlers should be provided 2-3 healthy snacks per day. Snacks should be eaten at a planned time, while seated, and with adult supervision. Caution against all-day snacking/continuous snacking. Remind parents that healthy snacks can be easy, safe, and portable with just a little bit of planning.
Can you tell me about the snacks your child eats while at home and childcare? Can you tell me who decides what snacks your child eats? Can you tell me where your child usually has her snacks? Can you tell me what prompts you to give a snack or how you decide when to offer a snack? Can you tell me your child’s favorite snacks?
Also take advantage of the HealthyGrowth app to create personalized patient education for your patient