My Toddler Barely Touched Dinner. Are They Actually Getting Enough Nutrients?

One day your toddler is enthusiastically eating broccoli and you’re quietly congratulating yourself on raising a tiny nutritional superstar. The next day, that exact same broccoli is apparently offensive, the chicken is “yucky” and the only acceptable dinner is half a piece of toast and possibly something they found in your handbag.

Sound familiar?

Fussy eating is one of those parenting phases that can very quickly turn dinner into a nightly negotiation, but behind the frustration there is often a more worrying question: Is my child actually getting the nutrients they need?

The reassuring news is that fussy eating doesn’t automatically mean there is a nutritional gap. Understanding what’s normal toddler behaviour, what nutrients are worth keeping an eye on and when there may genuinely be cause for concern can take some of the pressure off both you and the dinner table. The below is general advice and if you have concerns, make sure to reach out to your healthcare professional for advice to your toddler’s specific situation.

Is Fussy Eating Normal for Toddlers?

Very.

Fussy eating is a normal part of childhood development and frequently surfaces between the ages of two and three. In fact, the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne reports that between 20 and 50 per cent of Australian toddlers go through a fussy eating phase.

Toddlers are discovering independence, their growth rates are changing and, as most parents have discovered, they’re also developing some extremely strong opinions. Their appetite can change from day to day depending on how active they’ve been, how tired they are and what’s happening with their routine.

For most children going through a typical fussy phase, they’re still growing, playing and developing normally.

The important thing to remember is that nutrition isn’t determined by what happened at dinner last night. Instead of agonising over one untouched plate, try looking at what your toddler eats across an entire week.

They might eat like a king on Tuesday, pick at everything on Wednesday and appear to exist largely on fruit by Thursday, but across seven days their overall energy and nutrient intake can look considerably more balanced than that one challenging dinner suggests.

How Do You Take the Battle Out of Toddler Mealtimes?

When you’ve lovingly prepared dinner only to have it rejected before your child has even tasted it, it’s very tempting to start negotiating: “Just three bites.” “Try the carrot.” “One more mouthful and then you can have dessert.”

Instead, a simple approach known as the “division of responsibility” can help take some of that pressure away.

As the parent, your job is to decide what food is offered, when meals and snacks happen and where your child eats. Your child’s job is to decide whether they eat and how much they eat.

That means a toddler eating very little at one meal isn’t a parenting failure, and rejecting something the first few times doesn’t mean you should stop serving it. It can take 10 to 15 exposures, or sometimes more, before a young child becomes familiar with and accepts a new food.

What Can You Actually Do When Your Toddler Refuses Dinner?

Start by pairing the familiar with the new. Include at least one food on the plate you already know your child is comfortable eating alongside foods that are newer or less familiar.

You can also experiment with how foods are served. If raw or steamed vegetables are immediately rejected, try different textures or preparations, such as grating vegetables into a pasta sauce or adding them to an omelette. At the same time, continue offering vegetables in their recognisable form so they remain familiar.

Most importantly, try to make dinner about sitting together rather than monitoring every bite. Easier said than done when they’ve eaten precisely one pea, we know, but reducing the pressure around food can make mealtimes considerably more enjoyable for everyone.

What Nutrients Should Parents of Fussy Toddlers Watch?

While fussy eating is usually a normal developmental phase, there are some nutrients that can be trickier for young children to get enough of.

Australian and New Zealand data from the OzFITS 2021 study found approximately one in four Australian toddlers did not meet their daily iron needs, making iron one nutrient worth keeping on your radar. [Can we link this study?]

Iron supports normal growth and cognitive development and can be found in foods including red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes and fortified cereals.

Zinc supports normal growth and immune function, with sources including meat, seafood, dairy, nuts and legumes.

Vitamin D is important for healthy bones and teeth and can come from safe sun exposure as well as foods including eggs, oily fish and fortified products.

Iodine supports growth and cognitive function and is found in foods including dairy products, seafood and eggs.

The goal isn’t to mentally calculate the nutritional value of every mouthful your toddler consumes. Instead, keeping these nutrients in mind can help you look at the bigger picture of what they’re eating across the week.

How Can You Add More Nutrition Without Creating Another Dinner Battle?

Boosting your toddler’s nutritional intake doesn’t need to mean creating elaborate meals they’ll probably refuse anyway.

Try blending milk, fruit and mild-tasting vegetables into a morning smoothie, or adding lentils and finely chopped vegetables to foods they already enjoy, such as bolognese, meatballs or pasta sauces. Keep offering whole, visible vegetables alongside these dishes too, so children continue seeing and becoming familiar with them.

Pairing carbohydrates with a source of protein at meals and snack times can also help support your toddler’s energy needs throughout the day. That might be as simple as adding milk, yoghurt, egg or cheese to something they’re already happy to eat.

And yes, sometimes despite your best efforts, some toddlers may have a stubborn fussy phase where dietary intake falls short.

Supplementary toddler drinks can play a supportive role in these situations as part of a varied and balanced diet. a2 Gentle Gold® Premium Toddler Milk Drink, for example, is specially formulated to complement a toddler’s diet and contains key nutrients including iron, zinc and vitamin D.

It’s not about replacing food or giving up on introducing new foods. Think of it as one potential tool in the nutritional toolkit while you continue doing the very glamorous parenting work of putting broccoli on a plate for the 14th time and hoping today might finally be its day.

When Should You Get Professional Advice About Fussy Eating?

A fussy phase on its own is usually just that: a phase. But if you have ongoing concerns about your child’s growth, weight, development or overall dietary intake, speak with a healthcare professional or Accredited Practising Dietitian for personalised advice.

Because while it’s reassuring to know that toddlers can be spectacularly unpredictable eaters, you also don’t have to sit at home wondering whether something more is going on.

For more toddler-friendly recipes and information about a2 Gentle Gold® toddler milk and the Every Win Counts campaign, visit a2nutrition.com.au.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Roisin Cutts, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist at The a2 Milk Company (makers of a2 Gentle Gold® Toddler Milk Drink), and is published here on her behalf. It is partner content and mentions a2 Milk Company products. The views and information are the author’s own and are not necessarily endorsed by Parenthood360.