Toddler Snacking Basics
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Nummy Life. As always, all opinions are my own.
Snacks become increasingly important in toddlerhood. However, for many parents, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand how to offer snacks without catering to our child’s demands and tantrums (which usually surface as infants transition to becoming toddlers!). This post will help equip parents on how to take a kind, considerate, and yet clear approach to our role in the feeding relationship versus our kids early on.
Toddler Snacking
Why Toddlers Need Snacks
Toddlers usually begin weaning at or around 12 months of age
When we think about the stage of life when snacks are first introduced (between infancy and toddlerhood), it can be confusing to navigate what this process looks like. But one of the ways we ought to think about weaning from the breast or bottle to a more table-food based diet, is in consideration of consolidating a young child’s day.
Infants are on a predominantly milk-based diet (i.e. breastmilk or formula) up until around six months. Thereafter, the introduction of table foods begins and expands to include one, two, then later three meals a day (usually by 9-12 months). But as milk-weanings continue between 6-12 month and thereafter, there become gaps in a young toddler’s day that are no longer accounted for (with milk).
In order to keep their small stomachs from becoming overly hungry when milk feedings are reduced, we introduce snacks in the window of time that exist between meals. You can find out more about how to set up a feeding schedule based on your child’s age and stage here.
TODDLER SNACKING TIP: Consider saving untouched bits of food from your or your child’s meal that can later serve as snacks. Since infants and young toddlers may eat very little when snacks are first introduced or as they compliment milk feedings at the table, you can consider safe food storage of the leftovers that otherwise might be “too small to save.” It might be a little leftover scrambled egg from breakfast, a little bit of leftover avocado from lunch, or one piece of steamed broccoli from dinner, but any of these options make great options to later offer your toddler at snack time. Nummyware offers a great, non-plastic food storage solution. By investing in high-quality, plastic-free food storage solutions early on in feeding your child, you have quality, lasting products to use in the years to come.
Learn more about the differences in the quality of silicone used in your toddler’s feeding products here.
Toddlers have small stomachs (and thus eat less at a time)
Portion sizes are a confusing concept for parents, particularly when it comes to offering snacks.
Parents are confused over how much to offer and concerned about offering too much. That’s because we want to offer our children nourishment between meals to account for their small stomach sizes and their appetites correlating as such. While their appetites can vary, we know that most small kids can’t or won’t eat large portions in one sitting.
To account for this, we want to offer both regular eating opportunities throughout the day (with meals and snacks) and “mini meals” that help them to stay fueled throughout the day (without large swings in hunger or satiety).
The general rule of thumb is to offer 1 Tablespoon per year of age.
Although I share some nuances to this “rule” in more detail on my Combination Cards, the basic advice remains that you want to start with a small amount and then offer more, as needed. Seconds are okay and help your child to know that more food is both available and accessible, as they decide if/whether they have the appetite for more. Toddlerhood is the perfect time to practice letting your child be the excellent self-regulator they were born to be. The more you can trust that from infancy on, the better it will shape a responsive feeding approach in your family.
TODDLER SNACKING TIP: It may not look like much but offering only a little food at the beginning can also help reduce the food throwing issues that come in toddlerhood. Rather than giving them a lot of “ammo” (and thus, a greater reaction out of you!), consider only one or two pieces of food to start. Doing this and offering a strong silicone suction dish (that is harder to remove and throw as well!), like Nummy bowl , will promote their safety and your sanity at snack time.
Toddlers thrive off of routine
Some children might have been going to daycare since infancy while others often begin a day-program of some sort during toddlerhood. This can be a great environment for a young child’s development, including their sense of daily rhythms and routines.
In a daycare or preschool setting, toddlers often start having at least one snack (depending on how long they are at the facility). With programs often dropping from multiple naps to only one nap in the day around this time, snack time becomes an important time to help kids both transition from nap into their afternoon routine while also helping them maintain their energy levels as they get older and their sleep habits change.
With this, kids often go from eating three meals a day with milk feeding and naps scattered throughout to a more predictable routine of meals, snacks, and a nap that follows the same general pattern each day. Daycares and preschools do a great job of creating these regular, predictable daily routines for children, but parents can also reinforce these habits at home.
TODDLER SNACKING TIP: If your child does attend a daycare or preschool, consider how you can help set them up for success on the days they do not attend by mimicking a similar routine at home. This includes keeping meals, snacks, and nap time at similar times of day as their school program does. If this is something you have never done before, ask your child’s daycare or preschool for a print out of their daily routine. This will give you guidance on what times of day you could plan to become part of your routines at home, also.
True hunger or merely bored?
Ideally, a toddler will adopt appetite regulation when meals and snacks happen at regularly occurring intervals that are spaced 2-3 hours apart. However, as shared here, stroller snacks happen. And although I would always recommend trying to weave these types of snacks into your feeding routine and day’s schedule as much as possible, there are times that snacks are used to pacify rather than fuel a child. To evaluate if your child even needs a snack, read this post. Otherwise, consider adopting a “Kitchen is closed” policy outside of meal or snack times to help your child understand clear boundaries around meals and snacks and prevent mindless grazing (which can start as early as toddlers learn how to find their way to the snack cupboard/pantry!).
TODDLER SNACKING TIP: Need a stroller snack option? Keep washed blueberries in a glass Nummyware container with a paper towel underneath. When left uncovered, the berries will be ready to go if/when needed for a stroller snack and/or stay good this way for a few days.
Toddlers have nutritional needs that otherwise can be missed
As shared here, it is important to identify what foods your child may not be eating enough of at meal times (like fruits, vegetables, dairy, healthy fats, or whole grains). These provide you with guidance on what to offer at snack times so that you are filling nutritional gaps when snacks are offered. Since toddlers stomachs are small and they often aren’t able or focused enough to “fill up” at meal times alone, snacks can play an important role in ensuring toddler’s nutritional needs are met.
Ideally, you want to include something with fat, fiber, and/or protein (as we have discussed here). Combining different foods from different food groups can help achieve this balance!
TODDLER SNACKING TIP: Be it from their newfound friends at playdates or classmates at preschool, toddlers become quickly aware of traditional “kid snacks.” While these snack options do not need to be completely avoided, I encourage families to not fall into the convenience food trap exclusively because many pre-packaged, processed snack foods fail to meet a toddler’s nutritional needs. Instead, consider what items you can prep ahead (see ideas below) and put in Nummyware to safely store and efficiently see in your fridge. These are quick and easy items you can send to school that will better fuel your child for their day than traditional “kid’s snacks.”
Healthy Toddler Snack Combinations
Wondering how to help fill those nutritional gaps through snacks in your toddler’s tummy? Look no further than these nutritionally-dense toddler snack ideas. Ideally, pick at least 1-2 food groups for a given snack so that you are leveraging the opportunity to fuel your child without doing so on just one, single food.
To offer these, I love putting the options on our Nummyware bowl. As a plastic-free, medical-grade silicone, it is one of the safest, unbreakable ways to offer snacks to my toddler-baby. I don’t yet trust my youngest to not throw a plate if I turn away, but these bowls suction to surfaces and fit to his high chair tray (when he isn’t pulled up to the table). I can microwave with it if I need to warm up a muffin or rinse it clean in the dishwasher after a messier snack as well. You can try these from Nummylife.com using coupon code “VEGGIES” for 20% off your entire order.
Here are a few of our favorite pairings to offer:
Whole grain rich snacks for toddlers
Oat-based energy bites (you can press these into Nummyware to make into small bars or roll and store as balls)
Homemade granola or granola bars
Smoothies (opt for those you can add oats to!)
Whole grain toast thinly spread with avocado or nut butter
Protein-rich snacks for toddlers
Smoothies (avoid protein powder and instead include protein-rich ingredients like yogurt, tofu, or nut butters)
Muffins (opt for those with Greek yogurt, nut-based flours, or nut butter and flax seeds that are added)
Hummus (a fun and cost-effective option to make with your toddler and to store in an air-tight Nummyware)
Yogurt (opt for whole milk, plain (unsweetened), Greek yogurt, when possible)
Hard boiled eggs (boil your own and pre-peel, storing in an air-tight Nummyware with a paper towel to absorb any added moisture)
Fruit-Rich Snacks for Toddlers
Homemade or store bought applesauce
Chopped dried fruit (like tender prunes, apricots, or raisins)
Freeze-dried fruit added to oatmeal, DIY trail mix, or on it’s own
Fruit salad (wash ans store fruit in Nummyware and then toss into a fruit salad and serve in a Nummybowl when ready!)
Veggie Rich
Calcium-Rich Snacks for Toddlers
Note: many toddlers consume enough liquid milk to meet their nutritional needs for calcium and may not need more dairy-based products at meals and snacks. If your toddler drinks >16 ounces of fluid milk per day, you may consider using snack time to offer other food groups to better round out the foods (and thus nutrients) they consume. For children who do not consume cow’s milk or dairy products, the emphasis is on calcium- and vitamin-D rich foods and/or fortified alternatives.
Cheese cubes with quartered grapes or whole grain crackers
Yogurt with berries and/or whole-grain granola
Smoothies (made with milk, fortified-juice or milk alternatives, tofu, and/or yogurt)
Small tortilla with refried beans, shredded cheese and leftover veggies
Whole grain cereal with milk or fortified milk-alternative and banana
Fat Rich Snacks for Toddlers
I hope this was a helpful review for you on toddler snacking needs and how to nutritionally make the most of these new, added eating opportunities each day. A big thank you to our sponsor, Nummy Life, for providing us with this opportunity to share and for the useful kitchen and feeding products that make snack time with toddlers easier and more environmentally friendly.
Be sure to visit @shopnummylife on Instagram and Facebook or www.nummylife.com to shop their premium, plastic-free product line. You can also find both their Nummyware and Nummy Bowl on Amazon. For ideas on how to eat together as a family, plus info on cool product insights, coupons, ways to be plastic-free, and more, join the Nummy Life "Bites" Newsletter.
