Some parents worry that their children who are still toddlers have not gotten enough food. There are also those who fear that their children will eat so much that their food portions are limited. In fact, feeding for toddlers is not arbitrary. The portion must be as needed during the growth period. Understanding the size of a toddler's meal portion is very important to help ensure that your child does get the right amount of food. So, what is the portion of eating toddlers and when should children eat? See the description below.
Toddlers usually like to eat according to family meals, and their meal times must be organized every day. Preferably, the family meal schedule is arranged into 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) along with 2 intermittent meals.
For main meals: this food is given in the morning, afternoon and evening. For example breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 o'clock, and dinner at 18:30. This schedule should be planned and organized. Because eating habits since toddlers will shape their eating habits to adulthood later. In addition, at least not more than 30 minutes for feeding children.
For interlude food: as important as the main meal, snacks are also very important to help meet the energy and nutrient needs needed in a day.
- Give a snack 2 hours before the main meal. Because, if it is too close, it is feared that the child will feel full before the next heavy meal.
- Snack is not a gift or bait to persuade a child, but rather a food schedule that must be fulfilled.
- In accordance with a balanced nutritional pattern, alternating foods needed by toddlers such as milk, fruit juice, fresh fruit, and bread.
The portion of toddlers foods
At the age of a toddler, the recommended amount of energy needed varies for each child. Starting from 1,125 calories to 1,600 calories. When viewed from the largest calorie needs, this is an example of sharing the ideal portion of a toddler's meal:
Staple food
You can give the child rice in a day as much as 300 grams or about 3-4 minutes of rice (meaning one centong every time a heavy meal). Not only with rice, you can also replace rice with other carbohydrate sources. Rice 3-4 inches containing 525 calories - equivalent to 210 grams of bread or 630 grams of potatoes.
From the total staple food in this day, you can divide this amount when the main food or interlude.
For example, eating rice at breakfast time 80 grams, lunch 100 grams, and night 100 grams. Afternoon snacks can be made with a sheet of bread with margarine and meises to taste.
Animal side dishes
Animal side dishes are recommended especially for children who are 3 years and over as much as 125 grams a day and 200 milliliters of milk a day. This animal side dish can be obtained from fish, beef, chicken, eggs, shrimp, and others.
For example, when eating breakfast children eat an egg. About 2 hours then drink a cup of milk, then have lunch with a medium-sized piece of meat, have dinner with a piece of chicken (about 40 grams), and before bedtime drink a cup of milk.
Vegetable side dishes
Vegetable side dishes needed around 100 grams a day. Vegetable side dishes can be obtained from tempeh, tofu, green beans, and other legumes.
For example, animal side lunches plus a piece of tempeh, afternoon snacks with green bean porridge around 1.5 tablespoons (15 grams), and dinner plus a large size tofu.
Vegetable and fruit
Toddler children need as much as 100 grams of vegetables and 400 grams of fruit a day.
You can give vegetables to every heavy meal, from morning, afternoon, until night. One hundred grams of vegetables is equivalent to a bowl full of vegetables that is usually eaten by adults. From a bowl full of vegetables you can share 3 meals for toddlers.
For example, ¼ bowl of spinach vegetables for the morning, 1/2 cup of broccoli at lunch, and ¼ bowl of green beans at night.
For fruit, it takes around 400 grams of papaya (2 large pieces) in a day. In addition to papaya, you can replace it with the equivalent such as 2 large pieces of melon, or 2 pieces of Ambon banana, or 1.5 mangoes in a day. You can give this fruit as a snack or after a heavy meal.