Your little baby has now turned two years old. Now he is more of a kid than a baby. He is able to understand many words, emotions, and feelings, and he also tries to express his feelings with you or your partner. He is a happy and exploring kid. He is always busy playing with his toys and imitating you and your partner. But at this age, they quickly get bored and want new tots every day or you have to take them outside to see all the new things around them. Now coming to the food, these kids don’t t all have time to eat. They prefer playing more and eating less. But if they are very hungry they prefer to have snacks on their own. Like bananas, apples cut in small pieces, watermelon juice, pomegranate, fruit juices, snacks like chocolate, cake, biscuits, etc. But since a complete meal and healthy diet is very necessary for your kid’s growth, you have to try your best to feed him all the varieties of food available in the market. Click here to know more about your baby’s milestones at 2 to 3 years of age.
At his age, kids prefer soft mashed food. Soups are best for them. At this age, you can give him all varieties of food including dry fruits, spices, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They may stop breastfeeding around 2 years of age. So you have to include cow milk in your baby’s routine. You should give 2 glasses of full-fat milk a day to your baby from now on. They may don’t like its taste and may resist drinking. But still, it is very necessary for you to feed them as it contains all the nutrients. If he is crying a lot to drink milk or vomiting after drinking milk, don’t force him. You can give him plain milk on alternate days. But since his body needs milk every day, you can give it to him in the form of yogurt, cheese, paneer, milkshakes, and milk sweets.
Daily Routine:-
- Wakeup time (8.00 – 8.30am) = Whole milk (150 – 200ml).
- Breakfast (9.00 – 9.30am) = one bowl or one small plate.
- Mid-morning snack (11.00 – 11.30am) = half bowl of fruits.
- Lunch (1.00 – 1.30pm) = one bowl.
- Nap time = 2.00 – 5.00pm.
- Mid-evening snack (5.00 – 5.30pm) = half bowl.
- Dinner (8.00 – 9.00pm) = one bowl
- Bedtime = 10.00pm
Important tips:-
- At this age, your child’s appetite may decrease a bit compared to before. This is due to increased activity like playing, spending more time outdoors, going to playschool, etc. But still eating the right amount of food is necessary. So feed him in short meals whenever he is with you.
- Now you should increase the amount of food to be given to your kid. Before you used to give him half bowl, now you should give him one bowl of fruits, rice, one big chapati, one big dosa, 2 vadas, and a small bowl of upma. The best way to know how much you should feed your child is by watching him while eating. If he is full he will give you some signs like showing his stomach, resisting eating, and feeling like vomiting. If he doesn’t show any of these signs and continues eating, he will vomit the extra amount of food that you just fed.
- Avoid Biscuits from outside unless it’s an emergency. You can make homemade biscuits with less sugar. You can give them occasionally if they are really upset.
- Avoid sugar, one spoonful of sugar is enough for the whole day.
- Never sprinkle salt on top of food after cooking, this can be harmful.
- Do not give water during meals to baby, this will fill his stomach up and he may not have his meal. You can give them a few sips of water if he asks for it in between meals.
- Avoid junk food and fried foods from the outside. Anyhow your child may not be able to eat it as it is spicy and has many other flavors in it. But they may try to eat pizza bread, burger bread, or shawarma roti as they look familiar to them. After 3.5 years, they will eat everything from outside too.
- Carry fruits, bread, roti rolls, or nuts from home when you go outside with your baby.
- To increase your baby’s appetite engage him in activities.
- Jaggery is very good for digestion so try to give this after meals to the baby.
- Milk should be given at least 2 times a day in a small glass.
- Ensure the baby sleeps early at night and wakes up early in the morning. Getting up late in the morning can build up the acidity in the baby’s stomach and when you offer breakfast to him he will vomit. So make sure that you give lukewarm water to the baby after waking up.
- If the baby doesn’t like to drink plain cow milk, add a pinch of cardamom powder or a little bit of sugar or honey before giving it.
- Offer milk to the baby before or after naps.
- Babies of this age group sleep for 12 hours a day.
Best Toys for a 1 to 2-year-old Baby.
Breakfast:-
- Dosa (mash and sooji dosa, moong dal dosa, mash and rice dosa, green moong dal dosa).
- Bread with jam, Peanut butter, or chocolate spread.
- French toast with butter.
- 2 to 3 Idli.
- Poha.
- Upma.
- Daliya.
- Corn flakes with milk.
- Paratha (plain, palak, dal, egg, potato paratha).
- Suji, sabudana, or rice kheer.
- Milk Oats or vegetable oats.
- Scrambled/Boiled egg.
- Egg omelet.
- Fish sticks.
Mid-morning snack:-
- Bowl of mixed fruits.
- Potato/Sweet potato wedges.
- Chicken/Vegetable/mutton soup.
- Paneer.
- Yogurt (plain, beetroot, carrot).
- Milkshakes.
- Fresh fruit juices.
Lunch:-
- Vegetable Khichdi.
- Rice with dal.
- Vegetable curry with rice.
- Curd rice.
- Chapati with dal or milk.
- pasta.
- Chicken khichdi.
- Mutton curry.
- Egg rice.
- Fish curry.
- Egg pasta.
- Roasted fish.
Mid-evening Snack:-
- Banana smoothie.
- Avocado smoothie.
- Fruits.
- Nuts.
- Homemade popcorn.
- Waffle.
- Pancakes.
- Milkshakes.
Dinner:-
- Vegetable daliya.
- Oats khichdi.
- Paneer paratha.
- Dal paratha.
- Palak paratha.
- Rice and vegetable curry.
- Chapati with cow milk or any vegetable curry.
- Dosa.
- Khichdi.
- Chicken curry.
- Egg rice.
- Fish curry.
- Roasted fish.
From three years onwards your baby will be able to eat everything. You will feel like he is grown up now. He starts talking. He has teeth to chew the food properly and he will be able to understand everything. Just try to give healthy food always. Engage him in some suitable activities and play along with him to make a good bond between you and the baby. Just make sure the food is fully cooked and fresh. Avoid junk and outside food as much as possible. If your baby is not eating, engage him in some activities like indoor playing, painting, and building blocks, or give him something new and then try to feed him. This will keep him engaged and he will finish all the food on the plate.
