Your 2 Years Old Toddler

2 Years Old

Parenting your 2 years old toddler takes lots of patience, support from family and friends, and a good sense of humour.

Your 2 Years Old Toddler’s Nutrition

Ensuring your toddler is getting the right nutrition is critical for their growth and development. Professor Joe Millward, Emeritus Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Surrey, attributes good growth to a healthy balanced diet, physical activity and sufficient sleep. Prof. Millward shared that some nutrients are more important than others in terms of the linear growth of the bones, and we can separate individual nutrients into two types:

Type 1 Nutrients
Deficiencies of these nutrients lead to reduction in bodily function.¹

These are nutrients like, iron, folic acid, calcium, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin D, the B vitamins, and several others.
Dairy foods and leafy vegetables like spinach and legumes are also the best sources of calcium.
Vitamin A deficiency leads to poor immunity, and hence indirectly affects growth in the case of infections.

Type 2 Nutrients
Deficiencies of these nutrients lead to reduced growth.¹

These include protein, zinc, potassium, magnesium and they are crucial for the formation of new tissue during growth.
Protein (amino acids) and zinc have direct roles in stimulating bone length growth.
Type 2 nutrients are important for children recovering from illnesses to allow for catch-up on growth, so dairy foods, eggs and legumes are particularly important for their provision of protein and zinc.

What Can Your Little One Eat Now?

At this stage, a toddler has become a part of the grown-up’s table and is eating a broader range of table foods. The bright yellows, reds, oranges, and greens of healthy fruits and vegetables are becoming his favourite mealtime colours. If only the appetite of a 2 year old was so predictable, right?

In the real world, your toddler’s appetite could change by the day, and not always for the better. Like you, they’ll often want to eat the same foods repeatedly. This is normal.

What’s important is that you support healthy eating habits by providing him the wide variety of foods needed for optimal brain and eye development and immune support. If you find this easier said than done, here are some tips to try : Stick with your feeding schedule of three meals per day, along with snacks. If your toddler refuses food at one meal, he will probably make up for it at the next. Fighting him won’t help.
Keep your toddler’s food portion sizes at about 1/4 of an adult serving.
Offer him foods in a variety of colours, textures, and flavours. Toddlers need a range of colourful foods from all food groups to meet their nutrition needs.

An example of an average toddler-sized meal has 2-3 tbsp of beans, 1-2 tbsp of vegetables, 1-2 tbsp of fruit and ¼ a piece of bread.²

If your child struggles with eating enough colourful foods like green broccoli, yellow or red peppers, and orange sweet potatoes, as well as growing up milk formulas, can help supply key nutrients to support development and balance his diet. It has many of the nutrients supplied by whole vegetables and fruits, including protein and brain- and eye-nourishing nutrients DHA, lutein, and vitamin E.

Did You Know?

Your eating habits and feeding styles can affect your children’s relationship with food. Abbott Nutrition interviewed expert Dr MacLean, clinical professor from Department of Paediatrics at The Ohio State University. Dr MacLean shared, “It’s not a parent’s job to control a child’s food intake. The parent’s job is to provide balanced meals, make the eating environment positive, and respond to children appropriately.”

There are 4 feeding styles, and the healthiest style is called ‘responsive feeding’. To read more about this click here.

What Can Your 2 Years Old Toddler Do Now?

By the end of the 24 months, your toddler will most likely:

Have about 16 teeth (there is a wide variation).
Be psychologically ready for toilet training.
Walk on his or her own.
Start to run.
Kick a ball.
Have a vocabulary of 50 to 300 words (varies widely).
Start to form 2- to 4-word sentences.
Make a tower of more than 4 blocks.
Enjoy “pretend” play.
Show growing independence.
Be able to turn a door knob.
Scribble with a crayon.
Begin to sort objects by shapes and colours.
Carry one or more toys while walking.

Potty Training

Between ages 2 and 3 years, most children learn to use the potty by themselves

It often takes boys longer to potty train than girls. Usually, your child will let you know when he’s ready to leave the diapers behind. Signs that your child is ready to potty train:

Knows the words for urine and stool.
Stays dry for longer periods of time than before (especially after a nap).
Physically able to pull down his pants and get on and off a toilet seat.
Upset by having on a wet or dirty diaper.
Likes to watch you or your husband use the bathroom.
Willing to sit on the toilet or potty.

If your child doesn’t seem ready, just give him more time. Potty training takes lots of patience. Having a battle-of-the-wills isn’t productive for mom or child. As always, speak to your paediatrician if you are concerned.

References:
¹ Golden MH. Specific deficiencies versus growth failure: type I and type II nutrients. SCN News. 1995;(12):10-4.
² American Academy of Pediatrics. Serving sizes for toddlers. Updated March 7, 2016. Accessed January 17, 2020. https://healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/toddler/nutrition/Pages/serving-sizes-for-toddlers.aspx

SG.2022.27488.PND.1 (v1.0)

Your 2 Years Old Toddler

Your 2 Years Old Toddler

Parenting your 2 years old toddler takes lots of patience, support from family and friends, and a good sense of humour.