How to Know the Nutritional Requirements for Your Toddler

Worried your finicky toddler isn't getting his nutritional requirements? Follow these suggestions and you may be surprised at how easy it is to meet a toddler's nutrient needs.

Things You'll Need

• Carrots And Other Orange Vegetables
• Lean Ground Meats
• Whole-grain Bread
• dried beans, fish, eggs and poultry
• strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe and oranges

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Instructions

• 1

  Serve kid-pleasing, protein-rich foods like scrambled eggs, smoothies made with tofu, baked chicken legs and bean soups. Toddlers need 16 grams of protein a day.

• 2

  Build those tiny bones with 500mg of calcium a day. Toddlers can get that much from two (8-oz.) cups of milk.

• 3

  Drink up milk for vitamin D, too. Young children need 400 IU per day.

• 4

  Pump up the iron in your toddler's diet with lean meats, poultry, fish, dried beans and whole grains. Little ones need 10mg of iron every day.

• 5

  Beef up on zinc with (you guessed it) beef and other zinc-rich foods like poultry, fish, eggs, beans, whole grain breads, crackers and cereals. Toddlers need 10mg of zinc per day.

• 6

  Snack on oranges, kiwi, cantaloupe or strawberries. These yummy fruits are rich in vitamin C, and toddlers need 40mg per day.

• 7

  Crunch carrots for vitamin A. Kids can get the needed 400mcg per day from carrots and other orange fruits and vegetables.