What is a normal portion size for a child?
In general, your toddler's portion sizes should be about the same size as his or her hand, with a variety of healthy foods.
A general rule of thumb is that a portion for a toddler is the amount of food that would fit into his or her little hand! If we keep their diets varied with protein, veggies, fruits, and whole grains, all of these tiny servings add up to healthy kids!
Very often however, our toddlers prefer to drink their meals, especially once they are mobile. Life is just too exciting to sit and eat. As a result, little people will fill up on juice or milk and then have no interest in dinner. Keep juice to a minimum, and offer snacks of fresh fruit and water instead. About 16-20 ounces of dairy in the form of milk or yogurt is plenty for most toddlers.
I was just wondering this and love the simplicity of this rule! Also it really makes you realize how small a serving is, which makes me feel better when they have days where it seems nothing passes their lips….
I give my boys balanced meals with a healthy snack or two between meals. Sometimes they eat a little and sometimes they eat a lot. If they’re hungry, they’ll eat! I just don’t stress myself out about it. They’re both at healthy weights, getting healthy food and are happy! All that matters to me 🙂
Good to know. Sometimes my son eats way more than the size of his hand at meals. I try to keep it balanced and offer more veggies if he still acts hungry.