Category Archives: Stage 4 First Table Meal

• Not true.
• There is no known point at which breast milk becomes nutritionally unimportant. Breastfeeding continues to act as a source of profound comfort and security, laying the groundwork for a confident, happy, and healthy future. It’s advisable for mums to continue breastfeeding until baby is up to 2 years old.

• Not true.
• Getting kids to eat foods that they might not like at first can be extremely frustrating. Research has shownthat some children have to sample a new food 10 or more times before they accept that food. So, before you remove an essential ingredient, try it again in a different recipe. It can often be good to serve it alongside something they’re already familiar with to make it more “friendly” and acceptable.

• Not true.
• Children who are forced to clean their plates override their natural ability to monitor how much food they need to grow at a healthy rate.Don’t worry about your child going hungry. Infants and toddlers are able to self-regulate their energy needs and intake. Serve your child small portions and let them ask for more if they are still hungry.

• Not true
• Fat is a very important nutrient in children’s diet as it provides the essential fatty acids, serves as the most concentrated source of energy for rapid growth and development, acts as a vehicle for the absorption and transportation of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), and is involved in many important body metabolic processes. Putting toddlers on a low-fat diet is therefore not recommended as this may adversely affect their growth and development. However, this does not mean that the child should be given excessive fat as this may lead to childhood obesity. A balanced diet, which includes appropriate amounts and types of fats is essential for growth and development of young children.

• Not true.
• Sweets should be a once-in-a while treat, not a regular “solution” to “encourage” picky eaters to have their vegetables. Once parents get into the pattern of bribing their children with dessert, the association of healthy food with “bad” food becomes ingrained. Having said that, depriving children of sweets will encourage them to eat more sugary treats outside of the house. Instead, offer healthier alternatives like fruits or natural sweeteners like honey.

• Not true.
• The period from birth to two years is a critical window for the promotion of optimal growth, health, and behavioural development. Children who learn to make poor diet choices are at more risk of becoming overweight or obese, and these habits are learned younger than parents might think. Don’t use food, especially foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, or foods with low nutritional content, as a comfort tool. Build good habits by finding the real reasons why your child is upset and treating the problem appropriately. Food should only be used to relieve hunger.

1. MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA (2013) Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. Putrajaya: Technical Working Group on Nutritional Guidelines (for National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition).
2. NUTRITION SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA (2011) Healthy Spoonfuls for Toddlers. Petaling Jaya: Mother’s Smart Choice.

Understanding food labels can help you choose the right type of food for your toddler.

• Check out the nutrition claims on the front of the pack

• Look at the Nutrition Information Panel or NIP (usually found at the back of the pack).

  

• Look at the amount of energy and other nutrients in the food. Consider how these nutrients contribute to the total daily intake and nutritional needs of your toddler.
• Make food choices based on overall nutrient content, not merely on one or two nutrients.

Check Ingredients List

• Ingredients present in the highest amount are listed first.
• If you toddler has an allergy, check carefully to make sure there are no ingredients that would trigger an allergic reaction.
• There are other different forms of sugar, fat, oils, and salt on food labels.

• Compare the Nutritional Information Panel (NIP) of different brands of a food product and choose the one with lower/lowest amount of fat, sugar and salt, and higher/highest in fibre. Find the brand that best meets your toddler’s nutritional needs. Compare different brands based on every 100ml/100mg of the product.
• Look at the nutrition claims of each product. While such information may be useful in describing the nutritional content, do not purchase it just because it has a “high in” or “free of” claim. You will need to look at the whole nutrient profile based on the NIP
• For each claim such as free or low in fat, sugar and sodium, the food law has a stipulated requirement. Each product must meet that requirement to make that claim.

<Insert video “How to read food labels”>

For further information on infant and child nutrition, please refer to

1. MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA (2013) Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. Putrajaya: Technical Working Group on Nutritional Guidelines (for National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition).
2. NUTRITION SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA (2011) Healthy Spoonfuls for Toddlers. Petaling Jaya: Mother’s Smart Choice.

Your toddler can start eating table foods at around 12 months old. This is, basically, what the rest of the family is having for meals. In order to ensure that he develops a taste for nutritious meals, healthy eating habits must be encouraged from the word go.

• Get your toddler involved in food preparation by taking him grocery shopping.
• Familiarise him with mealtimes by showing him how food is prepared and cooked, and letting him help to set the table. It could be something as easy as placing spoons on the table, graduating to more complicated stuff as he gets older.
• Your toddler has a small stomach and will get hungry quite quickly, so aim to feed him 4 to 5 main meals, plus 1 to 2 snacks a day.
• While ensuring he gets nutritious food, also consider your toddler’s food preferences and the amount he eats. This allows mealtimes to be less stressful and more enjoyable.
• Make meals and snacks fun by arranging foods in interesting ways such as a smiley arrangements that will attract his attention.
• Be a good role model and eat healthily – your toddler will follow your lead. Have your toddler eat with the family as much as possible to allow him to learn good table manners and good eating habits.
• Encourage your toddler to self-feed. This helps him to fine-tune his motor skills, and learn to be independent.
• Well-balanced home cooked meals are a priority. Prepare these meals, with a variety of food types, guided by the Food Pyramid of Malaysia. This will ensure that your toddler receives all the nutrients he needs for growth and development. It also helps to introduce him to different tastes and textures, increasing his ability to accept a wide range of nutritious foods.)

Do’s

• Keep mealtimes happy and relaxed.
• Eat together as a family to allow your toddler to learn good table manners from the adults present.
• Introduce self-feeding to your toddler to encourage him to be independent.
• Serve your toddler a variety of foods for different tastes and a balanced intake of nutrients.
• Repeat offers of the same food, at a later time, if your toddler refuses to eat it the first few times.

Don’ts

• Turn on the TV, phone and tablet during mealtimes as they are distracting.
• Force your toddler to eat everything on the plate. Instead, listen to his hunger cues.
• Serve your toddler hard, hard-to-chew or large chunks of food.
• Add salt or salty sauces to your toddler’s food.
• Use food such as sweets as a reward for good behaviour as this does not encourage a healthy attitude towards food and eating.

For further information on infant and child nutrition, please refer to

1. MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA (2013) Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. Putrajaya: Technical Working Group on Nutritional Guidelines (for National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition).
2. NUTRITION SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA (2011) Healthy Spoonfuls for Toddlers. Petaling Jaya: Mother’s Smart Choice.

Variety is key.

• Pick foods from each food group in the Malaysian Food Pyramid for a balanced meal.
• Always select different food items within each food group to ensure variety and a balanced intake of different nutrients.

Limit oily and high fat foods

• Instead of frying, try other ways such as baking, grilling, air frying, stewing and steaming.
• Replace animal fats (saturated fats) with vegetable oil when preparing foods. Try blended vegetable oil high in PUFA such as palm oil blended with soya oil.
• Trim visible fat from meat and remove skin from poultry before cooking.

Limit use of processed meats

• Meat products like sausages, nuggets and cold cuts should not be eaten more than once a week.

Limit salt intake

• Allow your toddler to develop a liking for the natural taste of foods by not adding too much salt to his meals.
• Cut down or halve the use of salt and sauces in cooking.
• Replace salt with herbs and spices to add a variety of flavour to foods, as well as enhance natural flavour.

Use less sugar

• Substitute sugar with flavourful spices such as nutmeg, vanilla or cinnamon.

Encourage nutritious snacks

• Such as fruits and vegetable.

Serve snacks two hours before main meals (see reference 3 for more snack ideas).

Make meals more appealing

• Use moulds, as well as interesting tableware and cutlery to make meals more appealing.
• Arrange foods in interesting shapes, such as smiley face, to make meals and snacks fun.

Prepare home cooked meals

• They encourage the whole family to eat together more often.
• There is more control over the type and amount of ingredients used, as well as the cooking methods employed.
• Some studies suggest that children who eat home cooked food often with their family grow up with less risk of developing unhealthy eating habits or weight problems.

Useful Download(s)

• Dining out with your toddler

Insert video: Demo “how to prepare healthy meals for your toddler”

• As a toddler has small stomachs, he will get hungry quite quickly. Aim to feed him 4 to 5 main meals with 1 to 2 snacks, daily.
• The energy requirements for active toddlers are 980kcal (for boys) and 910 kcal (for girls).
• Sources of energy should be mainly cereal and cereal products, as well as tubers.
• Toddlers can start drinking cow’s milk. Offer this as a snack instead of main meal. Breast milk is still the preferred choice as breastfeeding is recommended until up to 2 years of age.
• When preparing meals, select one food from each food group from the Malaysian Food Pyramid.
• A child’s serving size should be approximately one-quarter of an adult’s. For example, a serving of vegetables for toddlers would be about 1 to 2 tablespoons. For meat, toddlers need a serving the size of their palm.

Useful Download(s)

1. Food pyramid and serving sizes for toddlers
2. Sample meal plan for toddler 1-2 years old

By your baby’s first birthday, he should be consuming a wide variety of solid foods. While the main source of energy should come from solid foods, breast milk continues to provide nutritional and immunological benefits to baby. Breastfeeding also acts as a source of profound comfort and security, laying the groundwork for a confident, happy, and healthy future. Therefore, it is recommended to continue breastfeeding your baby up till 2 years of age or beyond.

For further information on infant and child nutrition, please refer to

1. MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA (2013) Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. Putrajaya: Technical Working Group on Nutritional Guidelines (for National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition).
2. NUTRITION SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA (2011) Healthy Spoonfuls for Toddlers. Petaling Jaya: Mother’s Smart Choice.