My toddler’s weaning stage 4: 12+ months

One step closer to family mealtimes!

As they become more independent, your toddler may want to try what the family are eating. But not all family foods are suitable as they may be too high in salt and sugar. You still need to give them a nutritionally balanced diet tailored to them, to make sure they’re getting the goodness they need in every mouthful.

Nutrition

To provide energy for your toddler, try to aim for at least 4 servings of carbohydrates per day, such as cereal, bread, pasta or potatoes. Watch out for adult cereals though – many are too high in fibre, sugar and salt.

Milk is still an important part of their diet. They’ll need at least 350ml including what they have in cereals and cooking, or 2 servings of dairy food a day. But they shouldn’t have more than 600ml - about a pint, as this can fill them up leaving less room for food.

They may also go through growing spurts which can mean a different appetite from one day to the next. As long as they’re eating a variety of foods from all the main food groups over a few days, they’ll be fine.

Texture

Finger foods are brilliant for toddlers. Not only for helping them learn to feed themselves but also keeping them interested at a stage when they’re easily distracted from their food. Eating little pieces of food, chunkier meals and bite-sized cereals continues to develop the muscles they’ll soon be using for all that talking!

Taste

Between 2 and 8 years old, your toddler may be less likely to try new foods so it’s important to give them lots of variety now. Giving them lots of different tastes and combinations can also lead to healthier eating habits in the future!

The right balance from Cow & Gate

Cow & Gate’s range of toddler foods include Toddler Balance breakfast cereals and Toddler Balance Meals, helping you give your toddler a balanced diet.

Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk is the ideal drink to complement your toddler's daily diet.  Nutritionally better for your toddler than cows' milk, it contains iron for healthy blood, vitamin C to help support a healthy immune system and vitamin D to help keep their teeth and bones strong.  In fact, just one 500ml bottle a day contains more iron, vitamin C and vitamin D than 6 pints of cows' milk!