I think most moms instinctively would give the answer: Whatever they will eat.

The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. Feeding a toddler is a full contact sport. There’s a lot of “Oh my baby, alle alle” and similar games to keep their attention. Then mothers do a lot of following their baby’s tiny finger’s pointing gesture to unimaginable items in the kitchen cabinet. And no matter what the baby points at, do they know what they want? If only the mothers knew.

It’s tempting to give toddlers anything and everything to keep them away from whining, crying or screaming. And I feel a parent’s job is to allow the baby, the power of choice. After all, at this age he/she doesn’t get to make many decisions. (Though, he/she would desperately want to!)

But most importantly it’s the mother’s job to guide and limit the choices. That means if there are chocolate doughnuts kept on the kitchen platform; the baby’s surely going to want chocolate doughnuts to eat. But if everything in sight is real, whole food then it’s a win-win situation. If the baby sees bright red cherries/strawberries then he/she may crave for them. Even the way you present food to the toddler matters. He/she may not be game to eat vegetables but if it’s served in the form of a pizza well stocked with veggies and a bit of cheese then lo and behold, the baby will be more than happy to eat it. Instead of Coke or Pepsi just whip some fresh Banana Smoothie with a little dark chocolate. The baby would still make his/her own choices, and the mother would be more than happy that the baby’s eating well.