• Have family meals together as much as possible.

• You decide what food is served and when. Your child decides which of the offered foods to eat and how much.

• Use safe handling practices when preparing food.
  

• Offer a variety of foods from the 4 food groups in Canada's Food Guide.
  

• Prepare healthy recipes and offer healthy drinks.

• Create a meal time routine with 3 meals and 2-3 snacks each day.

• Set limits. When your child asks for unhealthy choices like pop or candy, it's your job to say "no".

• Have sit down snacks. Don't let them run around or play while eating.

• Take precautions to prevent choking. Your child is still only learning how to eat.
  

You should be offering your child 2-3 healthy snacks each day to give them energy to grow, play and learn. Each snack should have at least 2 of the 4 food groups from Canada's Food Guide.

Below are some simple, healthy ideas to try.

• Celery and red pepper sticks with bean dip or hummus
  

• Cheese cubes with apple slices

• Nut or seed butter on toast (e.g., peanut, almond, sunflower seed butter)

• Canned salmon rolled into flour tortillas

• Yogurt and sliced banana

• Egg salad sandwich

• Whole grain crackers and cheese

• Steamed meat bun

• Soft cooked edamame and orange slices

• Baked beans and whole wheat toast

• Fruit and yogurt smoothie

• Roti and dal

• Crushed pineapple, canned in water, and a small muffin

• Mini pizzas on whole wheat English muffins

• Leftover chicken, rice and vegetables

• Steamed broccoli with yogurt dip

• Baked potato with cheese and salsa

• Quesadilla: beans and cheese melted into a flour tortilla

• Whole grain cereal with milk and berries
  

Feeding your toddler can be a challenge sometimes so providing a variety of healthy food options will help them develop good eating habits. Eating should be enjoyable so doing things like offering brightly coloured foods cut into interesting shapes can help create a positive environment for your child to develop a healthy relationship with food. Establishing healthy eating patterns includes taking into account your taste, culture, budget and lifestyle.

Canada's Food Guide can help you decide what food to prepare for meals and snacks. It recommends including plenty of vegetables and fruit, eating good protein foods (including choosing plant-based proteins more often) and making water your drink of choice.

Each meal should include about:

• Half of your plate filled with vegetables and fruits

• ¼ of your plate with a healthy protein (such as legumes, lean meats)

• ¼ of your plate with whole grain foods (such as whole grain pasta, quinoa, whole grain or brown rice)
  

Snacks can be a combination of at least two different food categories. Try some brown rice crackers and carrot sticks or apple slices and low-fat cheese.

Remember your child is still learning to eat so be conscious of teaching them safe food handling practices and exposing them to a wide range of healthy food choices.

Cut up finger foods and anything that could be a choking hazard. It is also best to avoid big globs of food that is difficult to swallow like peanut butter and melted cheese.

Prepare food using as little added salt and sugar as possible.

For more ideas on how to feed your toddler try these resources:

• Meal suggestions for toddlers
  

• Healthy vegetarian and vegan options
  

• Kid-friendly sample menus
  

For information on safe food handling to prevent food poisoning, visit the food safety at home webpage.

No, keep offering snacks. Children have small stomachs and need to eat more often than adults, even if it's in small amounts. Snacks are an important opportunity to give your child healthy food they may not have eaten at meal time.

Absolutely! By offering snacks at set times, you're helping your child to eat better at meal times, learn healthy eating habits and lower the risk of tooth decay.

Your child may be too tired and hungry by dinner time to sit still and focus on eating well. Try having your family meal earlier in the day, or offer a small, healthy snack 2-3 hours before dinner. It's okay if she eats less at dinner.

The foods we eat can help prevent constipation. Make sure your son is drinking plenty of water and offer him food rich in fibre such as:

• Whole grains: whole grain bread, oatmeal, bran cereal, quinoa, brown rice

• Legumes: black beans, chickpeas, lentils

• Vegetables and fruit: prunes and other unsweetened dried fruit, berries, apples, pears, peas.

If constipation is an ongoing problem, talk to your health care provider.