How Much Do Toddlers Really Need? The Realistic Guide to Serving Sizes
By Sue Gilbert

“My Toddler Doesn’t Eat Enough!” is the refrain of most parents of the one to three year old crowd. Despite evidence to the contrary…their kids are well placed on the growth charts, their energy is never-ending, and their curiosity almost did kill the cat, parents often think their kids just plain don’t eat enough food. The super-sizing of practically everything has distorted our impression of what really does make a serving. And, couple that with the number of servings the food pyramid tells us our kids should be eating,and well, there’s simply NO WAY they could eat all that. What’s a parent to do?

Get a grip on reality. And that reality is:

1. Little children are growing slowly so they don’t need as much, pound for pound, as they did when they were babies.
2. In a study at New York University, researchers compared recommended portions to customary portions. Their findings of customary versus recommended serving sizes included: Cookies were as much as seven times as large, muffins can weigh up to three times as much, and the diameter of a bagel may be twice again as big and twice as many calories. In other words, customary sizes were geometrically larger than recommended portion sizes. Serving sizes on the Food Pyramid are based on nutritional needs, while serving size on labels are based on surveys of the public that reflect the amount of food customarily eaten at one time. The two sizes seldom agree. The Pyramid is designed to help you meet daily nutrient recommendations while the Nutrition Facts label helps you compare similar foods. Following the serving sizes on the Food Pyramid, not the nutrition facts panels is the best way to get your nutritional needs without going over your caloric needs.
3. Serving sizes recommended by the Food Pyramid are small, and a toddler needs only 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 of an adult serving size. That turns out to not be much food at all.

Below are the recommended number of servings and serving sizes, and representations of some of those sizes:

	Grain Group: Six servings:
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Bread		1⁄4 to 1⁄2 slice	1⁄2 slice
Muffin		1⁄4 to 1/3 muffin	1/3 to 1⁄2 muffin
Crackers		2 saltine size	2 to 4
Hot Cereal		2 Tbsp to 1⁄4 cup	1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
Cold Cereal (dry)		1⁄4 cup	1/3 cup
Cooked Pasta or Grains		2 Tbsp to 1⁄4 cup	1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
	Vegetable Group: Three servings:
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Cooked		1 to 3 TBSP	1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
Raw chopped		1 to 3 TBSP	1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
Leafy greens		1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup	1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup
	Fruit Group: Two servings:
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Canned or pureed		1 to 3 TBSP	1⁄2 cup total
Fresh		1⁄4 cup total	1⁄4 cup to 1 whole
Dried		1 TBSP	1⁄4 cup total
Juice (full strenghth)		1⁄4 cup (2 oz)	1⁄2 cup (4 oz)
	Dairy Group: Two servings:
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Milk or milk substitute		1⁄2 cup (4 oz.)	3⁄4 cup (6 oz)
Cheese		1 ounce	up to 2 ounces
Yogurt		1⁄2 cup	3⁄4 cup
Cottage Cheese		1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup	1⁄2 cup
	Meat, Fish, Poultry, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nut Group: Two servings:
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Cooked; lean meat fish or poultry		1 ounce	1 to 1 1⁄2 ounces
Peanut Butter		2 TBSP	2 to 3 TBSP
Egg		1 egg	1 egg
Nuts, Seeds, Soy Beans		1⁄2 ounce	3⁄4 ounce
Cottage Cheese		1 ounce	1 to 1 1⁄2 ounces
Dry Beans		1⁄4 cup	1/3 cup
	Fats and Sweets
one serving is:		1 to 3 years old	3 to 6 years old
Butter or margarine		up to 1 tsp.	1 tsp
Salad dressing		2 to 3 tsp.	1 TBSP
Sugar, honey, jam, etc		use sparingly	use sparingly

Serving Comparisons

Sometimes the best way to understand what they really mean by a serving size is to actually see it. But actual size pictures are unrealistic for here, so try these relative comparisons to get the idea.

A standard muffin is the size of a tennis ball

One ounce of cheese is a pair of dice

One ounce of meat is your ring and little finger

Two tablespoons of peanut butter is a ping-pong ball

One quarter cup fruit, vegetables, yogurt, etc is the size of a medium egg

Use Standard Servings

Use standard serving sizes no matter where you are, regardless of the ‘deal’ super-sized portions seem to be, or what the nutrition label says. A study by The American Institute for Cancer Research showed that 67% of Americans eat what is on their plates, regardless of the serving size, so once you start ordering the super size meals and deals, you’ll eat it, even if you don’t’ need it. And while young kids tend to eat according to hunger, after the age of five they are much more responsive to serving size. The more they are served, the more they eat. Not so with the three and under crowd. So, toddler hood and preschool age is the most sensitive time to help kids stay in touch with inner cues of hunger and satiety. Encouraging them to eat more than they want, or serving unnecessarily large portion size will distort their intuitive understanding of how much they really need. Bring your understanding of portion size back to reality, then help our child to grow up learning to eat appropriate amounts of food. It’s a sure way to help prevent obesity and develop healthy eating habits.