Common Questions

Around 12 months, we can start transitioning from formula feeds to cow's milk (or a dairy-free milk if required). I know this can be a big transition for both you and your toddler, so it's important to go at a pace you are both comfortable with. This post explains why it's important to move away from baby bottles after 12 months, when to offer milk and how to make the transition. You can also learn more about how much milk your toddler actually needs here, and how often to offer dairy foods or alternatives to meet your toddler's calcium requirements.

As your baby progressed with solids, you'll likely have noticed them getting more skilled with biting and chewing and managing more challenging textures. But as your child enters toddlerhood, there are still lots of textures that are too tricky for them to safely eat. You can find my guide to texture progression for toddlers here, including high risk foods, reducing risk of choking and lots of examples of how to gradually offer more challenging textures. You can also check out this comprehensive guest presentation by Speech Pathologist Sara Beckett on biting and chewing skill development for toddlers.

In short, we never want to be labelling foods as either good or bad. I discuss why this is the case in this article. I also talk about what you can say instead and how you can talk about foods differently as your little one grows older.

My framework is designed to help you achieve the long term goals of supporting your toddler to build a positive relationship with food and their body, while also meeting their nutrition needs. If you're offering all of the different food groups a few times across each day, you can be confident the nutrients will fall into place. Module 4 provides guidance on how to plan meals for your toddler based on the five food groups, and shows you that every day foods can be more nutritious than you think. If your little one is only eating fruit, yoghurt (or another type of food), head to this video and post where I discuss in more detail why this can be normal and what your role is in these situations.

I get asked a lot about what how to choose the best brands of commercial foods when shopping. It can be confusing, but I've got you covered! Learn how to choose specific types of foods by reading the following articles on: crackers, bread, wraps, yoghurt, pasta, noodles, dairy-free milk, dairy-free yoghurt, cheese, breakfast cereal, tinned fruit, tinned beans, tinned fish, chicken nuggets, savoury snacks, muesli bars, peanut butter and tomato sauce, You can also search the archives for my weekly Chewsday Reviews if you want more information about a particular product. If you cant find what you're looking for, feel free to ask a question on Toddler Mealtimes Subscribers group, or add your product request to the Chewsday Reviews pinned post . For a sneak peak at what I put into my trolley at the supermarket one week checkout this post here.

You can also search Dr Kyla's Chewsday Reviews if you want to read about a particular product. If you can't find what you are looking for, ask in the Baby Mealtimes Subscribers Facebook group or submit a request for an upcoming Chewsday Review.

I've got great news - there is lots you can do to foster a healthy relationship between your toddler and "junk foods". In this post you can learn how to help normalise these foods to reduce the obsession. I also give you some practical strategies on how to include "junk food" in your toddler's diet, and how to support your child in building a good relationship with these foods here. Plus, there's another post exploring how to talk about food, and why labelling food as 'good' and 'bad' can be problematic.

As a Toddler Mealtime member, you have access to over 120 easy, toddler-friendly and family recipes, including some of my favourites like roast dinner fritters and chocolate and zucchini muffins. You can also check out the Meal Inspiration Gallery for heaps of real life toddler meal ideas, and the Snack Gallery for over 70 speedy snack solutions.