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Your toddler may have a small and “picky” appetite between 12 and 24 months.
Toddlers do not need a large amount of food and will eat when hungry. Your child
may also want to eat only a few favorite foods. Cutting your child’s food into small
bite-sized portions will promote self-feeding with fingers or occasionally a spoon.
This gives your child more control over the amount and type of foods she eats.
Take the extra time needed to encourage your toddler to help with his own hand
washing, bathing, and dressing, even if it means the shirt goes on backwards and the
shoes are on the wrong feet! This will help build many skills, including a sense of
pride and self-worth.
Young toddlers may be happy to help pick up and put toys away. At the end of this
stage, however, they may begin to show more negative responses. Try to avoid clean
up time when your toddler is likely to be overly tired.
Daily routines are important to support a toddler’s self-help skills. A consistent
schedule at home and at school lets the toddler know that washing hands, eating,
brushing teeth, toileting, dressing, playing, napping and picking up toys are activities
that she can expect every day. Support your child’s growing independence by helping
her practice these skills daily.