The family-table day · 12-24 months
A Family-Table Day at 12-24 Months
A toddler-sized place at the family table: three meals, one or two snacks, familiar food and safely adapted family dishes.
The day of
Your toddler has a real place at the family table now. Start with what everyone is eating, set aside the soft unsalted portion, and then finish the grown-up pan. The day usually finds its rhythm around three meals and one or two snacks.
The easiest way to cook less
Serve theirs before seasoning ours
Set aside the soft baby portion first. Then finish the family pan. It is one meal, not a second little restaurant.
Mid-morning snack (optional)
around
Fruit or a small yogurt if breakfast was light. Skip it when breakfast carried them happily to lunch.
Lunch (around midday)
around
A balanced plate built from the same ingredients as the family meal:
- Vegetables - soft-cooked, in small pieces.
- Cereal - pasta, rice, soft bread, polenta.
- Protein - meat, fish, egg, legumes, or cheese. Rotate across the week.
- Fat - raw extra virgin olive oil.
Afternoon merenda
around
Fruit and/or yogurt, or a small no-sugar bake. This is also a good moment for yesterday's safe leftovers.
Dinner (early evening)
around
A lighter meal with the family: vegetables, a little cereal and a protein planned around lunch.
Breakfast
Milk plus something to eat: soft bread, a no-sugar bake, fruit and/or yogurt. It does not need to look like a hotel breakfast.
Milk at this age
Cow's milk can now be a drink rather than the centre of every meal. Offer water at the table and use your pediatrician's advice for the amount and type of milk that fits your child.
Textures at this age
- 12-18 months - soft bite-sized pieces; most of what the family eats, cut safely.
- 18-24 months - nearly everything, with the risky shapes still avoided.
What to avoid
No added salt or sugar. No whole nuts, grapes, or hard raw pieces until they can chew well (and even then, cut safely). Limit fruit juice; whole fruit is better.
Remember
One day your toddler may ask for seconds; the next day, the peas are apparently offensive. Appetite moves. Your job is the calm pattern of what and when; theirs is whether and how much. Bring the bigger pattern, not one strange dinner, to your pediatrician.
Primi Bocconi · based on Ministero della Salute, SIP, ESPGHAN and EFSA guidance · primibocconi.org/fiches
