![]() ![]() ![]() By telling toddlers ‘you can’t have pudding until you’ve finished your main meal’, this makes pudding seem more desirable than the foods offered at main courses.įorcing a child to finish what is on their plate may interfere with their ability to regulate their appetite and could cause them to experience unnecessary stress and anxiety at mealtimes. Children should not be expected to finish everything on their plate, and should be allowed to eat their dessert even if they have not finished their main course, because it’s an important source of energy and nutrients for them. Should children have dessert if they don’t eat their main course?Īs we know, children’s appetites will vary, so they should be encouraged to eat nutritious foods according to their appetite. In warmer months, try making your own frozen yoghurt, for a refreshing pudding.įamilies can access our FREE e-guide Good Nutrition for Your Toddler (opens in new tab) for more guidance on planning meals and snacks for your little one (for free access use code earlystartnutrition). Opt for natural, Greek or plain yoghurt and add fruit, such as berries, to naturally sweeten. Be cautious of the sugar content in flavoured yoghurts.If using tinned fruit choose fruit in natural juice and not syrup.When baked items such as flapjack and sponge cake, use fruit, fruit puree or fruit juice to sweeten dishes rather than sugar. If providing ice cream, choose dairy ice cream as it contains more calcium than non-dairy ice cream, and limit to once a week with fruit-based desserts at meal times.Desserts which include fruit should aim to include 40g of fresh fruit or 20g dried fruit per portion. Some sour fruits, such as stewed rhubarb or gooseberries, may need a small amount of sugar added to make them less sour. Fruit contains sugar and can be used to sweeten desserts, puddings and cakes.Limit confectionery such as chocolate chips and hundreds and thousands and use only as part of cakes or desserts.Top Tips for preparing toddler desserts / puddings There are lots of ideas for recipes available on their website.Įarly years chefs and practitioners can also book on our Menu Planning (opens in new tab) course which will give you the knowledge to plan your puddings to meet the Eat Better Start Better guidelines. Public Health England have also produced example menus and useful guidance for early years settings to help meet the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements for food and drink. Desserts which include fruit should aim to include 40g of fresh fruit or 20g dried fruit per portion.For light meals (typically tea) provide fruit (such as seasonal fruit salad) and/or dairy-based desserts such as yoghurt, and avoid cakes and biscuits.fruit-based such as apple crumble, dairy-based desserts such as rice pudding and limit provision of cakes and biscuits. For main meals (typically lunch), provide a variety of different desserts each week- e.g.Vary the desserts offered with lunch and tea each week. ![]() A dessert should be provided as part of lunch and tea each day.In relation to the desserts and puddings, the EBSB guidelines state: What are the guidelines for early years settings?Įarly years settings should use the Eat Better Start Better guidelines (opens in new tab) to support them in planning nutritious meals, snacks and puddings for the children in their care. To protect children’s teeth and appetite it’s best to avoid sweet treats including cakes, biscuits, sweet muffins, cookies, flapjacks, pastries, chocolate and sweets, between meals. It is important to limit cakes and biscuits, try not to offer them more than once per week. There are lots of suitable toddlers desserts / puddings that can be offered which are cereal, fruit or milk based. Which toddlers desserts and puddings are suitable? However, nutritious desserts and puddings are a great way of providing young children with energy and essential nutrients such as calcium and iron. When we think about toddlers desserts and puddings, the foods that often come to mind are sugary treats, such as chocolate cake, sticky toffee pudding and ice cream. Toddlers can be offered three meals (breakfast, lunch, tea), desserts and two or three snacks each day to get the balance of nutrients they need.Īlongside lunch and tea, there is a recommendation to provide toddlers with a nutritious dessert/pudding. To support toddlers to meet their energy and nutrient requirements they need regular meals, puddings and snacks across the day. ![]()
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