We'll start with some guidelines to show you how much of the critical nutrients your toddler needs. and how that translates into food intake, then we'll move onto the more important issue of how to get them to eat that food. The following is a summary of the daily requirements for a one to three year old:

What to eat:

1. Protein: A minimum of 16 grams a day. !6 ounces of milk plus one ounce of meat is ample protein for a toddler.
2. Fat: At least 30% of a toddler's calories should come from fat. Too little can result in "failure to thrive" where children do not get enough food to supply their energy and growth needs.
3. Calories: 40 calories/day/inch of height = 1000 to 1300calories/day.

   Calorie distribution is apt to look like this:

   16 g Protein = 64 calories
   44 g Fat = 396 calories
   210 g Carbohydrate = 840 calories
   Total = 1300 calories