As a parent, you want to provide the best nutrition available to ensure your baby's early physical growth. Early childhood nutrition is critical to the development of the first two years, not only to protect health and support growth, but can also introduce and reinforce beneficial eating habits. As your baby grows into a toddler, you will begin to rely more on foods, including suitable solid foods to get the proper nutrients and calories to support healthy growth and development. Many parents will face challenges related to children's feeding, such as unruly behavior at the table, stuck food, refusal of meals and being overweight. Without a doubt, it can become a tiring task for many parents, especially first-time parents. The key is to be patient and not get overwhelmed during this process; it will take time and tolerance. Given these topics, I will provide you with the tools and information necessary to provide useful guidance during this age-related transition period. During the toddler stage, they acquire individuality in food choices, often expressed through rebellion. As the child grows from infancy into toddlerhood, the growth rate slows and he or she eats less than parents expect. Eating habits such as consuming foods high in saturated and trans fats should be avoided. Additionally, milk intake should be reduced by 24 ounces. to 16 oz. per day to leave room for foods from other groups. At ages 12 to 36 months, children should consume 30-40% of total calories from fat, and 25-35% from 48 months and older. “As a general rule, young children need between 1,000 and 1,400 calories per day depending on their age, weight and how active they are (Geagan).” As provided by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP... center of document... example), parental pressure to eat or use food as a reward has been associated with poorer diet quality, while access to and adoption of nutritious food patterns has been associated with improved outcomes for children (Golley, Smithers, Campbell, and Lynch 11-16).” Offering your child a balanced diet with each food group every day will provide your child with the nutrients needed for their growing bodies. As stated previously, early childhood nutrition is of the utmost importance to support healthy growth and development, not to mention guidance in helping your child build eating habits that will lead him or her into a healthy adulthood be sure to use reinforcement positive. I hope these tips can help you teach your child good eating habits that will stay with him for life. Enjoy this delightful experience with your little one.