Galway mum behind mealtime experiment

A Galway mum has taken part in a novel online experiment to assess toddler meal times and whether they were getting enough nutritionally.

Research indicates that 67% of parents have experienced fussy eating with their toddler and almost 50% have abandoned a planned meal due to their toddler’s tantrums or refusals to eat.

Toddlebox recently set out to explore the reality of toddler’s meal times and found seven families, including Alice Shaughnessy from Turloughmore, to take part in the Toddlebox Challenge.

Alice, mum to one year old twins Allegra and Francesca, filmed her toddlers’ meal times on iPad over two weeks to capture the reality of the highs and lows of meal times.

The Toddlebox Challenge worked with Alice and other families one on one, filming every step of the way to offer advice and tips on toddler nutrition to the wider Toddlebox community.

Toddlebox expert dietitian Sarah Keogh worked with these families to tailor meal plans specific to their day-to-day lives in an effort to improve their toddler’s fussy eating tendencies and nutrition. The information was then shared and made available to other families seeking advice and tips on feeding their toddlers on www.toddlebox.ie

The Toddlebox Challenge found that most of the toddlers who took part were not meeting their recommended intakes for Iron and Vitamin D.

Toddlers, although tiny, require almost four times more iron than an adult per kg of body weight per day, yet one in four toddlers aged one year in Ireland are not getting the right amount of iron, which is a key nutrient in supporting brain development.

Toddlers also need five times more calcium and five times more Vitamin D per kilogram of their bodyweight per day.

Interestingly, the Toddlebox Challenge found that all of the toddlers who took part were drinking too much throughout the day or snacking too often between meals and so were not hungry at meal times. Toddlers’ tummies are only the size of their own closed fist, making it sometimes difficult for parents to get the right foods in at meal times.

Sarah Keogh said this a common problem across Ireland and finds that parents struggle to get the large but necessary quantities of Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Calcium into their toddler’s. She recommends a toddler tailored fortified milk to ensure increased intake of these vital nutrients.

“The Toddlebox Challenge was a fascinating initiative to be part of as it uncovered some very interesting realities surrounding toddler meal times in Ireland. One of the common trends we saw among our seven families was that toddlers were filling up between meals, particularly on milk and snacks.

“By encouraging parents to reduce milk and snacking we saw all our toddlers’ appetites increase and so they are now eating more at meal times, but feeding can still be a struggle so I always recommend adopting a toddler tailored fortified milk.”

Alice Shaughnessy was delighted with her role in the experiment. “When I started Toddlebox, I had hoped that I’d get some good ideas for meals that would get the right nutrition into my two girls and curb the fussy eating habits they had recently developed.

“I got some very good advice on things which I had been doing incorrectly, such as giving the girls too much milk for their age. As a first time mum, this kind of information is vital, as it’s not something I had been told before and would still not know had it not been for Toddlebox’s advice.

“Since cutting down on the size of their bottles, the girls have a much better appetite when it comes to feeding time. They are much more accepting when it comes to trying new foods and love feeding themselves as much as they can.

“I feel more equipped now about what I should and shouldn’t be feeding them and what impact liquids have on their appetites. I would definitely recommend Toddlebox to anyone who is struggling with toddler meal times,” she added.

■ To keep up to date with Toddlebox and for tips and expert advice on toddler nutrition visit Toddlebox or join the conversation on Facebook.