Toddlers can be some of the pickiest eaters alive, no longer babies they voice or show their disdain for one food and love for another but lack the capacity to be reasoned with for the most part. This does not mean as a parent you should give into your toddlers eating preferences and schedule.

First, to understand what you need to be feeding your toddler here is the nutritional guidelines for a toddler:

The average toddler needs between 1,000 and 1,400 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. To put this in perspective the average adult needs 2,000 to 2,500. This means a toddler should eat roughly half as much as you do between meals and snacks.

Depending on age, your child should get between 3-5 servings of grains. As an example of a serving size, one slice of whole grain bread is one serving, one to one and half cups of vegetables and fruits each, 2 cups of diary, and 2-4 ounces of protein or meat. Moderate sugar/sweets intake is acceptable.

Unfortunately, most toddlers like to add about 20 servings of sugar and junk food to this list. It’s your job as a parent to make eating healthy what your toddler wants to do, rather what you want them to do.

One of the best ways to achieve this is to eat healthy yourself. Toddlers are copy cats in more way than one. If they see you eating carrot sticks rather than candy they’ll want carrot sticks too. You also want to be sure that you are presenting your toddler with the option to eat healthy. Frozen dinners and eating out may be quick and easy for you, but do not foster good eating habits in your child.

Second, you can make eating healthy fun. Toddlers love dip-it, games and stories. Tell stories about strong men or beautiful princesses that eat healthy, play games that teach about nutrition or make eating interesting, offer healthy dips for snacks. It may also help to let your toddler watch or help (depending on age) you prepare the food. Feeling as if they have interacted or had some choice in their meals often makes toddlers easier to deal with. For example, present two healthy snacks and let your toddler choose which one. Either choice is healthy, but the toddler still had a choice.