19 - 23 month olds feeding schedule: Amounts, food chart, breastmilk

Does it feel like your toddler is discovering something new every day? They may even be starting to show their likes and (strong) dislikes when it comes to food. This is a great age to continue working on healthy eating habits and a positive relationship with food. Here’s what you may expect when feeding a 19 - 23 month old. 

19 - 23 month old toddler sample feeding schedule

At 19 - 23 months, your toddler may be eating roughly five times a day, around three meals and two snacks. While we traditionally think of meals as larger eating occasions and snacks as smaller eating occasions, we don’t need to be overly concerned about the amount of food eaten during each meal or snack. Think of all eating occasions equally and treat snacks as mini-meals, offering nutritious options that are well-balanced to help keep your little one full. 

If you’re nursing, continue as you and your child wish, but remember that the goal is for most of your child’s nutrition to come from solid foods. If your child is drinking cow’s milk or another cow’s milk alternative, ensure it isn’t interfering with their solid food consumption, as this can displace other important foods in the diet. Typically, this looks like limiting milk to about 16 oz a day as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics [].

The feeding schedule below can be an example of how to guide meals and snacks. This is inspiration rather than instruction. The important thing is that it fits your family’s rhythm and your little one’s needs.

How much to feed a 19 - 23 month old: Food chart

By now, most toddlers are running on three meals and two snacks a day, with solid foods doing the heavy lifting for their nutrition. This is also the stage where they’re often ready to experiment a bit more and tackle a variety of textures and flavors — soft, crunchy, chewy, or a little of everything in between. This can actually grow their brain []!

19 - 23 month feeding chart 

Wondering what typical meals may look like for your toddler? Here's a sample menu to give you some ideas of what your child may consume in a day. In practice, adapt it to follow your own family's food and eating preferences.

Night feedings from 19 - 23 months old

At 19 - 23 months, toddlers typically do not need night feedings. Be sure to offer sufficient calories and opportunities to eat throughout the day to help them sleep well at night. If your family eats dinner earlier or you find your toddler is constantly hungry at bedtime, you may offer a small bedtime snack about 30 minutes before bed. Choose a mix of protein and carbohydrates, like milk and fruit or toast with peanut butter. If your child still wakes up hungry at night, talk with your family’s medical provider.

Common feeding challenges for 19 - 23 month olds

Between 19 - 23 months, toddlers are asserting independence like pros and this often shows up at the table. 

Common feeding challenges at this age may be:

• Toddlers may demand only certain foods, reject favorites, or want to eat the same thing every day.

• Dramatic food reactions, like throwing food or gagging, may appear.

• Sitting through a full meal can be tricky with their short attention spans; distractions like toys, noises, or other people often win.

• Self-feeding is still messy and part of the learning curve.

• Some days they eat everything in sight, other days barely a bite.

• Resistance to new foods is common and can make mealtimes tense. Stay calm and know this phase is often short-lived!

• Overreliance on milk or sippy cups can sometimes pop up at this age.

6 tips for feeding your 19 - 23 month old toddler

Find more details below:

Tip #1: Avoid becoming a short-order cook

• Most children go through a selective eating phase around this age. They may refuse to eat foods they previously enjoyed and ask for their favorites at mealtime.

• Instead of giving in to their wishes and making them a new meal, avoid becoming a short-order cook. This only encourages kids to ask for a favorite meal and limits their willingness to try new foods. 

• When in doubt, try saying something like: “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.” 

Tip #2: Continue to offer new foods

• Even if your child hesitates to try new foods, continue to offer them. Research shows that it may take many (like 15 times!) exposures [] to a food before your child tries it.

• Aim to serve a new food alongside a food your child regularly enjoys to make it seem less intimidating. Also, know that touching, licking, biting, and spitting out food are all positive steps!

Tip #3: Watch out for added sugars 

• Around this age, as your kiddo can eat more types of food, it becomes easier and easier to serve prepackaged convenience foods. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this! These types of foods can be part of a balanced diet and anything that makes the job of parenting a little easier is wonderful in our book.

• That said, be aware of what you’re serving — when possible, read the nutrition label and do your best to avoid and limit added sugars.

Tip #4: Still be careful of choking hazards

• It can be easy to forget that toddlers are still new eaters since they’ve mastered so much already.

• Avoid high-risk foods like hard, round items as anything that’s overly chewy or sticky. Keep cutting up grapes, hot dogs, cheese sticks, nuts, etc. Aim to have your child sit while eating to minimize the risk of choking.  

Tip #5: Focus on balance

• It’s tempting to pressure your child to eat their veggies — of course, we all want our kids to be healthy and thrive. However, research shows pressuring kids to eat doesn’t really work, despite good intentions [].

• To help ease your worry, focus on balance instead of specific foods or nutrients. When you zoom out and look at a week, most toddlers at this age eat a fairly balanced diet.

Tip #6: Optimize lunchtime for naptime success 

• It can feel a bit difficult to squeeze in a midday meal and still get your toddler sleeping by. While it may be tempting to forgo food for a nap, we don’t recommend it, at least not regularly. 

• Serving lunch before sleep helps to make sure your child doesn’t wake up early from their nap due to hunger. If it’s too hard to serve a full meal, try a split lunch with a smaller meal/snack before and another smaller meal/snack after naptime.

Takeaway

• Expect ups and downs: Feeding a 19 - 23 month old toddler is exciting, but can test your patience at times. Kids at this age are testing their limits and independence, even with food, so do your best to still follow positive feeding practices.

• Continue to introduce variety: Aim to serve a new food alongside a food your child usually enjoys to make it seem less intimidating. It can take repeated exposures for your kiddo to try (and possibly like!) a new food.

• Prioritize safety: Keep in mind they are still relatively new eaters, so keep safety at the top of your mind! Cutting up foods to small bites and avoiding foods that are easy to choke on are important habits to maintain.

If you’re curious about what lies ahead when it comes to feeding, check out a . Take a look back at how far you’ve come by revisiting a .