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

Chances are your 19 - 23 month old feels much more like a toddler these days than a baby! They are discovering something new every day and may even be starting to show their likes and dislikes when it comes to food. Now is the time to keep working on good habits and division of responsibility, which is when parents decide what to serve and kids decide what and how much to eat of the foods served. This helps to ensure your little one continues on a successful path of creating a good relationship with food.

19 to 23 month old baby sample feeding schedule

At 19 - 23 months, your toddler may be eating roughly five times a day, broken into three meals and two snacks a day. While we traditionally think of meals as larger eating occasions and snacks as smaller eating occasions, we don’t need to really be worried 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 breastfeeding, you may continue nursing 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 make sure 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 - 24 oz a day. 

You can use the schedule below to guide how your day of feeding may go with your little one. Know it can be modified to fit your needs. 

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

Around this time, most toddlers will have three meals and two snacks a day, relying on solid foods to get them the nutrition they need. At this age, the majority of kids are able to handle most textures and most kinds of food.

19 - 23  month feeding chart 

6 tips for feeding your 19 to 23 month old toddler

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. 

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. Just be cautious to 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 toddlers around 19 - 23 months are still new eaters since they’ve mastered a lot already. However, it’s important to still be conscious of high-risk choking foods at this age (think back to those early days!). Avoid hard, round foods as well as chewy and sticky foods. Keep cutting up grapes, hot dogs, cheesesticks, nuts, etc. 

Tip #5: Focus on balance

As parents, we want what is best for our children and that means ensuring they are eating healthy foods to help them grow. While it can be tempting to nudge kids to eat their veggies, research shows pressuring kiddos doesn’t really work []. 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 can feel tempting to forgo food for a nap, we don’t recommend it - at least not regularly. 

Serving lunch before a nap helps to make sure your child doesn’t wake up early from their nap due to hunger. If it feels too hard to serve a full meal, try a split lunch with a smaller meal/snack before and another smaller meal/snack after naptime. Make sure to include some protein and/or fat to help keep your little one full. 

Night feedings from 19 to 23 month olds

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 pediatrician.

Takeaway

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. Keep in mind they are still relatively new eaters, so keep safety at the top of your mind!

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 .