I received product and compensation from Mead Johnson Nutrition to create this post written by me. All experiences and opinions expressed in this post are my own and not those of Mead Johnson Nutrition. You can contact Mead Johnson Nutrition with product related questions or comments toll free at 1-800-BABY-123 (1-800-222-9123).
Everyone always told me that siblings can be complete opposites, and when it comes to my kiddos that certainly is true. My first child ate anything and everything that we put on his plate. However, our second has been a battle of wills when it comes to eating right from the start. Our food battles have always driven me a bit crazy and caused plenty of frustration for everyone involved.
One of the nutritional worries that I have most often is how much DHA my toddler is receiving from her diet. DHA, an Omega-3 fatty acid, is an important building block to a child’s growing brain and it’s incredibly important to me that I do my best to be sure that she gets DHA in her diet. 85% of brain growth happens in the first three years of life, so it’s extremely important to be sure that toddlers are getting DHA to help them nourish their brain growth. Experts recommend aiming for 70-100mg/day a day in a toddler’s diet to help support early brain and eye development.
What concerns me the most is that on average, a toddler’s diet only provides 25% of the amount of DHA experts recommend. For some toddlers, on average, there is a nutritional gap when it comes to DHA, especially as toddler’s can be very picky when it comes to eating certain foods. Many of the foods that are high in DHA are foods that can be difficult to get toddlers to eat regularly.
To ensure that my daughter gets the important DHA to help support brain growth, I encourage my daughter to eat and drink certain foods that have DHA.
Salmon, for instance, is a great source of DHA, but most little kids are resistant to salmon. A little sneaky preparation helps. We love making salmon patties with flaked salmon and breadcrumbs and my daughter eats it without too much hassle. Other foods may be fortified with DHA as well.
Enfagrow® Toddler Next Step™
Enfagrow Toddler is a milk-based toddler drink that is a great complement to a toddler’s diet to help ensure good nutrition for their changing needs and tastes. Enfagrow has DHA (52 mg in two 7-ounce servings) to help bridge the gap that most toddlers have in their diet.
Aside from supplementing your child’s diet with important brain building DHA, Enfagrow Toddler also helps support the immune system. It has prebiotics to help support digestive health. I love the convenience and ease of giving my daughter Enfagrow Toddler (they have liquid bottles or tubs with powder to mix in water), especially since it’s milk flavored so she easily drinks it.
You can go to Enfagrow.com to learn more and request a free sample. Ease your minds mamas and give this drink to help support the brain a try!
For more information on Enfagrow Toddler and the importance of DHA, check out Enfagrow.com.
Are (or were) your kids picky eaters?
This is sponsored by Enfagrow® Toddler Next Step™.
Great post.
I am out of the toddler stage, but i remember hearing alot about DHA when my kids were little. Interesting to see on the infographic that they need this for brain development as toddlers. So I guess I am not going to worry about DHA – my kids are 7 and 9! my kids are still really picky though.
I didn’t think to continue formula! Great idea!
Thank you for the post, Amber! I was able to request my free 10oz sample!
Glad you have an option. I don’t have kids but I am sure this is very important
Such helpful tips!!
This is great advice. I used this for one of my kids when he was younger because he was so low, he went down to the 5 percentile for weight. This is a great product!!