How to Feed Your Toddler by Charlotte Stirling-Reed review

For many parents, toddlerhood is where they can get derailed on the feeding journey, finding that their child, who happily ate colourful, creative, home-cooked meals, suddenly refuses anything but fish fingers!

Starting at 12 months, and taking you right through to pre-school age, How to Feed Your Toddler brings together Charlotte's trademark approach of evidence-based advice, nurturing support and practical problem-solving to give you the confidence to help your toddler develop a positive relationship with food.

Awards

How to Feed Your Toddler by Charlotte Stirling-Reed won Silver in the Mother&Baby awards 2024 for Best Feeding Product for Weaning.

How to Feed Your Toddler by Charlotte Stirling-Reed key features

Testing How to Feed Your Toddler by Charlotte Stirling-Reed

This isn't just a recipe book. While there are recipes in it (and they are great!) the focus is more on the whole process of feeding your family: creating a good mealtime environment, the psychology behind it all, meal templates and ideas to add extra nutrition, and overall avoiding picky eating. About half the book is dedicated to recipes, and so far they have all been easy and delicious - very much enjoyed by all my family. I particularly enjoyed the snacks section with both recipes and more general guidelines for creating balanced snacks.

The author of this book writes in a warm and relaxed way and rather than just provide advice, she talks about her experiences which are relatable and make you feel reassured. The more scientific concepts are explained simply and she does not make you feel pressured to achieve certain goals with regards to getting children to yet; yet equips you with ideas to try. The book is aesthetically pleasing and I particularly like the warm pastel and mute tones she uses throughout.

How to Feed Your Toddler has been so useful! We’ve used it a lot. I initially expected to use it most with my one year old for some inspiration on how to move us on in his weaning journey but actually it helps reinvigorate mealtime for all of us, my five and three year old too! The flapjacks are now a staple and definitely feel more like a treat!

This is more than just a toddler cook book, its a full information pack which is fantastic for guiding you through mealtimes and especially the fussy eating stage. It is full of advice but so easy to understand and follow. A large proportion of the book is given to explaining the world of toddler feeding, from how to eat out stress free, to what portion size to give, so much nutritional information that I never knew before and advice on fussy eating and trying new foods. The recipe section is vast and there are lots of new ideas I haven’t seen/tried before. This is an all in one book full of amazing advice and recipes!

How to Feed Your Toddler is great for mums who've had a challenging weaning journey. My daughter did not take to solids well and although she got better over the months, as she approached toddlerhood she likes what she likes and is not too open to trying new foods. I have been implementing some of the tips in this book such as the 'familiarity' concept. She would never eat rice before. I continued to offer it every few days and let her eat on her own without any pressure, after about 2 weeks of perseverance, she now loves rice!! Its fascinating!! And its a dish that's so versatile so I can make a variety of dishes for her now with rice as a base.

Final thoughts

How to Feed Your Toddler by Charlotte Stirling-Reed makes a challenging weaning journey less stressful and that bit easier. As it provides you with simple to follow recipes, using up them ingredients in your cupboard already, which saves you going to the shops and spending more, and also gives advise and guidance on how to approach the fussiest of eaters. Although more quick and easy recipes could have been included.

Whilst it is a book for how to feed your toddlers, some have said it also helped with their family meal time too!

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