Parenting at mealtime & playtime

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Fast Facts:

  • If breastfeeding, continue to do so
  • Let your child feed themselves
  • Trust the child’s appetite: let the child decide when they are hungry and when they are full
  • Eat family meals at the table, share what you are eating
  • Transition to whole milk with meals
  • Water first for thirst between meals
  • Serve vegetables first when the child is most hungry
  • Offer a variety of textures, flavors, and colors
  • Avoid juice and drinks with added sugar

Resources:

12-24 Months
English – Spanish

Recognizing Hunger and Fullness Cues

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Fast Facts:

  • If breastfeeding, continue to do so
  • Let your child feed themselves
  • Trust the child’s appetite: let the child decide when they are hungry and when they are full
  • Eat family meals at the table, share what you are eating
  • Transition to whole milk with meals
  • Water first for thirst between meals
  • Serve vegetables first when the child is most hungry
  • Offer a variety of textures, flavors, and colors
  • Avoid juice and drinks with added sugar

Resources:

12-24 Months
English – Spanish

Recognizing Hunger and Fullness Cues

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Fast Facts:

  • Encourage daily active play
  • Screen time is not recommended
  • It is normal for toddlers not to sit for more than 30 minutes
  • Play outside and explore the world with your toddler – nature brings new sights and sounds
  • Play games that help teach your toddler to take turns and follow rules
  • Babbling is talking – talk back and forth with your child and smile
  • As your child builds stronger muscle and improves balance, watch them learn to walk, run, climb, jump and throw
  • Play games that promote movement

Videos:

12-24 Months: Play
 12-24 Months: Play

Resources:

 12-24 Months
English – Spanish 

Role of Play

Father and daughter indoors playing and smilingActive Play Everyday – Tips for Parents and Caregivers – A Handout

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Fast Facts:

  • Make mealtime fun – a messy mealtime is to be expected
  • Eat family meals at the table, share what you are eating
  • Play games that promote movement
  • Build your child’s words, talk to them, have a conversation
  • Read to your child daily
  • Listen for new words every day
  • After learning to walk on their own, they will then learn to run, climb, jump and throw
  • Watch them learn to feed themselves
  • When your child has a tantrum or meltdown, don’t react – turn away for a few seconds and when they calm down, give them lots of attention
  • Sleeps about 12-14 hours daily

Tips & Advice During COVID-19

Videos:

Common Myths Among Parents – Dina Rose, PhD
12-24 Months: Play
Family Meal Time
Family Play Time
Healthy Sleep Habits: Getting Ready for Nap

Reading to Your Child

Resources:

 12-24 Months
English – Spanish

Make Mealtime Fun – Accept Messes!

Your Child at 1 Year – See What Most Children Do at this Age – A Handout from the CDC

Your Child at 18 Months – See What Most Children Do at this Age – A Handout from the CDC

  • American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Ohio Department of Health
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Disclosure: This mobile application was supported by the Grant or Cooperative Agreement Number, 2 B01 OT 009042, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

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