How Much Milk Should a 17 Month Old Be Drinking? Finger Food Ideas?

until they are 9 yrs old they only need 16 to 20 oz of milk a day. NO more then 20 oz or they can't get iron absorbed properly.

Here at my home daycare the kids over 12 months old all eat every thing everyone else does. By 15 mos I am not making any substitutions at all unless there is an allergy. You can get an idea of what I serve by going to my website http://www.freewebs.com/tarastoyland and going to the menu section. I even give fresh apples and cucumbers to that age, just slice them really finely and they do fine.

The schedule of meals and such can also be found on my website. I don't do juice for under 2 yrs old. And then I water it down about 1 oz juice for every 4 oz of water. As they get closer to school age that gradually gets more juice and less water.

Basically at that age I still give two naps, so it's wake, small meal with 6 oz bottle or cup, 2 hours later small meal with 4 oz cup, nap, lunch with 4 oz cup, nap, afternoon snack with any milk not yet finished or water if finished it all, dinner at 5:30ish with no cup, bedtime bottle or cup with 6 oz, in bed by 8.

My three year old is a big kid and was a HUGE eater until 15-16 months when his growth slowed a bit. I've found even now that if I use miniature cookie cutters (found mine at Jo-Ann fabrics) for sandwiches, he's likely to eat better for me.

As for the milk, my 13 month old drinks close to 20 oz. a day. My older one is off the charts for the amount he drinks (and for that matter eats).

T.,
Lots of fruits & veggies - avocado, carrots cut tiny, diced up red peppers, tomato slices, grapes (cut them in half though, they can choke on them easily), sliced bananas, apple slices, pears, peaches, raisins, this is all brain food and healthy. Feed her like you want her to eat forever. She'll catch on. If she's not eating now, save it for her and let her come back to it, don't give in and let her have junk, if you don't have it she won't miss it. :) I made the mistake of doing "kid food" with my daughter and she's still hard to feed. My little guy will eat almost anything I put in front of him b/c he's always eaten it. He'll eat a whole avocado if I'd let him, and why not, it's delicious and chock full of nutrients (literal brain food). And don't forget yogurt & dry cereal (bite size frosted mini wheats & apple cinamon cherios are great for mixing it up for them, they get tired of eating the same thing just like us. Try to feed your kid like you eat so as they age you don't become a short-order cook, making a different meal for each person.

As to the milk question, they still need it, but not a super lot if they're getting more nutrients from their food. If your kid isn't eating a lot of raw fruits/veggie, then I'd give her more, but my boy mostly has milk with meals & water between. But then he thinks it's great fun to spit it out and play with it so milk in the living room & car are definitely out! He stays plenty hydrated & is growing beautifully so it's working for us - we say he's rubber-coated titanium. :)

Have fun!
D.

The book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron was a huge help to me at this stage. Tons of finger food ideas.

My son went from eating anything and everything we placed in front of him to being a pretty picky eater around 18 months. He also stopped eating spaghetti/pasta - what kid hates pasta?!? *laugh*

I just kept offering a variety of foods, just in smaller portions if I figured he'd probably shun it. Fortunately, he has always loved fruits so I took advantage to give him basically every fruit under the sun (he loves blackberries, cantaloupe, kiwi - you name it, he'll eat it!). My son also loves rice, so I took to slipping in some corn, peas, or other small vegetables in the rice. He doesn't even notice them!

As far as drinks go, he gets 6-8 ounces of milk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then at snack time (mid-morning and after waking from the afternoon nap) he gets water. Personally I chose not to give juice because it's mostly empty calories, straight sugar, and I have friends whose kids want nothing but juice and pitch a holy fit when they can't have it - it's a fight I don't want to have.