What do kids eat ? lil bit more research

What should my toddler eat?

Offer your child a variety of foods from the five basic food groups. If you are still nursing continue to do so as long as you and your child desire.
Avoid high sugar and low nuitrient foodssuch as candy, soda pop, and juice drinks. each day your toddler should ec:
Dairy- cups(16 ounces) whole milk, whole fat yogurt or 1 ounce of cheese.
Grains- 3ounces (1 ounce = 1 slice of bread, small tortia or hlf a cup of rice, cereal or pasta) whole grains are a better choice.
Vegetables- 1 cup of veggies.
Fruit- 1 cup of fruit.
Meat and meat alternatives- 2 ounces meat, beans tofu, or eggs (1 ounce = 1/4 cup beans, 1 egg, 1/4 cup tofu.

How should my child eat?
- your toddler should be eating table foods and drinking from a cup.
-Toddlers are still learning basic feeding skills. encourage your toddler to feed himself. Let him practice witha  child suitable sized fork or spoon but do not be surprised if he would rather eat with his fingers.
- Mealtimes will be messy, be patient and have fun

This was by far the most enlightening exract from any of the websites/books during my research.
its clear, to the point, kids have small portioned, messy food, have basic understtanding of cutlery, need to learn, and with of course a suitable set, ie my product.
what i loved about this website was it had not only clear instructions, it also confirs my basic ideas during these early stages in my product design.

extract from: www.childrensmercy.org


Below is some more information i found extremely helpful, especially when researching toddlers eating habits. can they eat? can they eat unassisted? if so, whats the best way to get the kid to eat? is there anything in particular that would appeal to a child, ecouraging it to eat? and is there anything that would unappeal to them also?

www.babycentre.org.uk -how to cope with feeding a fussy toddler

www.mumsnet.com -fussy eaters- toddlers

www.whattoexpect.com -toddler eating habits : a few golden rules

www.parenting.co.uk -top ten tips to make meal time fun