Child Nutrition
Toddler Nutrition
What 1 to 4 year olds need, in plain steps: portion sizes, meals and snacks, vitamin D and a food variety tracker.
C$24.99Buy
Child nutrition courses for toddlers, kids and family meals
Practical courses for parents and caregivers that use Canada's Food Guide for the whole family, from toddler plates and picky eating to school lunches and food allergies.
- 5 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
Canada does not have a separate food guide for children: the same plate of vegetables and fruits, whole grains and protein foods works for the whole family, in smaller amounts for small people. Health Canada's advice for parents is to share the job. You decide what food is offered and when; your child decides how much to eat. Regular meal and snack times, eating together, getting kids involved in cooking and being a role model all help.
Drinks are an easy place to start. Health Canada suggests offering water, unsweetened lower fat milk or unsweetened fortified plant-based beverages instead of juice, and its dietary guidelines count 100% fruit juice as a sugary drink. Sodium is another: in 2017, 72% of children aged 4 to 13 had intakes above the recommended limits, with bakery products, mixed dishes and processed meats the biggest sources.
School food is changing too. The National School Food Program Act received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, making the federal program permanent, and the federal government expects it to reach up to 400,000 more children a year. Nutrition standards for food served in schools are set by each province and territory, so our lunch tools let you note your school's own rules, such as nut-free classrooms.
All child nutrition courses
Child Nutrition
Healthy Lunchbox Planning
School lunches sorted four weeks at a time, with a mix-and-match builder, a grocery list and a check against school food rules.
C$19.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Picky Eating Strategies
No-pressure ways to widen what your child eats, with a new-food ladder, mealtime rules cards and a 7-day plan to get started.
C$24.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Food Allergy Awareness for Parents
Calm, practical allergy know-how for families: label checking, eating out, child care and school forms and an emergency information sheet.
C$24.99Buy
Child Nutrition
Family Meal Planning
One week of family meals planned, shopped and batch-cooked, with one-meal-for-all tweaks for children of different ages.
C$24.99Buy
Find the course for your child's age and need
- Ages 1 to 3: Toddler Nutrition covers portion sizes for small appetites, a day of meals and snacks, milk and drinks, and food variety.
- A child who eats only a few foods: the picky eating course uses a new-food ladder, repeated tastes and calm mealtime routines instead of pressure.
- School days: Healthy Lunchbox Planning gives you a mix-and-match lunch builder and a 4-week rotation that kids help to choose.
- Cooking once for everyone: Family Meal Planning shows how to adapt one family meal for toddlers, older kids and adults, on a budget.
- A child with a food allergy: Food Allergy Awareness for Parents covers reading Canadian labels for the 11 priority allergens, eating out, telling the school or daycare, and an emergency information sheet.
What the child nutrition tools do
- Toddler portion guide and meals and snacks planner: a realistic day of food for a 1 to 3 year old.
- Food exposure tracker and new-food ladder: count tastes of a new food over several weeks and move one small step at a time.
- Lunch builder and 4-week planner: combine a vegetable or fruit, a whole grain and a protein food, then rotate.
- Family meal planner and budget tracker: one menu for the week, with adaptations for younger children.
- Allergen checklist, label card and school information template: the details a teacher, daycare or caregiver needs, in one place.
When to check in with a professional
Call 911 if your child has signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or fainting, and use their epinephrine auto-injector if one has been prescribed.
Check in with your child's health care provider or a public health nurse, or call 811, if:
- you are worried about your child's growth or weight
- your child often gags, coughs or chokes at meals
- the list of foods your child accepts is getting shorter
- you think your child reacts to a particular food
Child nutrition courses: your questions
Is juice a healthy drink for kids?
Canada's dietary guidelines count 100% fruit juice as a sugary drink that should not be consumed regularly. Health Canada suggests water, unsweetened lower fat milk or unsweetened fortified plant-based beverages instead, with whole fruit for the fruit itself.
Can my child drink a plant-based beverage instead of milk?
Rice and nut beverages should not be a young child's main milk because they are low in protein and energy. Health Canada says an unsweetened fortified soy beverage can be the main milk from age 2. Ask your family doctor, nurse practitioner or a registered dietitian if your child cannot have cow's milk.
My toddler only eats a handful of foods. Is that normal?
It is common in the toddler years. Offering foods again and again without pressure, eating together and letting your child decide how much to eat usually help over time. If growth or weight worries you, talk to your health care provider.
Which allergens must be listed on Canadian food labels?
The 11 priority allergens: eggs, milk, mustard, peanuts, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, sesame seeds, soy, sulphites, tree nuts, and wheat and triticale. Gluten sources must be declared too. "May contain" statements are voluntary.
Do the lunch ideas follow school food rules?
Rules for food in schools are set by provinces and territories and by individual schools, for example nut-free classrooms. The lunch checklist has space to note your school's rules so the builder only suggests foods that fit.
Can a course tell me if my child has a food allergy?
No. Only a health care provider can assess an allergy. The allergy course helps you keep a child with a diagnosed allergy safe day to day and prepare for appointments.
Official sources
- Canada's Food Guide: Healthy eating for parents and children
- Canada's Dietary Guidelines: Foods and beverages that undermine healthy eating
- Health Canada: Sodium intake of Canadians in 2017
- Health Canada: Nutrition for healthy term infants, 6 to 24 months
- Health Canada: Food allergies
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Food allergies and labelling
- Employment and Social Development Canada: National School Food Program
One calmer mealtime this week
Offer one new food alongside a favourite, and record it in the exposure tracker without any pressure to eat it.