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Evenflo is putting a spotlight on toddler nutrition with its innovative new Smart Steps™ toddler feeding line, designed to specifically address childhood obesity and eating disorders. Developed in collaboration with top nutrition experts from Cincinnati Children’s
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Hospital Interdisciplinary Feeding Team, Smart Steps offers parents a simple solution to fostering lifelong healthy eating habits by providing products for each age and stage of a child’s eating development.
Through the use of an Eating Arc, Smart Steps addresses the various ways in which parents load their toddlers’ plates with food at mealtime and offers specific product solutions from one of three categories: Knowing Portions, Exploring Food, and Serving Myself. Each category is centered on basic principles that help nurture healthy eating habits and align with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines related to toddler feeding.
Smart Steps is a proud partner in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPyramid.gov Corporate Challenge and Project M.O.M., which are dedicated to improving family nutrition, ending childhood obesity and transforming the way American families eat.
Take the Smart Steps Quiz to determine your parental feeding style and discover where you fall on the Smart Steps Eating Arc.
Click here to view as an interactive eating arc
Section 1: Over Loaded Plate (Far left on arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Busy and maybe not around
• Loads plate with carbohydrates and sugars
Child Eating Style:
• Child eats in front of TV
• Child eats alone
• “Glob Eater” shovels food and swallows without chewing or tasting.
Do not sense they are full because they eat too quickly.
Tips:
• Eat as a family at the dinner table. Enjoy family conversations.
• Have child push plate away when full
• Allow children to listen to their own bodies and serve themselves
Tools:
• Portion plate
• Portion scoop
• Kid-tensils™
Section 2: Fully Loaded Plate (Second from left of arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Don’t offer variety – few veggies, not balanced
• Rushed
• Fast food family
Child Eating Style:
• Picky Eater
• Refuses to eat specific foods or only eats a select number of foods
Tips:
• Offer a variety of foods. Try 1 bite of a different kind of food 15 times.
• Use the Tasting Cup from the Portion Plate to create a fun and appealing
way to try a new food.
Tools:
• Portion Freezer Tray
• Insulated Cup
• Discovery™ Spoon
• Click & Go Feeding Bowl
• Portion Plate
Section 3: Lightly Loaded Plate (Third from Left on arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Parent puts less than proper portion
• Parent gets child’s second helping for them from the kitchen
Child Eating Style:
• Child fills up very quickly
• Child is usually slender
Tips:
• Leave plate out for 1 hour and allow child to finish his/her meal later
when they feel hungry
• Offer smaller meals throughout the day
• Move food from the kitchen to the family table to allow child to serve
themselves from family plate
Tools:
• Snack Stackers
• Magic Label
• Kid-tensils
• Portion Scoop
• Click & Go Feeding Bowl
Section 4: Empty Plate (middle of arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Everyone eats together at the family table
• Offer good family conversation
• Set table family style with food in center
Child Eating Style:
• Child serves/feeds themselves
• Child gets own seconds
Tips:
• Think of creative conversation starters to interact with your child
Tools:
• The Smart Steps Feeding Line will help you continue your healthy
feeding and eating routine.
Section 5: Lightly Loaded Plate (Third from right on arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Everyone eats together at the family table
• Parent puts less than proper potion on plate
• Serves proteins first and may not serve fruits or vegetables
Child Eating Style:
• Child gets seconds for themselves from kitchen
Tips:
• Offer appealing foods in proper portion sizes
• Allow child to serve themselves from family plate on the family table
Tools:
• Portion Plate
• Kid-tensils™
• Portion Scoop
Section 6: Fully Loaded Plate (Second from right on arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Doubles amount of portions
• Negotiates with child to eat - “just 4 more bites”
Child Eating Style:
• Overwhelmed with too much food
• Picky Eater - will turn away foods they love if they are offered too much of that food
Tips:
• Offer appealing foods in proper portion sizes
• Offer a variety of foods
Tools:
• Portion Plate
• Portion Scoop
• Snack Stackers
• Discovery™ Spoon
• Click & Go™ Bowl
Section 7: Over Loaded Plate (Far right on arc)
Parent Feeding Style:
• Heaping portions of food
• Demands child cleans plate or there are consequences - “Clean plate or else”
Child Eating Style:
• Control issues with food
• Depending on personality, child either refuses to eat at all or cleans plate
eating too much
Tips:
• Offer appealing foods in proper portion sizes
Tools:
• Portion Scoop
• Portion Freezer Tray
• Portion Plate