Toddlers Eating and Drinking The Toddler Serving Size of Grains By Stephanie Brown Stephanie Brown is a parenting writer with experience in the Head Start program and in NAEYC accredited child care centers. Learn about our editorial process Stephanie Brown Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc on November 02, 2020 Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc, is an assistant professor of pediatrics and senior investigator in the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Boston Children's Hospital. Learn about our Review Board Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc Updated on November 04, 2020 Print Johner Images/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images Giving your toddler the right serving size of grains (as well as the right type of grains) is an important part of ensuring an overall healthy diet. Whole-grain foods are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Even grains in which most of the nutrients have been removed during milling will have had most of the important nutrients added back in after processing. You may know that current research studies suggest that fiber may offer protection against a number of diseases, including heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes in adults. However, the greatest benefits of fiber for toddlers have to do with ... well, poop! Toddlers need lots of regularly occurring, easy-to-pass bowel movements during potty training. Good Sources of Grains It's easy for your toddler to consume too many servings of grains over the course of the day. If, for example, your toddler has a half-cup of brown rice, some crackers or a tortilla, and a piece of toast, they have met their daily grain needs. Toddlers who eat large portions of particular foods, including macaroni and cheese, pizza, and breaded chicken nuggets, will max out their grain requirement quickly and possibly exceed it. In general, your toddler needs 3 ounces of grains per day, which can come in the form of the following foods (each item listed is equivalent to one ounce of grains): 1 whole-grain mini bagel1 2-inch refined grain biscuit1 slice whole-grain bread5 whole-wheat crackers7 refined grain crackers1/2 English muffin1/2 cup cooked oatmeal1 packet instant oatmeal1 4-inch whole-grain pancake2 3-inch refined grain pancakes1 cup whole-grain cereal flakes or Os1/2 cup cooked brown or wild rice1 ounce uncooked white rice1/2 cup cooked whole-grain pasta1 ounce uncooked refined-grain pasta1 6-inch whole-grain tortilla The Right Type of Grains Foods should be made with whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice. By substituting whole-grain pasta for the refined-grain pasta in macaroni and cheese, you'll get the benefits of more vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And, whole grains fill up your little one quickly so you can serve smaller portions and leave more room for other, more nutritious foods. Your child may eat two or three times more refined-grain pasta than whole-wheat pasta. Barilla whole-wheat pasta is made with 51% whole grains. It doesn't take much longer to cook than pasta made with refined grains. Eden Foods also makes a line of whole-wheat pasta that uses 60% whole grains and tastes great. You might be surprised by what your child will like. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Reynolds A, Mann J, Cummings J, Winter N, Mete E, Te Morenga L. Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Lancet. 2019;393(10170):434-445. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9