Here's the thing. I don't know of any baby who has a menu on hand to choose what food they are going to eat when they shift to solids. The choice of what goes into a child's mouth belongs to the parents. And things stay that way for a reasonable time.There are plenty of professional parenting, food and fitness advice sites around which you should really consult if you are keen to understand how to feed your child. What is true is that if you offer infants healthy, pureed foods from when they start eating, you are more likely to avoid having toddlers that are picky eaters or in constant pursuit of junk food. There i such a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meats that you can cook yourself or buy prepared to encourage infants to try different tastes. Fruits and vegetables will puree more easily if cooked until soft and meat will blend more easily with something that increases the moisture content.There is every reason to feed infants healthy, nutritious food before they become toddlers and begin to exert their independence and potentially become picky about certain foods. Either way, if you stand your ground, you won't become a short-order chef and you can limit the amount of junk your child consumes. By providing a limited range of foods your toddler can choose which food to eat. If sufficient healthy food isn’t eaten, it’s not good to offer poor alternative choices.Don't fall into the processed juice trap. It's a walking excuse for a pile of sugar. Stick with water.Water also won’t substantially affect a toddler’s appetite like milk or juice. Infants and toddlers are good at determining when they are full so there is no need to be concerned about how much they eat; concentrate on offering healthy food. For more information see: Balancing a Toddler's Diet.Image: Shutterstock