The labels on the food we buy our children help us determine how foods fit into our kids overall diet. But most nutritional labels are based on amounts for kids 4 and older and/or for adults - not for toddlers.

This is why its important to know what to look for when picking out foods for your kids. But how do you know what you’re looking for while reading a nutritional label?

Here’s some helpful tips:

• Be sure to look at the serving size since its the basis for all the nutritional information on the label. Remember to adjust nutrients according to the number of servings you feed your child.

• If the Nutrition Facts panel is not designed specifically for toddlers, offer your toddler about 1/4 to 1/2 of the recommended serving size, and of course always watch for signs that your child is full.

• Look for foods with 300mg (or more) of potassium (10% of the 3,000mg toddlers need per day), and 2g (or more) of fiber (10% of the 9g they need per day.)

• Look for foods that provide at least 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of iron, zinc and vitamin E, since toddlers need more of these nutrients. But keep in mind that the 10% DV on an adult label may not be the same DV for a toddler.