Feeding young children comes with challenges and can sometimes feel impossible, so it’s no wonder people turn to Google and various social media platforms for information, advice and relatable stories from other parents. Sometimes, a little reassurance that you’re not the only one struggling to feed a picky toddler is precisely what you need. But with the online camaraderie comes a whole lot of comparison and misinformation, too. In an age where influencers are viewed as experts and food fearmongering runs rampant, you’re just as likely to close Instagram feeling defeated as you are feeling validated.

The (very) good news is that much of the child-feeding advice you find on the internet is either totally bogus or a major oversimplification of the truth. To ease your mind, we asked a pediatrician and a few pediatric nutritionists to share some common misconceptions about feeding kids that parents can stop worrying about.

Myth: Kids must eat a huge variety of foods.

“Over the 20-plus years I’ve been working with children and families, many parents have come into my office worried their child isn’t eating a wide variety of foods,” says Elizabeth Davenport, MPH, RD, LD, a dietitian in Washington, DC and the co-owner of Sunny Side Up Nutrition, a family feeding blog. But what she typically finds after hearing about their diet and reviewing their growth charts is that they are eating enough variety to meet their nutrient needs.

“Diet culture and wellness culture tell parents that children must eat a very wide variety of foods, and if they don’t, the parents aren’t doing a good job and the children may be unhealthy,” Davenport says. “That’s a tremendous amount of pressure.” She explains that it’s normal for young children not to eat a wide variety of foods, since they’re naturally afraid of new foods and they’re exploring their independence. “The truth is, it’s ok for parents to ease up. Doing so will help both the parents and the child feel less stressed about food.”

Davenport encourages parents to offer foods in a variety of different ways so that kids have the opportunity to keep trying things. “For example, if your child doesn’t like fish, but they like tacos, try making fish tacos for dinner. Your child may not put the fish in the taco shell, but you’re giving them the opportunity to try the fish another way,” she says.

Don’t force your kids to eat things they don’t want to. Instead, continue giving them the option to try new things without pressure, which often leaves them more open to trying them. “It can take years for some children to like a food,” Davenport says.

Myth: Parents should control their kids’ portions.

“Parents are repeatedly told that they are responsible for their child’s weight, and if their child weighs ‘too much,’ then they aren’t parenting well,” Davenport says. “And parents want to be good parents, so they worry about portion control.

In reality, different kids grow at different rates and have different natural body sizes. Trying to force every kid to be within a specific weight range ignores this natural body diversity and can increase the chance of them developing an eating disorder, disordered eating habits and poor body image.

Instead of deciding exactly how much your child should eat, Davenport recommends “serving meals or parts of meals family style so children (even toddlers) can help themselves to the amounts they want.” While of course there are exceptions, most children will eat the amount of food that’s right for them when given the choice.

Myth: All kids need a multivitamin.

“I often get asked about multivitamins for kids,” says Jamie Johnson, RDN, LDN, a Charleston, SC-based dietitian and the owner of Ingraining Nutrition. Often, she says, the answer is no.

“As long as your child is eating a varied diet and isn’t deficient in anything, they can probably do without a multivitamin,” Johnson says. Even if your child has a pretty limited diet, it’s best to talk to your pediatrician and a pediatric dietitian nutritionist instead of immediately adding a multivitamin. The doctor may do lab work to suss out any possible nutrient deficiencies, and might recommend supplementing only with specific nutrients that your child is lacking instead of a more general multivitamin.

Myth: Kids shouldn’t be eating processed foods.

“A lot of parents that I work with worry about how many boxed or packaged foods their teens or pre-teens eat, which I believe is a result of all the fear-mongering in the media about these foods,” says Amy Goldsmith, RDN, a dietitian and the owner of Kindred Nutrition & Kinetics in Frederick, MD.

For starters, it’s not sustainable for the vast majority of families to cut all packaged foods from their diets. Making everything from scratch is an enormous task that takes several hours a day, and denying your kids the fun, tasty packaged snacks that their peers are eating can lead to disordered eating behaviors down the road.

Plus, “many of these food products are fortified with supplements our growing children need such as folic acid, iron, B vitamins, magnesium, selenium and more,” Goldsmith says. “I always recommend that parents used boxed and packaged goods as a sense of convenience and ease, read the labels to understand what they are getting, and pair them with foods like fruits, veggies or protein sources to make complete meals or snacks.”

Myth: Kids shouldn’t eat sugar.

“Almost every parent I work with is obsessed with sugar,” Goldsmith says. “I even have parents who have started monitoring their child’s fruit intake for fear it will contribute too much sugar.”

And with all the talk about sugar online and on wellness spaces, it’s no wonder some parents might feel the need to micromanage every sweet thing that goes into their child’s mouth. But Goldsmith says that this isn’t necessary. First of all, there’s no reason to limit fruit, which does contain naturally occurring sugar but is also packed with fiber for good digestion and vitamins and minerals that support growth and development. Second, sugar and other carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy, so getting enough each day is crucial, especially for growing kids.

“I always recommend that parents understand what their child is eating in a day,” Goldsmith says. As long as high-sugar foods like candy and sweet baked goods don’t make up the bulk of a kid’s diet, there’s no need to panic about sugar.

Myth: Toddlers shouldn’t have peanut butter because it’s a common allergen.

“Parents of toddlers often avoid giving them peanut butter, thinking it’s better to restrict it due to the threat of a potential food allergy. Actually, the opposite is true,” says Gary Kirkilas, DO, a pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s. “The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), with clinical evidence, shows that it is completely safe to introduce peanut butter to toddlers and doing so may actually prevent food allergies.”

The AAP recommends introducing common allergens like eggs and peanuts (in the form of peanut butter, since whole peanuts are a choking hazard to toddlers) as early as six months old and continuing to incorporate these foods regularly as long as your child doesn’t have an adverse reaction. If your child is at high risk for food allergies, consult your pediatrician before introducing peanut butter or any nut.

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