How much does your toddler eat?

[Snowgirl1]

My DD is 18 months old and seems to eat tons! Difficult to tell if she's hungry or just grazing and whether we should resist her demands!

She generally has:

Before breakfast: half a banana (sometimes a whole one). This morning she went to nursery chomping on an end-slice of bread which she'd spotted as I was making sandwiches for lunch.

She then goes to nursery where she has:

Breakfast: weetabix or rice krispies
Mid-morning snack: might be fruit, rice cakes, crumpet, toast
Lunch: hot dinner with veg and a pudding
I think they have another snack between lunch & tea
Tea: sandwiches, veg crudites, fruit

She usually eats everything at nursery - although sometimes she doesn't eat all of her tea.

Then she comes home with me and we'll have a snack (usually fruit - last night she polished off half a mango).

Yesterday evening the cupboard that I keep the rice cakes and oat biscuits in was open and she was demanding an oaty biscuit, which I didn't give her. She's not chubby, but has a bit of toddlers sticky-outy belly.

How much do your toddlers eat? How do you know when a toddler has had enough food??

[nextphase]

From 12 months when they went to nursery, both of mine have eaten:
breakfast 1 - toast at home
breakfast 2 - cereal at nursery
snack
lunch (2 courses, often have seconds)
snack
tea - sounds similar to your nursery ones
2 course dinner at home (tho sometimes say no to pudding)

My 4 year old has just gone into 3-4 yr trousers with adjustable waists pulled in tight. 2 year old is more in proportion, but DS1 tends to eat more.

I generally get more and more boring with the offer if more food is demanded - so fruit, cheese, breadsticks, banana (strangely un popular) offered one by one and try to get them to drink some water. If they are all accepted, I assume they are hungry, but if they say no, biscuit, I assume they want the treat, and generally say no.

I've just started with the 4 year old telling him no more, and to have a drink of water. If he comes back 30 mins later asking for food, I'll hand some over, but generally he doesn't. He has eaten himself sick a couple of times tho.

[Jayne266]

I think I know what you mean my ds (11 months ) today has had.

bottle

weetabix and raspberries and toast

rice cake

cheese & tomato pitta with cucumber and carrot sticks with hummus
banana rice pudding
slice of water melon

vegetarian sausage with potato mash and broccoli and cauliflower and half a yorkshire pudding with a greek yogurt with peaches

bottle

[babybouncer]

DS always used to have two breakfasts at this age and eat everything at nursery (although there wasn't a snack between lunch at midday and tea at 3:30) and have a snack when he got home at 5pm.

I understood that kids are fine to regulate their own intake until they are about 2. Once they get to that age, it starts to be a bit more about 'if you want to have more, have some extra fruit' and the such-like, rather than, nothing more.

[sharond101]

I am astounded by my 1 year old he currently has 2.5 weetabix with some pureed fruit in for breakfast!! He would probably eat more but I distract him with something else after that as anymore would be just obscene!!

[JollyShortGiant]

26mo DS almost always eats everything on offer at nursery, plus more when he comes home. At home I think we offer larger portions.

It is not unknown for him to have four weetabix, a whole box of raspberries or a large chicken breast at one sitting (as well as other things). He's not fat at all, but is fairly muscular and simply does not stay still.

Some children just need to eat more than others.