Toddler very big for her age

[sam565]

My just turned 2 year old is very big for her age, she weighs 14kg and is 87cm in height. I feel like I am failing as a mum to her as looks overweight . She is following the 99.9 line in her red book.

A of food day normally looks like:

Breakfast: a slice of toast

Snack: is fruit or maybe about 5 chocolate buttons.

Lunch: is a cheese/ham sandwich, fruit and a yoghurt.

Dinner is: pasta, a pizza and chips both with veg or a curry.

I understand there isn't much veg but she is only eating carrots or broccoli at the minute due to the fact she is going through fussy stage.

Please be gentle she is my first, and i am asking for help now before I get it wrong later on down the line.

My 3.5 year old has always been huge. Followed the 99th centile since birth. She is now 19kg and 108cm tall. Some kids are just bigger and some are smaller.

Look at portion sizes, we had to do that as our child would just eat and eat, but she also does not stop moving.

Someone has to be on the bigger centiles.

How big are the portion sizes? When you say 'a pizza' I assume she doesn't eat a whole pizza?!

Looks to me like she could so with more protein or slow release carbs earlier in the day to keep her full for longer.

How about porridge for breakfast? Or an egg with her toast?

For dinner you could swap the chips for jacket potato and try fish or lean meat instead of curry and pizza.

Try not to worry though, as long as she is eating healthy, having the right portion sizes and getting plenty of exercise then her weight doesn't matter.

Thanks @Jumblebumblemess yep my little girl as she will eat and eat.

@SapphosRock thank you that's noted. When I say a pizza I mean like the snack pizza.

Looking at the UK centile charts your lo is 25th/50th for height and 91st for weight, unfortunately that puts her in the borderline overweight/very overweight (obese) BMI category.

It’s a good thing that you’ve noticed it now while you have pretty much complete control over her diet and activity levels, plus at 2 helping her to loose weight or at least maintain until she grows in height a bit more so she is balanced out.

I think speaking with your HV would be a good start re diet changes, but I’d certainly start getting her more active just now a few hours a day, every day.

Thank you @PinkyU I feel such a bad mum right now.

So in terms of exercise, we currently go out into the garden or to park. Any other suggestions on that?

I would suggest a more substantial breakfast such as porridge or boiled eggs, don’t give chocolate buttons as a snack but as an occasional treat. Try some lighter sandwich fillings like chicken or tuna rather than cheese. It all sounds a bit carby too so i would try add in more vegetables, what about sticks of peppers and cucumber for snacks? Lower in sugar than fruit.

What does she drink ?

DC1 was under a leading dietician for allergy issues and the dietician said the main thing was that they followed a line and that the height and weight lines were similar and not at either end of the table. DC1 is skinny for age but average height. DC2 is 21 months and huge. Weighs 13kg and is 88cm. She is fed the same food I fed DC1 (and actually DC1 ate way more at the same age, I know this as I had to keep a strict food diary) yet she just grows and holds weight differently. I mentioned it to the same dietician who wasnt concerned. Some children are just bigger. If she was short and on a high weight centile then it would be a problem.

Re portion size.

For a 2 year old having pizza, chips etc a normal size portion would look like:

1/4 of a sack size pizza. 4/5 chips. 1 tablespoon portion of veg.

As a comparison, my 7 and 10 year old would have the same as above, but with 1/2 the snack size pizza each and would have 1/2 a pot of custard with a few (3/4) slices of peach after. This would be a large dinner.

My 7 year old is 122cm and 19.7kg
My 10 year old is 133cm and 30kg

For an adult 60 minutes of continuous and vigorous exercise a day would be considered an active lifestyle, this doesn’t include all the regular non high impact aerobic exercise we do daily (shopping, going up and downstairs etc).

For a child you’d be looking at 2-3 times that much but in smaller blocks of time (15-20 minute bursts adding up to 2-3 hours a day), so activities that make her hot, red in the face, panting things that burn the calories she takes in but still allowing normal growth and development.

This might be cycling (the bikes without peddles are particularly good), playing chases, racing, obstacle courses, dancing etc.

Is she drinking any of her calories in milk or juice etc?

Thank you everyone, I'm gonna reduce portion sizes and gonna change her meals to more filling ones ie porridge and try and get some more veg into her.

She has squash sometimes but mainly water. Also has a bit of milk before bed.

How much water does she drink? I would keep topping her up and maybe have her drink water before offering meals.

Thank you all so much for your help.

Please don't worry, littles ones change so often my big chunky toddler is now my tallest slimmest child. Also what amazes me we are all ment to be individual different eyes, different hair,different size feet, different size hands, different structures yet all ment to fit in a bracket it just can't be possible! Humans weren't made in a book that's just how the "experts" have decided. I'm sure your little one will grow perfectly x

That diet doesn't sound great, mainly due to a lack of protein, which means it won't fill her up as well, hence the eating and eating and eating.

But it does depend a lot on portions and what she is drinking - water only. Juice (diluted) as treat, once or twice a week. DS has milk a couple of times a week, DD is breastfed so only has water or breastmilk at the moment (18 months). DS is 4 now but his day is usually porridge - what I would consider a fairly large bowl, snack is a piece of fruit or some veg sticks and dip, lunch is homemade pizza - I use chickpea flour, wholewheat flor and yogurt to make the dough - mush it together (35g chickpea flour, 35g wholemeal flour, 35g yogurt), roll it out, dry fry in a frying pan, add toppings and bake for 10 mins. Really easy. I make my own 'pizza sauce (loads of hidden veggies blitzed up with tomato puree) then cheese for fat and protein. with veg sticks (no chips). Dinner is 'red soup' and garlic bread. Red soup is lentils, a pack of veg soup mix and half a tin of reduced sugar baked beans blitzed up. then supper is a slice of toast or a bowl of cereal - always something low sugar like rice crispies or weetbix, sometimes branflakes or raisin wheat.

We have a treat, such as pudding twice a week.

Exercise is playing, very little screen time (obviously a bit more during lockdown). DS is 44th centile. He goes up a bit before a growth spurt - I know it's happening because he has hollow legs for a week.

Sorry, the above was just to give you an idea of how you can get more protein and veg in her whilst still giving her the food she enjoys and you know she will eat.

She needs more nutrition than pizza and pasta. Will she eat fish fingers? Shepherds pie, (you can load that with hidden veg) ? Chicken?

I am gonna get out some cooking toddler books I have and get some ideas for her as well. My husband is 6ft 5 and was a chubby baby as well, but I'm still concerned. Even though I feel bad, I'm glad that I have realised that I need to change what she eats and how much.

You're asking how to do better, so you're not a bad mum!!

I would swap to an egg or porridge for breakfast. Toast is just empty carbs. Porridge is carbs too, but it's more filling & nutritious. gage/Total Full Fat natural yogurt is good too ((not the diet stuff)

Chocolate buttons should be an occasional treat, definitely not a snack.

Try various things Along with the broccoli 🥦 & carrots 🥕 she will eat, such as cucumber Reddish. red pepper, celeryCherry tomatoes (cut into quarters, not whole) with a dipping pot of hummus. Most kids like it and it's a great way to get them eating veg!!

Lunch: scrambled/poached egg (If she didn't have egg for breakfast!!), fish fingers & peas, good quality sausages & mash with small bits of veg mixed In

If you can afford it try her with salmon-baked yourself or precooked sliced. It's surprising how many kids like it, if given the opportunity with Corn on the cob (They tend to like the novelty of it. I find getting a half one and cutting it into about 3 rounds is a good size for little ones. a bit of butter to roll it through helps with the novelty factor!!

It's surprising what food toddlers will eat if they're given it, rather than people assuming it's for 'adults' & 'not toddler food'.

I also find having them up at the work
top watching /'helping' really does get them
to try more (one would refuse most cooked/plated veg, but would eat his weight in 'nicked bits' while 'helping' and frankly the fact he was eating it was more important than how he ate it!! Lots of kids prefer uncooked veg to cooked.

Obviously pasta dishes & mince dishes with hidden veg.

Also extra on my plate..because clearly what was on my plate was FAR more interesting.

She doesn't need to lose weight, she just needs to grow into it.

More movement will help, buggy/carry less and allow extra time for her to walk more. Walk anywhere you can & just give her opportunities to play outside running around, climbing on things, having fun!!

😊😊

I'm gonna be honest and say I do think we as in me and my husband also need to change what we eat too, so a whole family change is needed.

I'm gonna be honest and say I do think we as in me and my husband also need to change what we eat too, so a whole family change is needed.

I had one of these up on the wall when my kids were that age, really helped clarify how big portions should be.

@tinierclanger where did you get that? That's brilliant I would like that to go on my fridge.