To think this is enough food for a 2 year old?

[Dranktoomuchpepsi]

DH is a bit worried about DS's diet. He doesn't really eat very much compared to other toddlers, it seems. He's gotten fussy recently! Use to eat everything given to him.

Today he's had:

Breakfast: Two slices of toast with butter. It is usually peanut butter. All eaten.

Snack: Handful of cheese. Most ended up on the floor. Ate one bit. Some pineapple - eaten. A multivitamin bear.

Lunch: Pasta with cheese. Eaten.

Dinner: 2 Weetbix with strawberry soya milk. All eaten.

Is this enough? We don't give a proper 'meal' at dinnertime because it NEVER eats. DH is really really worried.

DS is in 12 to 18 months clothes and he's 2.5. He is being investigated for height but doctor says it just may be genetic (both my grandads jockies), yet less likely since DH is 6 foot 3.

He does also get breastmilk but they're short feeds, not frequent and don't seem to impact appetite.

He was a brilliant eater before

Things like beans, vegetarian meats, etc, all get thrown and rejected. He won't eat them and has become so so fussy!

crispy Thank you. He's so loving towards me and clearly loves me very much. But that's where it stops. No general interaction exists really which is hard. I get nothing 'back' socially. But at least I get cuddles and kisses which some parents don't even get that

It’s not much food for a 2.5 year old.

I agree with other painters that two slices of toast is actually rather a lot. It’s also not very nutritionally balanced. He would be better off with whole grain cereal or porridge and some fruit.

Does the strawberry soya milk have sugar in? Flavoured milk usually does.

Finally, those chewy vitamins are only for 3+years. Your son is 2.5 and small for his age. You need to give him age appropriate vitamins. I would be particularly concerned about the amount of iron he’s getting in those multivitamins. Does he ever get constipated?

I think you need to explore hidden veg recipes so he’s getting a more balanced diet.

Oh OP that must be so so difficult. There's only so many things you can do yourself. Sounds like you might need professional intervention,help and support.

What is weight? Is it a worry?

Have you looked at shakes? My friend's DD had them on prescription purely for the calories she was severely lacking.

Does the strawberry soya milk have sugar in? No. And it's quite high in protein. Plus he also has breastmilk too.

The vitamins are age 2 plus. You're right though that most are 3+

Forgot to add in all this that his weight is slightly above average for his height. He looks very petite height wise but he isn't 'skinny' I wouldn't say. Looks very very in proportion to his height.

It's just his height is so out of range for his age

Ignore all the comments about meat eating.. he doesn't need meat to get protein. DD is 21 months old and is vegetarian too. Today she has eaten.

Milk on waking
Porridge wit grated apple & walnuts
Apple & banana
Beans on toast with a boiled egg
Stick of cheese
Some banana bread - a tiny amount, I don't think she liked it despite her obsession with bananas
Dahl & rice. Dahl included courgette, carrot, onions and red lentils. With coconut milk
Yoghurt - small kids one
Bedtime

Obviously, it sounds like DD does eat a lot more than your DC. She is still going to nursery though. She doesn't stop from 6.30am onwards either

Maybe my 19 month old eats to my much

Breakfast
2 pieces of toast with scrambled egg all toast eaten with half the egg on the floor 🤦‍♀️

Min morning snack,
Cereal bar
Fruit

Lunch
Sandwich
Crisps
Cucumber
Hummus
Yoghurt

Mid afternoon
Ate oh food they shared

Tea
2 fish fingers
Home made potatoe wedges
Coleslaw
Mixed veg

Usually he would have fruit or some sort of desert here but wasn't interested today.

My 12mo has recently gone off his food quite a bit. It's hard to get him to eat an amount I'm happy with each meal time. He almost always wants his milk though. Will sometimes snack, sometimes just not interested either. He's never had a huge appetite even as a newborn/infant but lately I've been wondering if he's going to start losing weight. He seems absolutely fine in himself though and seems to be gradually dropping his 2nd nap so maybe that has to do with it?

It sounds like enough food but I would be looking to broaden the types of food if possible. For example giving fruit with breakfast if he'll tolerate it plus some vegetables with lunch. I'd give him small amounts of these on his plate even if they are refused or thrown.

As far as dinner is concerned I appreciate that you are giving cereal so he doesn't go hungry but it means he now associates dinner time with that. I would make sure you give him an actual dinner each night preferably in the context of a family meal. It would be helpful to do some elements he will eat (so pasta and cheese) alongside some other foods and at least let him eat something from it. You can follow up with cereal if you like, although this does have the issue of him refusing dinner in favour of the cereal.

Also, how about leaving snacks in his reach during the day of foods that he doesn't currently eat but that may tempt him. It can take the pressure off a little.

So he's in the mind frame of getting whatever in is better than nothing

Well not really as he's not allowed cows milk (but is allowed cheese) and he won't allow his son to eat animal meat. I'm guessing you eat animal products? Sorry but not sire why your dh gets to make that choice. If this was my child I wouldnt be restricting him to a vegetarian diet.

When you say "he was a brilliant eater before" - before what? What kind of diet did he eat? How old was he when this changed, and why do you think it changed?

I would ask on the sen boards as there are lots of really experienced people on mumsnet about sensory issues, development and food.

Otherwise you are going to get warped opinions about NT behaviour

I'd say he needsprotein. Very important for growing.
Otherwise I wouldn't sweat it too much. My DS1 was a nightmare fussy eater. Absolutely terrible. From the get go. My DS2 had exactly the same treatment and has always been brilliant. Some kids are just like that. You have to just do your best to get as much good stuff into him as you can. When DS1 hit 5 ish he suddenly changed. It was bizarre and such a relief . He's almost as chilled as DS2 now. Thank God.

Will he eat something like a red lentil and sweet potato coconut milk curry with rice, or quinoa for higher protein. So you could include three different veg such as onion, sweet potato and tomatoes. Easy to eat from a bowl with a spoon. Unflavoured milk and chopped strawberries with the Weetabix?

So much ignorance on here about meat and dairy! No human at whatever age needs meat and/or dairy to be healthy. Ridiculous. He does need more protein, which is a different thing.
OP I think the potential ASD do have to be taken into account as this has a massive impact. I would keep trying, reduce the morning snack and keep offering him different things for dinner. I do think you should seek professional advice.

*needs protein

The more I’ve read the more I think it’s not about food at all, in terms of his ability to interact with you and say he’s hungry/plus some sensory issue yes possibly. My DD could tell me she was hungry just before she was 3 (3.5 now) but prior to that I had to follow her lead as her behaviour will fall off a cliff if she’s starving.

I digress. I think this is more likely to be sensory/not understanding hunger. I agree with PPs about not bothering with mid morning snack if it’s not eaten. I also think that weetabix shouldn’t be a go to for his dinner. My DD goes through spells and the best she does is when we are all sitting together chatting and not focusing too much on the food if that makes sense. We all have the same. I sometimes have spicy sauce on mine. Our lunch today was mostly the same but I had bread.

Today she had Cheerios and milk for breakfast plus probably some of her dads toast. I’m sure she had some fruit in the morning.

Had an oaty bar on a big long walk with her dad.

Lunch was a tuna sweetcorn and mayo wrap with some chopped veggies and then she had crisps and fruit while watching TV.

She ate most of an apple while I was making dinner and she had some veggie hash (mash, olives, peppers, capers, olives, garlic, herbs) and some peas and broccoli stalks (no tree bits) and some chocolate buttons for pudding.

But we have days that are harder than others. I would imagine this is a harder day if you’re posting/concerned.

I hope your GP is supporting you, it’s so tough when they won’t eat. I’ve a couple of friends who’s kids are similar to yours and it’s hard when you see what others are eating. Some kids just do seem to survive on fresh air. This too shall pass.

(FWIW my DD would barely touch any meat until about 6/8 months ago, apart from sausages so she was mainly veggie. She’s now carnivore when there’s meat on the plate but we do eat 75% veggie so maybe it’s a novelty!)

No human at whatever age needs meat and/or dairy to be healthy.

Except when he won't eat any protein alternatives and meat has never even been tried.

A balanced,varied veggie diet can be great!
A limited veggie diet,completely lacking in protein isn't even for a grownup,much less a small growing child.

All this child seems to have is carbs with a bit of fat,some dairy and breast milk. That is not enough.

Of course he might still eat the same regardless of being veggie, a lot of children with SEN are. But to not even try?

My kids are vegetarian, well pescatarian really. The 6 year old has always been fussy and small. At that age he ate an awful lot of peanut butter. It's ideal for fat and protein. Give your son lots.
He also ate cheese, houmous, eggs, beans, lentils... I did and still do give him lots of what he likes and a little veg etc on the side.
His 2 younger sisters eat more than he does. My 2 year old eats loads more than your 2 year old does but I remember how it was.

Dishranaway are you having a laugh?
What in the world difference does it make what order her child eats those meals in?
And a vegetarian diet is more than perfectly healthy and nutritious for a child.

My 3 year old is likely ASD. Terrible eater. Only plain white carbs. White rice, plain pasta, etc etc.
The best tip I have is buy some plastic thingys (not sure what they're actually called) that you can pour things in and freeze into ice pops. This is literally the only way I get veg and fruit into her. I puree it, freeze it and give it to her as her 'treat'. I also add spirulina sometimes, or seeds to try and get a bit of protein in there.
I get the things off Amazon. They will deliver despite the current situation.
Good luck.

I also have a 2.5 year old DS, who is also tiny, and also has a tall Daddy!

DS is on the 2nd percentile for height, wears 12-18 or 18-24 month clothing. My husband is 6 foot 4, but was also small when he was young.

His typical food in case it helps for comparison/ideas:

Breakfast: porridge with chopped up apples and dates in it, or marmite on toast or wheetabix and warm milk. Most mornings he wants two breakfasts which we give him. HV told us that toddlers will often have one big meal a day, and it's find that it is breakfast if that's when he's most hungry.

Snack at 11ish: few baby crisps, couple of slices of apple, handful of raisins or smoothie melts, crumpet/hot cross bun. We put it all on one of those plates with different sections and he calls it 'snack plate' and gets a treat if he eats it all (treat is something daft like watering the plants but he enjoys it)

Lunch: pasta, sweetcorn, cheese or egg friend rice with veggies always go down well

Snack at 3ish: banana pancakes and carrot sticks and bit of grated cheese all on 'snack plate' again

Dinner: If tired, wheetabix, if not too tired, a small portion of whatever we are having. He rarely eats his dinner.

2 kids with ASD here; both extremely fussy toddlers.
My sanity saving tip is ketchup and in copious amounts. We go through 3 bottles a week now. The list of foods they will both eat has increased if it's smothered in ketchup.
I bought foods with added vitamins to give them both a boost.
My doctor said to just feed them what you knew they'd eat...no point trying anything else and causing more tantrums, upset etc, they don't understand new food; it's scary, looks funny, smells odd, texture is weird etc.

I've been vegetarian since birth & am a 5'5" woman. My brother is 6'6" also vegetarian since birth.

My brother was/is really fussy so almost vegan. I've been dairy free for almost 20 years.

Would your DC eat things like pancakes, cakes, yorkshire puddings etc? My DS doesn't like eggs but will eat them like this.

Can you make tofu chocolate pudding? Peanut butter on wholemeal toast? Cheese on toast? Cake & custard?

Lentils made into dahl or a lentil & vegetable stew with dumplings?

We eat some fake 'meat' products but not many.

Oh & all 3 of my DC have been vegetarian since birth! All very healthy!