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!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers Quorn is made from Mushroom myco-protein

@Dranktoomuchpepsi Have you explored Russell Silver Syndrome?

I do think it's too little to be honest.

My 18 month old is on the 50percentile and today are the following:

Breakfast

Porridge with a small fromage frais and half a banana

Snack
An organics baby bar

Lunch
1 slice of toast with scrambled egg and half an avocado

Dinner
Sausage from the bbq in a roll with salad

Sounds ok to me. I've just finished reading My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzales. Would highly recommend. In particular he states that breastmilk is an excellent food source for toddlers and as it is designed for our species is of course a superior food to cow's milk.

Breast milk is better for human children than cow's milk. It's great he's being breastfed OP.

Ds is 2 in june and he will have something like:

Breakfast:
1 and a half weetabix with banana
Or
Porridge (3 big spoons) with grated apple
Or
A toddler bowl of cheerios (this is a treat rather than regular because of sugar) and whole milk
Plus another bit of fruit and if hes still hungry a little slice of soreen with spread.

Snack:
Normally fruit, rice cakes or apple crisps

Lunch:
His big meal so would be something like curry and rice or pasta bolognaise or stew (hes not a fan of "plate meals" he likes a bowl!)
Then fruit and a petite fabulous style little yoghurt

Afternoon snack (didn't always have before lockdown)
Veggie straws or a little "cake"

Tea:
Something like beans on one slice of toast, crumpets with butter, omelette with veg or hummus and pitta. Plus peas and sweetcorn, more fruit (he is a fruit fiend!) And a little bit of cheese.

He doesnt drink milk and has been on 99th centile since he was a baby, hes quite tall too ("robust"!). He went necessarily eat everything all the time.

You seem to be fighting and arguing against every suggestion op. I don’t know why you’ve bothered asking for advice. Just carry on with his shit diet and denying him proper food then if you think that you’ve got it right 👍🏻

No, I simply explained in a lot of responses why it doesn't work for us, how we've tried etc. Why are you being so downright rude? Is there really any need?

I don't think the child needs breast milk at this age. He should be having full cream cows milk

Ffs. Just ffs. Honestly, I'm not even a veggie/vegan but how you came to this conclusion baffles me.

As a previous poster wrote, you need to be firm with him and not allow him to throw food on to the floor.
Why he has to use his fingers, I don't know, what's wrong with a spoon and fork. Mine were using a knife and fork at three

If you read what a previous poster wrote, you would likely have read me explaining about the cutlery issue AND additional communication difficulties. So what part of all that did you not grasp? I hate to be rude but come on

Was he born low weight ?

No, born 7 pounds 8

Regarding your ds not eating and that being a xhange- ds first molar came in at the beginning of lockdown and he had a few days of eating very little at meals, then the other is in the way and we've had a few days again where hes not eaten much - could that be a factor?

@ozymandiusking

I don't think the child needs breast milk at this age. He should be having full cream cows milk.

Why, has he turned into a calf? Don't talk nonsense - breastmilk is more suitable for children than cow's milk.

Haven No, but it does come with distinctive features and DS is perfectly in proportion. Just very short. Also no low birth weight

Was he given meat to eat at nursery ?
He wouldn’t be able to tell you.
I just wondered if there is a sudden change in diet/ eating routine since not being at nursery, and this is what is unsettling him.

Hi OP you're getting a bit battered here, I think unfairly! Quantity-wise I think he's actually eating a bit more than my 50th centile (height), stocky built and quite chunky nearly 3 year old. As others have mentioned, protein and some good fats would be nutritionally good. Things like avocados and nut butters could help with this. We follow Division Of Responsibility with eating- we decide what is served and when, they decide how much they want to eat. I don't have any experience of dealing with sensory issues around food, so if you think that's what the problem is, my suggestions may not be helpful. We always offer the same meal we are eating. If it's refused because they don't like it, they can have something plain that they will eat (e.g. Toast/crackers) as you wouldn't expect an adult to force down a meal they don't like, just so they don't have to go to bed hungry. People have mentioned giving weetabix in the evening-the only reason I'd have an issue with this, is that cereal releases energy very quickly, so could cause problems at bed time.

As other posters have suggested, you may want to locate a SN group/board, you may get better advice from more experienced parents. 🤞 You find a solution soon.

We are vegan , my youngest is 4 this is what he are yesterday and then today
Breakfast - porridge made with soya milk and maple syrup or vegan honey strawberries(3), blueberries (10ish) and a whole banana .
Breakfast - a weetabix with soya milk , watermelon and mango
Lunch - vegan cheese salad sandwich on seeded bread satsuma, mango
Lunch- left over Jamie Oliver super green pasta (delious have a google)
Snack- breadsticks hummus, cucumber and carrot sticks
Snack- 2 rice cakes with v cream cheese and cucumber with olives&mango
Dinner - jamie Oliver super green pasta with mange tout and sugarsnap peas
Dinner - tacos (meatless farm mince , mushroom,peppers, celery carrots , onions ) with salad and home made wedges with nachocheese dip (hot for food it's got carrots and potatoes and nutritional yeast in)
The they all have an evening snack of either homemade flapjack &fruit or vegan soren type thing or cereal bar and some fruit x I would recommend blending sauces so there's no bits , hiding veg in things , smoothie , soups ext , my eldest hates onions so I put them in the mini chopper so there tiny and he likes them if they are hidden , it's hard when you have fussy kids , keep tryi mg don't be hard on yourself introduce new foods all the time try various fruit eat together maybe let him serve himself or cook with you ? x

Sounds like my eldest daughter, ate fantastically until that age.. then regressed to "safe" foods, eventually eating disorders services diagnosed ASD... She literally lived on nuggets and mash and the odd sausage.

Long before she was diagnosed I found pureeing veg into her safe meals any way possible was the only way to get her to eat them.

I found calling food by different names helped greatly. She would never eat soups.. chicken soup became dinosaur soup and veg soup, seahorsey soup, for some reason she would then eat them. A bit random I know but maybe something you could try with him x

I found calling food by different names helped greatly

Everything was chicken for DD.

Her preschool and nursery (yes it went for that long) asked me how I ever got her to eat, I told them to just tell her everything is chicken...or potatoes.

My four year old has breast milk at night op as he's human not a baby cow well done for breastfeeding for 2 years xxx

What is his birth percentile and has it changed now? If you are not vegetarian or vegan then for 9 months he was eating what you were and may explain.

Celiac's disease can inhibit growth so could be worth looking into particularly as he's eating lots of gluten. Dairy and gluten can be an issue for ASD particularly from a behaviour point of view.

This is one for the experts I think and it also sounds like there might be an issue between you and DH fundamental beliefs on both what you allow DS to eat and how to deal with issues. Would DH allow some none vegetarian foods just to see if there was a different outcome?

Op my dd2 was and is a wretched eater. What your son is eating sounds right for a toddler, but google what his calorie intake should be and then track it to see if he is hitting the required amount. Also remember that their intake over a week/month is what matters at this age, not each day. Dd2 would eat like a bird for days on end, then have a day where all she did was Hoover great plates of food, as if to make up for it all.
If he likes the taste, try adding spiraulina powder to his yoghurt or smoothies. Very good source of nutrition, protein and iron. Tempeh is good too, fried in slices and offered with a dipping sauce
Dd2 would eat a platter of veges etc if we made it look like a funny face. Tiresome but it worked!

My golden rule of feeding children with ASD is that anything that passes their lips is a victory. I don't think this sounds too bad either in quantity or nutrition if the child is not NT. I'd be extremely wary of sneaking rejected foods in elsewhere as this can lead to the child refusing the carrier food going forward. My DS ate literally nothing but potato waffles at that age. Not smiley faces or chips even. It had to be waffles. He'd eaten anything up to about 18m then dropped things gradually. He started rocking and head banging at the same stage. I saw health visitor, GP, paediatrician and dietician who all said give him what he'll eat and very gently offer other things. No big deal if he refuses them. I actually do think he'd have starved himself if I hadn't had that advice. I tried to stop the waffles on the advice of well meaning people and he went 3 days without eating and showed no signs of cracking. I would honestly try to bring different foods in, try any serving style that may help (carpet picnic? Snack box?) but don't over stress. Be reyt as they say up here.

You should be giving him a proper nutritious dinner. Weetabix for dinner is not sufficient. And stop the snacks. That way he will eat his food when it's meal times. At that age my twins were eating what we eat, just smaller portions. I never made them special food just for them. They are now 5 and eat everything!

I just can't get my head around the fact that you eat meat, but you are refusing to let your child try meat, even although you don't think he is eating enough, and refusing the the foods he needs to have a healthy veggie diet.
Also, I don't think anyone was saying stop breast feeding, just that perhaps use cows milk instead of whatever it is you use (can't remember) for his cereal. He gets cheese and eggs, but not milk?
Surely letting him try meat products is worth a shot if you are both as worried as you say you are?

I think the quantity sounds ok. My two areas of concern would be fruit and vegetables and whether he's getting enough iron although I know breastmilk has iron in. Does he like any fruit or veg at all at the moment? It's not a problem to give the same things every day e.g. if he only eats apples and sweetcorn having those every day and offering other things would be better than nothing.

I have a vegetarian child (her choice) and I agree it can be healthy if they are eating the right foods. Does your son eat eggs in any form?

In your position, I would have him sitting at the dinner table with you while you tuck in to your hearty meals. Even if he doesn't eat dinner at the moment the option is there and it will become 'the norm' for him. Just don't make a thing out of it. You might find one day he wants to have things off your plate.

Small children's eating habits vary so much, as long as he is healthy I wouldn't worry too much but of course you're right to be so observant. As suggested, eggs are a very nutritious food - if he likes them.

If I were you I’d carry on giving him stuff you know he will eat. If you are concerned about his growth I’d say it’s better for him to eat something than nothing. Sounds like with the ASD And other investigations you have enough going on without the struggle of forcing food that he doesn’t want and that may do more harm than good.
Yes more fruit and veg would be great but maybe right now it’s not a priority. Lots of kids are fussy eaters but often change as they get older. Hopefully if you get a diagnosis you can get professional support with diet.
My son is 5 and I’ve only just started buying age 3-4 clothes - some kids are just smaller than others! Drs have never been concerned about his size, as long as he’s not loosing weight.
Also nothing wrong with him being veggie either, I’m sure people wouldn’t be telling you to feed him meat if it was for religious reasons!

He has no protein in his diet, would be concerned about his growth, cheese doesn't cut it and soya milk isn't suitable for everyone. Why would you restrict his diet like this? Madness. Let him try a bit of everything and see what he likes to eat. Meats, fish, eggs - what he likes, not what his parents would prefer him to like. It would take a weight off your shoulders if you saw him eating something wouldn't it and then address the food again at a later stage. For now make it easier on yourself.