Is DS’ diet really that bad?

[enuquer]

Please be kind.

DS is 2, will be 3 at the end of the year. His daily diet is usually

Breakfast: weetabix or rice krispies/corn flakes

Morning snack: an orange or a yoghurt

Lunch: Ham sandwich with an orange or yoghurt (whatever he doesn't have for snack) and some wotsits or quavers

Afternoon snack: 2 biscuits or a small packet of chocolate buttons

Dinner: pasta/pizza/ sausage and mash with carrots/fish fingers/chicken nuggets/ the occasional McDonald's happy meal (probably once or twice a month)

Dessert: ice cream or a small chocolate bar

Then he sometimes has chips if me and DP have had a takeaway, and he isn't asleep yet.

The only fruit and veg he'll eat are oranges and carrots. During the day he does drink water or apple juice and has a bottle of milk before bed.

We recently stayed at my mum's as my mum said that he shouldn't be eating those foods and his diet is awful.

Is it really that bad?

If you have a child who eats what you give them, then there is definitely room for improvement (although I wouldn't be losing sleep over it). If this is all the child will eat then carry on as you are but just keep offering other healthier options alongside the food they do eat.

And raisens!! Don't know how I forgot those

My 2yo is having a fussy phase so I totally sympathise but I'm confused by why you're giving so much sugar? My 2.5yo typical day at the moment:

Breakfast: Weetabix with strawberries or banana and oat milk or pancakes if were not in a rush
Snack: Apple / orange / occasionally raisins
Packed lunch: Cheese sandwich or sausage roll with carrot or cucumber sticks, oat bar, more fruit, maybe a yoghurt
Snack: Usually cheese cubes or carrots and hummus
Dinner: She's going through a beige stage so we offer her what we're having but always served with something "safe" like chips/mash/quorn sausages/scrambled eggs/beans etc (sometimes she eats the proper meal, sometimes not)

So yeah my toddlers diet is crap too with way too much fruit, but she gets offered a wide variety of foods and I hope she will come out the other side and start eating well again. I think the key is not to let food become a battle or power struggle but also not just give them exactly what they want every meal without even trying different foods. My DSD is nearly 12 and eats absolutely nothing, literally on Christmas day she has to have chicken nuggets and chips because she is THAT fussy and used to junk food. The idea of DD ending up like that scares me!

It's not great. I don't think my 2 year old has a great diet but to give you an idea, a typical day for him is:

Breakfast - half a bagel and butter with fruit (usually berries or banana) on the side

Snack - cashew butter and honey half sandwich

Lunch - omelette with peas and cheese mixed in or quesedilla with cucumber on the side

Snack - fruit of some sort

Dinner - fish fingers and broccoli or pasta bolognaise or home made pizza

Maybe one sweet a day - ice lolly, yoghurt or chocolate biscuit

I don't think his diet is that amazing but we get in about 4 portions of fruit and veg and max one sweet a day

@Moonbabysmum

Its not great...

There'll be a lot of people on here that day they never feed their toddlers sugar or they'll have chocolate once a month or something. And good for them. I'm not one of those. My kids eat crisps, and chocolate and chips. But even i think your toddlers diet is a bit rubbish.

We are usyaloy something like:

Breakfast: big bowl of porridge, with some strawberries after.

Snack: fruit - banana or apple often.

Lunch - hummus with breadsticks, cucumber and pepper. Square of cheese, some crisps and a yoghurt for pudding.

Snack - biscuit/cake/naughty snack.

Dinner: varies, but a mix of things like pesto pasta with sweetcorn, pea risotto, sausages and mash with carrots and peas, chicken curry with some sweet potato, carrots and peas thrown in. Sometimes we have fish fingers or pizza, but always some form of veg either on the side or on it, or a corn on the cob in the side. Sometimes there's pudding, sometimes not (depending on what they've eaten for the rest of the day). It might be something like a fruit crumble, or a biscuit, or straight piece of fruit.

Do you call biscuit/cake a “naughty snack” to your kids?

He's having crisps and chocolate and biscuits (or ice cream) every day. That's what you need to knock on the head; one treat item a day.

I think the breakfast and morning snack are fine. Nothing at all wrong with rice crispies/cornflakes or weetabix, as long as you are not adding sugar. My DS has cereal and fruit for breakfast (no added sugar) and is absolutely fine at 7.

I would say lunch is a fairly typical young child lunch. The crisps could be replaced.

Will he eat apples? My son absolutely loves apple slices up with cheese as a snack. Or maybe cheese and crackers? Breadsticks? Could be better than biscuits/chocolate.

I wouldn't do ice cream/chocolate every day. We don't generally have puddings in our house. DS sometimes has apple and cheese for pudding his choice! That said, he isn't massively keen on puddings tbh (about the only thing he doesn't eat!).

I'd say, overall, it's not that bad, just swap some of the crisps/chocolate/ice creams for healthier options.

My first was a brutal eater. would not eat fruit or veg at all, so I would have been delighted with the oranges and carrots, he is 15 now and a good eater, if that gives you any hope. I'd replace the wotsits/buttons/ice cream with something healthier, but look if he is heathy and meeting milestones I wouldnt worry too much. I wish I didnt

I'd be wary of hiding food in other food as in my experience the child will then reject the carrier food too. DS1 ate far worse than this and has survived almost a quarter of a century so far. If you're doing your best I would continue to gently expand the menu without creating tension or battles.

I don't think his diet is that bad but my kids have chocolate and crisps every day and not one of them is overweight or has problems with their teeth. I tend to ignore the lunchbox police on here, that stipulate every toddler should only be eating rice cakes and drinking water. When I think of some of the crap I ate as a child, I'm shocked that I'm still alive.

Too many sweet things

It's not great as it's loaded with too much sugar and snacks. More veg and protein. Maybe egg and soldiers for breakfast for a change from cereal. Less of the beige foods for dinner. Pasta bolognese with extra veg added in. Chicken breast with mash and veg rather than chicken nuggets. And perhaps crackers with cheese instead of sugary biscuits

Do you call biscuit/cake a “naughty snack” to your kids?

I don't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes.

Obviously I make them dress up in little convict outfits and we role play being in jail whilst eating our illicit goodies 🙄

That's sarcasm. Obviously. No, its a biscuit or a cupcake, or leftovers from their easter egg, or a lolly on a hot day.

Erm. Yes. My children get a maximum of one treat a day, and that is too much really for health reasons.

Crisps + biscuits + ice cream is overkill. Yoghurts are full of sugar. No doubt the bread is white too - more sugar.

He won’t get a more diverse diet if you don’t try.

Aim for a whole foods diet and limit treats to maximum once per day.

I think the worst bit is no veg at all! And stop giving him biscuits and crisps every day. Would also stop the juice, at this age can be an occasional treat not every day.

Not awful by any means but he really doesn’t need chocolate/ice cream twice a day every day. But there are easy tweaks to make here so don’t beat yourself up.

@enuquer

Yes, I offer him other fruit and veg but he refuses to eat it. I also offer him what I cook for dinner but he won't eat it and cries and DP then gives him a slice of pizza if he has different to me. He doesn't have any sauce on his pasta as he won't eat it if it does.

I eat different fruits and vegetables so DS does see me eating them but DP will only eat a few different vegetables and no fruit.

Keep offering, with lots of praise for trying. There are no quick fixes, just time and patience.

Yeah, your mum is right. That really is far too much. He doesn’t even need one treat a day never mind several.

Honestly, to me it doesn't sound so bad, maybe try to switch the afternoon snack to cheese and crackers, cucumber or carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, toast and hummus, instead of biscuits or chocolate.

But realistically everything sounds like typical child foods. But then again I was raised in the 80's where everything came from a can, the freezer or "just add hot water" 😂

To be honest, I would say that if you husband gives him a slice of pizza each time you offer him a home cooked meal then that's probably why he refuses them!
My husband is the same as yours in that he doesn't eat fruit but does eat a range of veg luckily. To be honest I just give our toddler what we are having for dinner and that's it really I don't offer anything else.
I'd say breakfast, morning snack and lunch are fine but then afternoon snack I'd ditch the biscuits and chocolate every day - would he eat cheese, rice cake, bread stick, cucumber etc?
Also I only offer fruit or yoghurt for dessert apart from occasionally the odd mini milk which she loves. I think it's a lot of chocolate for him otherwise and with the apple juice and biscuits -a lot.of sugar for his teeth particularly if they're snacks. Good luck!

So does your DP have a restricted diet too?

DS is 2.4 and I give him one ‘treat’ each day, so usually something after his evening meal. Or for his afternoon snack.

I would say that you just need to be casual about it and keep exposing him to different foods each day. Don’t make a big deal out of what’s on his plate or what he is or isn’t eating.

DS had a thing about tomatoes for ages and I just kept slicing one and putting it on his plate at every meal, not even mention it, just put it on there, and eventually he ate it and now he’s fine with them. They’re all different of course but taking the pressure off is helpful.

I think there is space between great and awful. Would I say that is awful? Nope. Would I make some changes? Yes. Is it optimal diet? Nope. Is it similar to a lot of other kids? Yes.

What dinners do you cook for yourself? Freezer food is fine occasionally but there doesn't seem to be a lot of variety. Does he eat much meat, chicken and veg, spag bol etc? I'd encourage more 'proper' dinners now whilst he's younger

It’s not brilliant, although my child won’t eat anything apart from yoghurt so I’m not judging!

But he’s having crisps, chocolate and ice cream every day which would worry me if it was my child.