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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How much does your 3 year old eat?

58 replies

Pebbledashery · 04/09/2021 17:07

My little one has always had a VERY healthy appetite. She's just turned 3 and her appetite has rocketed.. Please tell me if this is far too much, she asks for more and seems genuinely hungry so I do give her more, but not sure I'm setting her up for an obese future.....this is her eating today. Its slightly different in the week as she's up much earlier for pre school and eats at slightly earlier times.

Breakfast: 8am
1.5 bowls of weetabix with milk
A cup of milk
1.5 slices of Wholewheat toast with butter and marmite.

Lunch: 12.15pm
2 x cheese and ham wraps
Carrots
Cucumber
Houmous
(she asked for more wraps after demolishing two wraps but I hadn't made any more)

Afternoon snack: 3pm
Quarter of a blueberry and lemon flapjack
Small bowl of strawberries

Dinner: Between 4.30pm to 5.00pm
Home made roast potatoes (3 potatoes but wanted more)
Carrots
Broccoli
Half a small homemade chicken pie (then asked for the other half so ended up eating almost all)
Pudding: Pear

She isn't partial to many snacks during the day, and eats incredibly well at meal times. She guzzles a lot of water in the day time too and I never give her juice. She will take water up to bed with her too for the night as she's now lost interest in bedtime milk.

Does this sound OK? She always stops when she's full but I was just a bit worried she was eating a lot and I was giving her a lot. I don't like to deprive her as my ex used to try and starve her when she wanted food (I never let him.. But the intention from him was there) I don't want to then send her the other way into an abyss of overeating.

Please be honest, I'm thick skinned and grateful for opinions.

OP posts:
Formaldeheidi · 04/09/2021 17:12

Sounds great to me. My 3 year old picks like a little bird. Sounds like she has a lovely varied diet. Keep going!

polkadotpixie · 04/09/2021 17:14

It's about 3 x what my DS eats (he'll be 3 next week) but he's not the best eater

girlmom21 · 04/09/2021 17:19

This is slightly less than my DD eats on average - she's 2yo 4m and will tend to eat more breakfast and a morning snack and would also have another small snack before bed!

Balloondog · 04/09/2021 17:21

The fact that you've said she stops when she's full (and she's not snacking much) indicates she simply self regulating and it sounds like she has a good and varied diet. Is she significantly over weight for her height? If not, I wouldn't worry at all. Even if she's a little more solid, I wouldn't be overly concerned at this age as she's likely to experience growth spurts and periods of being chubbier and then lanky as she grows.

grey12 · 04/09/2021 17:21

I had a food diary because my DD2 may be lactose intolerant. She had just turned 3

Sunny side up egg w half brown bread
Half cup water
Apple
Half cup water
Couscous w peas, carrots, salami
Cup water w squash
Soya yogurt w pear, granola
Half cup water
Periperi chicken w bulgur, tomato
Small pack raisins
Small cup oat milk

grey12 · 04/09/2021 17:26

If I think my kids are eating too much. I'll just don't give more. They can take from the fruit bowl if they're hungry, including small cucumbers. Sometimes they just want more of the tasty food Wink but if you offer something else then they're magically not hungry anymore. My dad used to say: if you're not hungry for soup, you're not really hungry

It all depends how tall and how much activity your child is getting. Also, do they go through periods where they hardly eat? I'm asking because that happens to one of my kids. Sometimes if they're growing they don't eat at all and then when they stop they can finish off the fridge!

shouldistop · 04/09/2021 17:27

Does she have a healthy bmi? If so then it's fine

OrangeTortoise · 04/09/2021 17:29

I think this sounds fine! Mine are all good eaters, very active and skinny. What is her height and weight like?

Jojobees · 04/09/2021 17:32

I’d say yes it’s too much, but your quantities are vague. 1.5 bowls of weetabix could be a single weetabix, if it could be 3.
But is she overweight? If not then great let her regulate herself. If she’s over weight stop giving her more.

Original poster
Pebbledashery · 04/09/2021 17:32

She's healthy weight and height, I haven't weighed her recently, the only way I can describe her is dense 🤣.. She's very strong and its like picking up a baby elephant. She's very active at childcare and I take her outdoors at weekends, she's recently started riding a bike and she loves running around, she doesn't sit still for long except to eat!

OP posts:
shouldistop · 04/09/2021 17:36

If you haven't weighed her recently then weigh her again so you can double check
It sounds like she has a healthy, varied diet though and it's hard to know without seeing the portion sizes.

HippeePrincess · 04/09/2021 17:40

Protein will be more satisfying, so yoghurt and fruit as well as the cereals instead of the toast. Or egg/beans with the toast. Peanut butter on the toast. You get the jist.

nc5698 · 04/09/2021 17:47

That's a lot more than my 3.5yr old eats but all children are different. But seems like a healthy and varied diet.

It's hard to tell without her weight measurement, and preferably height too. Could you check and come back to the thread to update us?

whosaidtha · 04/09/2021 18:05

Sounds like a lot to me but it really depends. Are the wraps full size or mini? How many wheatabix is 1.5bowls. How big is a chicken pie. Because in all honesty a adult would probably be fine on two wheatabix, a wrap plus veg and humus and chicken pie and potatoes for tea.

StayOrGoOrWhat · 04/09/2021 18:17

It’s more than my 3 year old I think. She’s on the 75th centile for weight and 25th for height. She tends to go through phases of eating more/less, probably when she’s having a growth spurt. She seems to be good at stopping when she is full. Your child’s diet sounds lovely and varied. Mine would think that chicken pie = poison.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 04/09/2021 18:19

It looks ok to me. Its reasonably healthy stuff and at mealtimes rather than loads of huge snacks.

The only thing I have found from age 3/4 is my son will eat more when bored, and will also overeat if he eats too fast and doesnt give himself time to realise he is full, so now I'm now a bit careful over both - if he's eaten a decent dinner very quickly and is still saying he's "hungry", I ask him to wait 15 minutes before checking again if he's actually hungry. And I offer extra of the vegetables/healthiest items, not just loads extra of the stuff young children love (white carbs.....!)

Moraxella · 04/09/2021 18:21

That’s about what my string bean 23 month old boy eats. It all sounds healthy and varied too!

Rivermonsters · 04/09/2021 18:24

Is it full sized wraps? If so that’s a lot. I’m putting on weight and I’d eat 2 so..

RealBecca · 04/09/2021 18:24

Some days my kids have eaten like that, others barely anything so as long as its healthy meals and not just snacks then i keep throwing food at them.

We dont do clear plates, pudding or snacks by routine though so i feed them as long as they keep asking.

They rarely ask for snacks so if they di ask they usually get them unless close to a meal time

Original poster
Pebbledashery · 04/09/2021 18:27

I will weigh her.. I've just ordered new scales as mine are broken! But it's basically normal sized weetabix, she had 2 this morning. I did 1.5 in the first bowl and half in the second bowl so it made 1.5 bowl of weetabix but 2 weetabix biscuits.. I should've just said that lol. The wraps are the normal sized ones, the mini ones are like air for her! I make the wraps them chop them up into circles and she demolishes it.. The chicken pie is a normal standard shop size small pie, I bought some foil pie container things and made them to put in freezer, the one today had shortcrust pastry. She's very good with vegetables, there's not much she doesn't like so I'm very lucky.. She's definitely more of a 3 square meals kind of girl than a snacker, I do offer her snacks mid morning such as fruit or bread sticks but it's almost like she wants to save her appetite! She sleeps 7 to 7 so is ravenous by the morning!

OP posts:
grey12 · 04/09/2021 18:36

Maybe try eggs in the morning? Protein is good in the morning. (Don't know exactly how weetabix compares because I've never had it)

Tigerwhocameforsupper · 04/09/2021 18:37

Some days not enough to keep an ant alive, other days as much as a grown adult!

I just look at a week as a whole and consider whether she has eaten well.

Southwestrunningmum · 04/09/2021 18:41

Oh my goodness my daughter eats soooo much! She has adult size portions of pasta! Her BMI is fine.

CoodleMoodle · 04/09/2021 18:43

My 3 year old eats loads most of the time, and then some days he doesn't eat as much! I could give him exactly the same dinner two days in a row, and one day he'd barely touch it, the next he'd clear his plate. He's not fussy at all, whereas his older sister has an extremely limited diet and always has. Weaning him was a joy in comparison.

ViceLikeBlip · 04/09/2021 18:44

My 3yo eats like a horse. Probably v similar to yours, plus endless snacking on crackers and breadsticks.

I've struggled on and off a lot of my life with fairly disordered eating, and I can't bear any confrontation around food. I would never restrict any of my children at any age with regards to quantity. But instead I try to focus on quality. Everything in moderation, but mostly we keep fairly plain snacks in the house (like cream crackers, breadsticks, apples, maybe toast) which I let them at pretty much ad lib.