Letting my toddler eat too much fruit?

[Cadar89]

How much fruit is too much for a toddler?
Today so far toddler has had 3 bananas, a whole apple - core included because he just eats it like a horse, a satsuma and a little bit of rhubarb (no sugar added but I’m honestly surprised he ate it!)
he eats his meals well especially his veg, always eats his veg first, and is not interested in cake/deserts/chocolate etc.

but it’s not even 2pm and I know he’ll want more fruit. And writing this down it seems a ridiculous amount.

AIBU letting him have this much fruit?! He’s 17 months.

Would be worried about this teeth with that amount of sugar. Dentist told me to limit how much fruit mine eat a day. Would uou try some of the sweeter raw veg like carrot sticks?

I’d cut back on the bananas just because of the sugar. Seems fine, otherwise.

That does sound like A LOT of fruit. It sounds like a lot of food full stop, taking into consideration he'll be eating other things for meals. I don't even think I could eat all of that my self.

Honestly, there a lot worse he could be eating. So I wouldn't worry, I'd maybe give less banana, stick to one I portion of each fruit. But other than that it's wonderful he's eating so much fruit an veg. Make the most of it because the majority of them go through a fussy stage at some point.

You, as an adult, couldn't eat "3 bananas, a whole apple, a satsuma and a little bit of rhubarb" before 2pm because that would be far too much for you 😂😂

Riiight, only on mumsnet 🙄

I'd be a bit mindful of his teeth, generally fruit with meals is best but of course there are worse things he could be eating so its a balance. I mean as long as his stomach is okay I guess, if I as an adult ate 3 bananas I'd be super constipated! Can you try and incorporate veg snacks like cucumber tomatoes as well? And more of a variety of fruits?

He sounds like a good eater and especially if not eating cakes and desserts. I used to limit my LO to 2 bananas max though. Apart from introducing savoury snacks plus higher calorie food such as peanut butter, I wouldn’t worry too much he’s getting lots of natural vitamins but try and keep teeth clean (don’t brush straight after fruit as too acidic). My 5 year old also used to eat heaps of fruit and I worried at times, but dentist just said his teeth are spotless.

Seems a lot to me. Does he eat the fruit independently of meals? Can the fruit be the dessert of each meal?

I remember reading that kids under 2 shouldn't have more than 1.5 bananas a day because of the high potassium content.

He might be thirsty - offer more water.
I
would limit fruit to one of a kind per day and offer more variety. Maybe prep fruit bowls with some chopped fruit AND veg.

It’s one day. Maybe he’s having a growth spurt and is extra hungry today. 3 bananas every day might not such a good thing though!

Their bodies know what they need. I wouldn't be worried as long as it's whole fresh fruit. Chances are it's a phase and in a few weeks he'll be eating another type of food. I would perhaps limit to 2 of each type per day if he's eating that much fruit every day.

Eating whole fresh fruit is not detrimental to dental health, unless there's a pre existing enamel problem.

Don't let him eat apple cores, the seeds contain cyanide.

I also think he is eating way way too much fruit in general. You are training his body to need sugar hit after sugar hit, and it will also wreck his teeth. Give him things like celery, bits of red or yellow peppers, cucumber, salad leaves etc. Let him munch through a bowl of that instead.

If you want him to stop eating so much fruit, keep it out of sight. He wants it because he can see it.

You’d have to eat one helluva lot of apples to be affected with cyanide poisoning. Sure I’ve read somewhere that tiny amounts can be beneficial, as with arsenic.

I’ve eaten the pips, pears too, all my life, still here.

Thanks all. He does eat fruit as desserts but also independently as snacks.

veg snacks are a great idea thanks 😊
he did see a commercial with peas on the other day and got excited then ran and pointed at the freezer, so I gave him a bowl of peas and he enjoyed that!
Ill start to keep some fruit out of sight. I think I’ll buy the smaller banana too and limit to two.
to be honest I know I could have a lot more control of this and I have kind of just let it happen so was wondering if it was too much.
mom trying to find a balance of being relaxed and not being too restrictive and making better choices and having a healthy relationship with food, etc because I’ve had my own food issues throughout life.
Hes really good at drinking water, so I’ve been against him trying juice because he clearly has a sweet tooth for fruit!
he does tend to have an apple a day- is that too many pips or is that ok? I never knew about the pip thing!

Don't let him eat apple cores, the seeds contain cyanide.

Only if you eat lots of apples and chew/crush the seeds.

Rubbish... Whole fruit is not a sugar hit. It's about the healthiest thing a human could be eating (in balance with sufficient protein and fat containing foods). There's not enough cyanide in a couple of apple cores to be poisonous.

I don't think it's a huge amount in a good respect just let him eat fruit.

However that amount before 2pm assuming he had a breakfast abd lunch I wonder if he is just eating for something to do? Have you distracted him away from food when he asks? A game or out the back to play or something?

We have always had a "one of anything" rule with fruit so 3 banana's would be too many here, but better than biscuits, sweets, cake or crisps as snacks. Ignore the too much sugar brigade!

My DD eats 5 portions of fruit a day, she doesn't like veg and it's much better than processed crap.

MN is such a weird place about fruit, someone upthread saying to hide the fruit, fruit is healthy and filling!

3 bananas is a lot of bananas. I wouldn't eat that in a day so definitely too much for a toddler.

I’d try and vary it a bit more -

3 bananas is a lot of anything, and if you swap in some veg or humous or whatever it will be less sugary

It's not just the sugar that you need to worry about, it's the acid - which as any dentist will tell you, causes enamel erosion.

is he actually eating the other food groups like protein and some healthy carbs there is a thing where small children can be malnourished as they eat too much fibre stuff that fills you up and then don't eat meals etc. he doesn't need cakes chocolate or dessert but does need protein whether that is meat cheese eggs or beans /lentils if you are veggie . I think 5 lots of fruit as snacks as well as breakfast and lunch is quite a lot by 2pm, but is this a typical day or not ?

Rhubarb is actually a vegetable.