What does your 2.5 yr old eat in an average day?

[YummyMummy1208]

My DS is 2yrs7 months and we just seem to be under one constant battle to get him to sit and eat a meal without me having to moan, pick forks up or pause the TV just to get him to eat.

He eats a bowl of cereal for breakfast and this is usually the easiest meal of the day to get down him, not really interested in eating a yoghurt with it but will then try give him some toast/fruit around 10am - wont eat much of the toast on a usual day but is quite good with fruit usually.
He will have beans on toast or something similar for lunch at 1pm - again, not really eating much of it and having to be very much persuaded to eat say half of the food on his plate.

Snacks in between meals can be biscuits/fruit/crisps(not very often) or some dry cereal in a bowl like cherios for example. Although i wont give him sweets if he hasnt eaten his previous meal.

Dinner is normally something like sausage, carrots and potatoes and it usually takes over half an hour to get him to start eating properly - he doesnt have tantrums or anything like this, just will sit there talking or watching TV (which i end up turning off usually to get him eating) or pretending to accidentally drop his fork on the floor and saying he needs the toilet to get out of his seat.
Meal times seem just one constant battle for us as if he doesnt like food and as hes not even reached 2 stone yet when a friend at work whoes toddler is 9 months younger and looks a normal weight/size for his age weighs around 2st4 im wondering when to start worrying about him not gaining enough weight...what do your toddlers eat in a typical day and do you think my DS's is eating a similar amount or not enough??

I'm sure it varies wildly but to start with I would def say ditch the TV.

i thought someone would pick up on that .

And yes it does vary - the TV is just usually left on in our living room all day without him ever really sitting and watching it - our table and chairs are in the living room so he can see the TV from where he sits at the table. If he doesnt start eating his food after 5 or 10 minutes say i tell him that if he doesnt start eating mummy is going to turn the TV off to which he usually gives totally the wrong response to and tells me to turn it off so i do, then he starts eating - we may get 2 or 3 mouthfulls in after that before he starts playing up again!

I've a cheek to post really as I abuse the TV the other way - if DD won't eat with us at the table I don't fuss at the time but later plonk her in front of the TV with leftovers and she generally shovels it in (she is 2.8)

I just know that the least distraction and she is off - can't imagine TV is helping. We have actually just moved house and can now eat in the kitchen which is brilliant as all toys/books/TV etc are out of sight.

She doesn't eat much more than you've said some days, other days lots more, other days a lot less!

I have dt's boys just turned 3 years . We have just started to eat with them for most meals and it has made such a difference .

Sometimes they eat loads , sometimes hardly anything . Certainly since they started to eat with us they have begun to try more foods .

I try to appear relaxed ( even if not !), that helps too , and if they say they have had enough then thats fine .

Should have also said try not to make an issue of it .

Children love to get your attention this way . Food should never become an issue .

It's SO tricky and seems never ending . I used to dread mealtimes.

Oh def, yes, eat with them!

my DD (2.7)eats more when i get her involved in making it, wraps, sandwiches etc i put the fillings on the table and away she goes :)

Can I suggest sutting out the snacks? I don't give my dd hardly any snacks at all because it totally takes the edge off meal-time hunger. She is nearly 2 and eats a bowl of cereal or toast with jam for breakfast around 8 then nothing until about 12 when I feed her lunch (usually quite light - ham, cherry tomatoes, cheese, tuna etc with bread). She then gets a yoghurt when she wakes up after her nap (around 3) and nothing then until dinner - around 6.30/7pm. I find she eats when she's hungry and if she doesn't eat, or fusses too much i just stop, let her down from the table and try again a little later. She went through terrible phases of eating practically nothing for a few days in the last months but most of the time she eats enough.

Hi Yummymummy, my 2 yo DS is EXACTLY the same, very occasionally we get a decent meal down him but more often than not its a battle to get more than a few mouthfuls in. He was even referred to the hosp with possible food intolerances as he is so skinny, fortunately the tests were all negative and the dietician reassured me that I was doing everything right. It has, without a shadow been my biggest bugbear as a parent, Dp and I are real foodies and I had visions of cosy family meals eating loads of lovely food when in reality I celebrate if he eats ANYTHING! Made me feel like a failure. The doctor told me a while ago that if the TV acts as a distraction in the sense that I can shovel food in while he is watching then use it but I think now he has just turned 2 it is becoming a more negative distraction. I bump food up with high fat things ie; mash with extra virgin olive oil, cheese in pasta etc just to help his weight and i think I do still give him too many snacks but tbh I'd rather know he is eating something than nothing at all! Its so hard and I so sympathise.

My son was not a big eater at two, but it really helped to make sure snacks were just fruit - a bit of apple or a few strawberries. So at least he would come to the table hungry. But to be honest, it wasn't until he turned four that he actually started to enjoy food.

Some kids just don't get it. My DS is 2.11, and considers sitting down to eat pretty similar to having his nappy done (although now potty trained). It's just something mum makes you do, and it's not fun...

Eating together at the table makes a huge differnce. There are many days when I would rather not eat beans on toast at 12.01, or sausages (again!) at 5.05; but it really helps and re-inforces that meal times are family time. It also means we can sing songs, tell stories (DS is a sucker for a good story from our past with funny voices, idealy involving fire engines, animals etc), and try to have fun together.

I've also now insisted (with help from naughty step) of "Please may I leave the table". I'm not huge fan of victorian values; but it stops him form just running off because he's bored already!

And as for the average day, probably similar to yours; although of course there are days of 3 spoons of porridge, 2 sausages, and a bite of pizza... But other days he eats like a horse - average over a week, and let some days pass!

Thanks for the advice. :)

I suppose they will eat when hungry, he only ate about 3 mouthfulls of his sandwich at first day of playgroup yesterday and 3 chicken nuggets for tea - persuaded him to eat about 1 tiny carrot and a piece of potato aswell which ment he ate over half of what was on his plate.

Im not worried as such, just dont really have any idea of what others his age are eating as i dont know many other children his age so its nice to hear other mums stories!