18 month old constantly hungry.

[familyfun]

dd2 has always been a big eater, you only have to mention lunch and se tries to climb into highchair and grabs at food while im trying to strap her in. she eats 3 large meals a day and i also give her a biscuit/fruit snacks morning and afternoon.
she keeps taking my hand, leading me to the kitchen and asking for cereal/biscuit/milk, all the time even in the middle of playing.
at playgroup she scoffs the toast down faster than the other kids, some of them havent had breakfast first but dd will have already eaten cereal.

do some kids just not know when to stop eating, is it a habit, should i refuse??
she is 80cm tall and weighs 22lb so not huge but she is solid looking.

dd1 was always small, thin and ate like a sparrow so im not sure whats normal.

I think it's difficult to know with them what is genuine hunger and what is greed / desire to explore food and textures! My DS is a good eater but he will ALWAYS want some of whatever you're eating even if he's had a good meal so I tend to put him off the scent. Equally if I left a load of biscuits out, he'd have them all so I don't think he can regulate himself. I think you have to take control and cut out the snacking as that could turn into a habit. If she's on 3 good-sized meals she should be able to get through morning and afternoon with maybe just a banana mid morning and some milk and grapes in the afternoon, if anything. I don't think that sounds too draconian, does it?!

I always know when DS is coming down with something because he goes off his food - otherwise he eats. And eats. And eats. And then eats some more. It's so embarrassing when we take him for picnics because he always trots over to strangers to help himself see what they're eating.

It's very difficult because i don't like discouraging him from eating or trying new things. I've started offering him things like satsumas as snacks, and raisins. Rice cakes are also good because you LO feels like they're getting something but they don't contain loads of calories. That said, toddlers are literally always on the move so is it any wonder their appetites can be so big? DS is especially active (i.e. refuses to watch TV because there are better things to do) and i guess has an appetite to match. We give him lots of 'small' food like olives, so he grazes between meals. His weight is absolutely normal btw. I think we worry too much.

she eats quite healthily, loves her fruit and veg but eats large quantities of everything.
yes she is a livewire, much more into everything than my other dd so maybe just hungrier.

I've just read "My Child Won't Eat!" which may seem an odd book to refer to given your concerns about her overeating. However, Dr Gonzalez, the Paediatrician who wrote the book, cites a great deal of evidence that in fact, babies and young children are very capable of regulating their own appetites and if you trust them and allow them to get on with that, will grow in to adults who are similarly well equipped. His basic advice would be, if she's physically fine, then you shouldn't intervene; intervention risks making an 'issue' of food (and he means in relation to under or over eaters). If you are really worried, why not have a read - I bet it would really put your mind at rest.

both my DC are different. DS1 was and is very choosy about what he eats and how much. Dislikes many flavours/textures. DS2 will eat and drink anything and will always try stuff. He also raids the cupboards and says at 2.4 that he is hungry and points to his tummy. DS1 never did that. So although they are both a healthy weight and height I need to regulate DS2 more.

To summarise DS1 isn't interested in food per se while DS2 is.

I worry if I stand still for long enough, my DD (14mo) will eat me. I jokingly warn other mums at picnics that my DD will eat their children's food if they don't hurry but I'm not kidding. She's breathed in a whole punnet of blueberries this afternoon and not a small one either. Thankfully she's completely average in weight and height for her age so I'm not too concerned.

I am worried for the cat though, I think she's eyeing her up for a tasty snack when my back is turned.

You are not alone.

Another vote for the Carlos Gonzalez book. Summarised it's that it's your job to offer healthy food choices, and their job to decide how much and what to eat out of it.

I haven't read the Gonzalez book, but have heard the 'self-regulating' comment from a paediatric dietician before. However, that was qualified with 'up to a certain age' (somewhere between 2 -3). After that, it is likely they will try to eat as much as is served up to them.

Small child here also inhales anything going - and begs from strangers in cafes / parks / zoos .
We haven't cut down on portions, but have started splitting them. So - I set aside a full child sized meal portion, but only offer a third up front, the second third if requested (leaving a couple of minutes in between to help with recognising 'feeling full'), and ditto the final third.
Over the six weeks since we started the request for the final third of any meal is starting to reduce. We've noticed as well that on the days that one of the meals is large then any further meals that day aren't.

Snacking on rice cakes and fruit / dried fruit is unlimited, everything else is rationed. Natural yoghurt tends to be small child's pudding of choice though, so I'm lucky there.

apart from fruit, what about things like breadsticks? are they ok as a regular snack.

As a snack definitely fine I think - just have an eye on the salt content. Things mine hoovers up as snacks (i.e. the rationed ones) are:

slice of bread (& butter or peanut butter)
ryvita
Carr's water biscuit
cornish wafers
wholemeal pitta bread (half of one of the standard size ones)
cherry tomatoes
ginger biscuits (one of the blogs on here - Oscar's Lunch has a brilliant recipe, and the dough freezes well so only have to make them once a month)
shredded wheat bitesize
cheese
frozen peas / corn (no, I don't know why either)

yes she likes water biscuits and tomatoes.
she wont eat bread.
will try ryvita thanks

One thing I do with my son of the same age is let him eat as much as he likes (within salt limits) but insist he eats it in his highchair. If it's very nearly time for a meal or snack than I do make him wait for that too, and I'm very careful not to offer food when he is upset rather than specifically hungry. Ellyn Satter is worth reading too.

she loves her highchair, if she sees me near food she runs to the table shouting chair chair excitedly
she ate a huge dinner today and then hoovered up her older sisters peas she had left, she has a huge appetite