Toddler obsessed with food - always hungry!!

[GlummyMummy]

My 20 month old daughter has always had a good appetite but recently she seems to have become totally obsessed with food and constantly hungry from waking up to going to bed!

It's becoming embarrassing as when we go out to people's houses she steals food from other kids, eats up all the leftovers on people's plates/the floor at toddler playgroups and shouts constantly for food. It's got to the stage that we can't eat in front of her and I have to hide in another room to eat something!

She is a very tall child but I'm concerned that she's going to become seriously overweight!!!

Anyone encountered this and have any advice?

[Jobiscuits]

He eats really healthily (no cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, chocolate, chips etc.), three meals, 2 snacks. He'll eat anything: fruit, veg and hummus, natural yoghurt. Trying to get him active has been hard but he's on new medication which has improved his energy levels. My concern is his massive appetite and worrying he'll get even more overweight. It's a nightmare taking him anywhere with food - lots of tantrums.

[HairyMaclary5]

is he a healthy eater or is he craving rubbish? I guess as long as he has a balanced diet then it's all good. Is he fairly active?

[Jobiscuits]

Thank you. My son is big for his height but he has a growth condition so he is short for his age. He eats everything at nursery and he drinks loads too (water or milk). It's very different from most toddlers I see who are fussy or won't eat!

[HairyMaclary5]

Hi Jobiscuits! My daughter is 4 now and is very tall and big for her age (solid and quite a tummy on her!) I would say she does still think about food a lot and asks for snacks constantly, particularly when she's bored I've noticed its the first thing that springs into her mind.

Ironically she goes to nursery in the mornings and doesn't eat anything when she's there!

Is your son particularly big? Does he drink a lot, cause mine doesn't so a lot of her hunger is probably thirst.

[Jobiscuits]

Glummymummy- I wonder if you have any updates on this? I am having the same issue with my toddler and hoping it will improve (he's bee like this every day for ages though).

[GlummyMummy]

skankingpiglet - hmm, never thought of soup as a sauce before. Might give that a go

Amy214 - my daughter loves bread too, if she's not shouting for "cake" her other is "toast" or sometimes she just shouts "butter"!! How old is your niece?

TeaT1me -it's very true about the "forbidden fruit" thing, hence the reason I do sometimes give in to her shouting for cake. Just don't want her to have it all the time though, trying to encourage healthy snacks too, but she just seems to hold out for the sweet treats.

[skankingpiglet]

No because she has her dinner at 5.30 and we eat about 8 No way I'd be able to cook our dinner in time for 5.30 (plus DH isn't home until later), so it's easier to just save her a portion and reheat it the next day. If it's soup, I usually cook a little bit of pasta and use the soup as a sauce which usually tempts her

[Amy214]

My niece has 2 breakfasts, one at her own house then one at mine, she has to eat because we're eating. Then at around 9.30am she has a banana with a slice of buttered bread, then at about 10am she'll moan thats shes hungry and have another slice maybe 2 slices of buttered bread, then lunch at 11.30 which is a ham sandwich some skips and a chocolate sweet of shes ate it all which is very rare if she doesnt eat it, ive tried to tell her she needs to wait until snack time but honestly it always ends in a meltdown, she is obsessed with bread and toast

[TeaT1me]

I think sometimes when parents are very strict at home.woth food they do gorge when at a place like a party (or they hit 18).

I was happy for mine to have a biscuit or cake at toddlers and they don't see it as "forbidden fruit."

Similarly I'm encouraging self regulation more and would probably allow a slice of cake if they asked for it!

[GlummyMummy]

thanks folks.

newyear16 - the hovering round the biscuits is totally familiar! My daughter seems to have a one-track mind, and its very hard to distract her from what she wants. Today she has been asking for cake since she got up from her nap at 2pm, I've given her two snacks (not cake) and we've been out to try and distract her but she still keeps coming back to it!! I am a bit concerned how this will play out into her teens as she is a completely different build from me, a very solid girl, so I worry about how she will be as she gets older. I was completely different, always a beanpole and able to eat what I wanted. You might be onto something with the breastfeeding on demand....

blobbityblob - she is quite a lazy child, so I'm always encouraging her to walk, although she does like to be carried after a bit. The party scenario certainly rings true, she won't rest until all food is gone! You wonder where this obsession originates!

skankingpiglet - some really good ideas here, never thought of giving her smoked mackerel or prawns. She won't eat soup so that's out, but she does quite like food with a bit of spice. Do you find it problematic that you aren't all eating the same on the one night?

[skankingpiglet]

Dinner-wise we just give her what we had the night before. Our dinners might be a pasta thing, casserole, curry, enchiladas, risotto, soups, salads with pulses etc. Last night she had a blackbean wrap from our leftover fajita-type filling with added cheese, sour cream, tomato, hummus, and avocado. If the dinners are a bit spicy I'll stir through a bit of cream or yoghurt, although she doesn't mind a bit of heat tbh. We mostly eat veggie food, but will have fish once a week and she happily eats that, even the fishier fish like smoked mackerel. We have meat rarely at home, but she gets a meaty dinner twice a week at the child-minder's and if we go out. She is a protein lover whichever form it comes in, but chicken and prawns are a favourite when out.

[blobbityblob]

We have three friends who had toddlers like this - now aged 10. They're still always hungry and take every opportunity to grasp more food. Their parents have managed to keep them relatively slim so far by doing loads of exercise and having set in stone rules from an early age (portion size, no seconds, set snack time, walking everywhere). Whatever you create as the norm, they'll get used to. Much harder to manage of course once they get to be teenagers. I think they were just born like this. School dinners are good to get used to from an early age as the portions are tiny.

I think it gets less embarrassing though. They no longer rifle through bags and bins or approach strangers asking for some of their food. It was very noticeable at parties where their only interest seemed to be the food and the table would have to be cleared to stop them eating. I once had to buy mine a second snack and drink in a cafe (much to the horror of others there) because another dc had eaten and drunk it all, as well as their own.

[newyear16]

Hello op
myss has been exactly the same all his life. I found it really embarrassing at toddler groups when he constantly hovered around the biscuits while all the other children went off to play or didnt want to leave a friends house if he spied any cake or crisps etc. He constantly said he was hungry but I think that was just shorthand for 'i want more of that tasty, nice food'. as a school kid the first thing he did when he came home was to check out the fridge and food cupboards. He bwcame ovwrweight in his late teens because it wasnt so easy for me to control his eating but now in his late teens he seems to have it all under control although he admits rhat he thinks of food constantly.
I sonetimes wonder if the eatibg habit befan in infancy when I breastfed on demand and he was a ferocious feed, of later, at his childminder. She said that she and her friend used to marvel at how east he was to feed as he would eat anything and everything.
So yes I understand your embarrassment perfectly.

[GlummyMummy]

we do have fish pie every so often, she's never been keen on ham but definitely worth a try again. That's good to hear about the bottle thing, don't feel so bad now! She still has a dummy too!! likes her comfort things does my daughter!! ;-)

[MattDillonsPants]

My youngest had a bottle till she was about 28 months OP! The doctor said not to worry and she's 8 now and her teeth are great.

Meal ideas...what about a fish pie? Or baked potatoes with cheese/beans or ham and cheese pasta....with peas...that's my easy one when I can't be bothered.

[GlummyMummy]

thanks for the suggestions folks, having a good chuckle at some of the usernames popping up!!

I definitely think that if she drank more she wouldn't look for food so much. She only has the night-time milk and I'm ashamed to say it's still in a bottle. We tried swapping to cups for milk a while back but she flatly refused so we took the decision that milk in a bottle was better than no milk at all. She does have milk in her cereal, plus a yoghurt a day and cheese so hopefully that's enough calcium!

Some really good ideas for snacks to try, thanks! I do sometimes make a nice banana loaf that she likes, though it does have sugar in it.

Yes, the issue will be avoiding the sweet treats when we are out. When they are there in front of her it is hard, especially when other kids are tucking in.

Anyone any ideas for nice dinner ideas? feel I stick to the same recipes which do get boring for me to make, so no doubt boring for her!

[skankingpiglet]

My DD doesn't have bedtime milk any more but that was her choice after we went cold turkey on the bottles. She has a cup of fortified unsweetened almond milk in the morning as a pre-breakfast with an oat cake still sat on our bed watching cartoons whilst we get another 1/2hrs sleep. She has a yoghurt a day and there is always some cheese in either lunch or dinner, or given as a snack, so she's getting more than enough moo-ey milk stuffs.
And YY to Matt's making your own cakes. I do a large batch of carrot cake mini muffins every so often and freeze, then defrost as required. I omit the sugar and sub some of the flour for cornmeal for a bit of added sweetness. They are sweet enough then with the carrot and chopped raisins stirred through.

[PenguinsAreAce]

also, packed lunch ideas for toddlers

[PenguinsAreAce]

Great practical suggestions including photos of portions

Snack options:
Carrot sticks and hummus
Cream cheese and oatcakes
Porridge
Salt and sugar-free nut butter on oatcake (e.g. meridian)
Cheese cubes and fruit
Natural Greek yogurt and veg sticks
Crackers with butter and cheese

[TeaT1me]

Do you need to avoid the sweet treats at playgroup?

[MattDillonsPants]

OP I simply had to stop buying cake and biscuits as both of my DDs will beg and whine for them all the time.

Now I make my own muffins or cookies or cake once a week and that's it. If they want something sweet (and they have to ask me) they might be allowed a jam sandwich. I don't buy yoghurts any more as they eat them all too fast. I do buy natural yogurt and put a bit of honey on but again that's a treat as is ice cream or pancakes....they're not meant to be part of an every day diet.

Cakes, biscuits, pancakes, ice cream....all should be eaten rarely.

Fruit is the way forward and as your DD is little it will be easier to just stop buying the cakes etc now.

[QueenJuggler]

At that age, my DD was still drinking a lot of milk, after almost every meal, she'd guzzle a full cup or two down. I wonder if that might help.

Falafels were a non-meaty winner.

I think the reality is that many toddlers (and adults) will hold out for sweet treats if they know they are going to get them - to break the cycle, you might need a bit of tough love.

I'll dig up my old kids cookbook and see what else I used to make a lot of.

You've made me want a baked potato for dinner. Sometimes carbs are good ;)

[GlummyMummy]

Thanks everyone for your advice! surprised to have so many replies!! I guess it's a popular topic... :-)

I just wanted to clarify: when I say I give her pizza I mean some passata on a sandwich pocket, topped with sweetcorn, peppers and mushroom so she is getting plenty vegetables. Also, when I do pasta with sauce, I make the sauce with tomatoes, peppers and onion and she has tuna or salmon with it. Tonight she polished off some homemade mince with veg through it along with carrot and parsnip mash, and had beans on toast for lunch. She also likes homemade quiche with cherry tomatoes and broccoli through it, and a family favourite is baked sweet potatoes with spring onion and tuna on top.

I do often give babybels for a snack, and have tried lots of other healthy options such as carrot/cucumber sticks and dip. The trouble is she knows what she wants, so will just howl and cry for cake (a bit of Soreen or a Goodies Carrot Cake Bar) until I usually relent. No amount of distraction will work!

I will certainly continue to try to introduce more protein, though she's never been hugely keen on chicken or other meat. Anyone suggest any nice recipes that their toddlers have enjoyed? I know it's no excuse but I find it very hard to find time to prepare food for her. We are at a stage when she spends most of the time clinging to my legs like a monkey when I am in the kitchen, shouting for food and pulling open cupboards to see what she can raid!

Very comforting to hear I'm not alone....it's very embarrassing going out in public when it's your child raiding the bins, then shoveling food in her mouth haha! I frequently hear the refrain "Do you not feed that child or something?!?" Even when I avoid the sweet treats at playgroups, she will hunt them out! There's no flies on her, as they say!

Also, are others with kids of the same age still giving them milk at bedtime?

[QueenJuggler]

Cheese is a good filling snack - although I tend towards not allowing any snacks at all, really.

I always had some Babybels in my bag. Much nicer than raisins. I'm with your DD on raisins being the food of the devil. Or possible the turds of the devil. She has good taste :)

[guiltynetter]

glummy mummy just to say I could have written your post to the letter! my DD is 19 months and for the past 4 or so weeks has seemed to be obsessed with food. she eats pretty much the same sorts of foods as what you've listed. this morning she finished her own breakfast and shouted for my plate, then ate a couple of crusts off it! me and my partner have also found ourselves hiding in the kitchen eating things. no real advice just to say you aren't alone.