Do you give snacks to your toddler?

[likessleep]

Just a thought really. 16 mth old DS seems to eat his meals much better when he hasn't had a snack in between. He's 91st centile for weight, 50th centile for length, so a bonny boy (although not really walking yet).

Just I read everywhere that children have small tummies and need snacks to keep them going.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

It varies so much with my ds on a day to day basis. He's 18mo and very active and some days he eats loads and other days is less fussed. I take my cues from him but I never leave the house without some fruit or dried banana pieces, sultanas, breadsticks and that sort of things. Mini babybels or just little cubes of cheese are quite good too.

In summary sometimes we snack and sometimes we don't!

From just before walking to about 2.5 DS was ravenous and ate all the time. He also developed a naptime that killed off lunch so I gave him a humungous snack of bread and cheese and fruit at 11ish and then a little something early afternoon instead of a proper lunch. That became quite a habit for a while - I think he needed it but it has gradually tailed off.

Now he's 3 and a bit he still snacks but they are smaller. As he gets older still I will probably phase them out to fruit only or nothing at all.

But there was definitely a phase there when he needed to eat and eat and eat. It's quite hard, though, to recognise when that phase is over and cut down again. IME.

DS is a snacker. He is constantly on the go, hyper frankly, and I think he needs them.

Also he is on 25th centile for weight and 75th for height, so he is quite skinny and I think he can handle the extra calories. I do limit him to "healthy" snacks though - breadsticks, rice cakes, fruit, raisins etc.

I find porriidge is the best thing to alleviate morning snacking - fills dd up for ages

Mine have snacks whenever they ask for them. Usually fruit, cereal, cheese, sandwiches etc but I do let them have biscuits or cake too.

DD doesn't eat much at meals whether she has snacked or not but gets very grumpy if she doesn't eat little and often and DS eats big meals regardless. I just follow their lead really.

I've got some plastic fruit for my dd (21 mo) and we chop it with her plastic knife while I chop the real fruit..then we eat the real fruit, offer real & plastic fruit to teddies and have lots of fun. I just keep my dd within sensible calorie ranges for the day, and let her snack if she wants, but gauge the snacks according to what she's having for dinner (e.g todays snack was grapes as she was getting cheesy spag bol later). I also peel vegetables during her bedtime hour and give her bits to try. Hope that helps.

my DS2 was 9lb 4oz at birht but was so really long and skinny they weighed him twice to make sure they got it right if that makes sense. He is now nearly 2 and will eat anything and everything that you put in front of him. he usually has a snack of fruit and yoghurt around 11am then lunch between 1pm - 2pm another snack of toat and fruit at about 4pm and then dinner at 5pm - 6pm. unfortunately despite eating all he does he looks like an x-ray wearing a jumper he is sooooooo skinny.