20mth toddler VERy tubby, incredibly greedy - how do I make her slimmer?

[pacificgirl]

My 20mth old toddler is very tubby. I'm noticing this more and more that she is the fattest (I don't like using this word but it is true) compared to all the other toddlers we meet at groups etc. She still has all her baby fat, really chubby wrists, legs, ankles, arms and a belly!

She is EXTREMELy greedy. She scrounges food from the floor, I can't eat in front of her as she has a tantrum until she gets what I am eating (great for a diet!), will steal food out of other childrens bowls if we are out at a group, will crawl round the floor hoovering up any dropped bits... even tries to eat any dropped food off the street. She will eat anything (no fussy eater problems here). She also eats VERY fast. I see toddlers at groups eating slowly out of their bowls but my little girl stuffs her mouth full and can eat a whole bananna in 25 seconds (no joke!). help.

Does anyone else have a toddler so greedy? She is also quite lazy (I take her to the park and get her out of buggy so she can walk and she walks for a couple of mins then sits on the floor in protest).

Any suggestions on what I can do would be massively appreciated. I know the obvious answer is 'feed her less'... but she tantrums if I take her out of her high chair if she hasn't had that much. I'm trying to get her to eat salad (she loves fruit).. but I am also aware I want her to get all her vitamins etc so need to be sensible about this.

Thanks.

You can't put her on a diet, and it's a stage at which they are often still carrying the weight that their body has put on in preparation for walking.

Just make sure she doesn't get to eat lots of cake/biscuits/sweets etc, and make sure she gets to fill up on lots of veggies alongside a sensible portion of carbs/protein. And give her lots of opportunities to be active - softplay, the playground are more interesting for toddlers than just walking.

It's important to model healthy eating behaviour at this stage - so nothing is bad or forbidden, if she's hungry she eats, if she isn't she doesn't get cajoled into eating, and food isn't a reward or punishment.

I feel your pain on the walking. DD (just 21 months) is very reluctnat to walk. I find that if I don't take the pushchair and got for a chort toddle we have a lot more sucess!

I'd cut out all sweets and empty calories but give her as much fruit and veggies she wants. Also plain yogurt, eggs, lean meat and fatty fish, multi seeded etc. bread. No sweet cereals, instead porridge and weetabix with semi skimmed milk.

give her less food. and don't give into tantrums when you take her out of the highchair when you feel she has had enough, tantrum or not, you must not give her any more food! You are doing her no favours whatsoever giving in to the tantrums.

I am going to be eaten alive on here for saying this, but when I see fat kids, I feel really annoyed with their parents - the kids don't do the shopping, prepare the meals or decide on day's activities. most of the time they cannot even reach the cupboards!

You've got to take responsibility for this ASAP and feed her less and take her swimming and running more. IF she won't move, don't give in, just walk away from her slowly, don't look back, don't give in and put her back in her pram and don't whatever you do, carry her - she'll get the idea and probably start having loads of fun!

Good luck.

Two things:

let her eat as much as she wants at mealtimes/scheduled snack times (but healthily)

but never ever ever modify your parenting because you are afraid of tantrums

I agree with comments about not giving in to tantrums and making sure that her diet is very healthy.

I would also suggest that you take her to the GP for a check up and tell them what you've described above.

Yeah, what Cory said.

My DS was a fat baby/young toddler and went through phases of eating tons. He can also be prone to laziness and prefers being pushed in the buggy rather than walking.

However, as he's got older, he's also had phases of not eating so much. The other morning he had two spoonfuls of porridge and said he was finished. Today he finished the first bowl in record time, asked for another, finished that and then had a piece of toast when he got to nursery! I've realised that his appetite can change from day to day, and just give him as much as he wants (limiting treats though, obviously)

Anyway, I think the key things are making sure that the majority of food they eat is healthy. You're lucky that she'll eat anything, make the most of that!

The other thing is to promote as much physical activity as you can. DS loves any kind of ball so we play a lot of football, rugby, throwing and catching etc. We also do a swimming lesson once a week.

Find something that your daughter enjoys doing (dancing, swimming, climbing, running, softplay, whatever) and encourage her to do lots of it.

If you are really worried, would it be worth having a word with your GP and asking for a referral to a dietician?

I totally empathise. My nearly three year old is the same. I don't think she is fat but she is very solid and clearly carries more weight than her peers, still has creases in her thighs, etc. I am very careful what we give her. Snacks are fruit (usually blueberries/apple) and/or rice cakes, she gets no juice. We switched to semi-skimmed milk about a year ago, although she does get full fat yogurt and some full fat cheese. She is quite active, loves her scooter and running. Has an activity every day eg swimming, dancing, gymboree, little gym. Plus usually a trip to the park in the afternoon.

The difference between her and her peers is that (i) she eats everything, and (ii) she is greedy, doesn't seem to have an off switch. So I limit portions at home but if she is at a party etc she will keep on eating long after every other child has run off to play. Plus they will have rejected the fish fingers and the peas (for example) although eaten the carrots, while she wil have eaten the whole plate full.

The one saving grace is that she is quite obedient - eg at a party last week all the children were stuffign themselves with sweets, she came up to me and asked if she could have a sweet. I said she could have just one, and she just took one and didn't ask again.

I can't really do anythign more at this point, except keep on offering her healthy food, limiting portions and keeping her active. Doctor says not to worry. It's hard though!