Can I trust my 2yo to tell me if he's hungry?

[LittleMyDancing]

Ok so DS is 2.2 and goes to nursery three days a week. He's never had a huge appetite, very variable but eats well at nursery.

On nursery days, I pick him up at 4.30pm and we're home by 5. On non nursery days, he normally has tea at about 5.30 ish and eats a bit, not vast amounts.

I've been offering him tea on nursery days at the usual time, but it's an uphill struggle to get him to eat anything at all. He'll pick at stuff sometimes, but if left to his own devices he won't eat.

So is what he eats at nursery enough? (Obviously he has breakfast at home) And can I trust him to tell me if he starts getting hungry after nursery, or will he just get pale and thin?

On a nursery day he eats:

cereal and toast with Marmite for breakfast
fruit and milk at 10ish
lunch (main course and pudding)
nursery tea at 3 ish - sandwiches or crumpets or something like that, plus cake or fruit

Don't want to keep trying to force food down him if he's not hungry, but don't want to stop bothering and starve him either!

sigh.

do you mean he has tea at nursery and then you give him tea at home?

I found that at 2 both of my two were not much interested in tea and ate a lot more at lunch. As they have got older they have evened things out a bit and now can eat well at both meals but not at 2 yrs.

It sounds to me like he is getting plenty, so long as he is eating his lunch and snacks properly. I would just offer some fruit, yogurt or a sandwich to be sure that he isn't hungry but I wouldn't provide loads.

Does he still have a drink of milk before bed or anything like that? It might be that a bedtime drink of milk is enough.

yes, but nursery tea is so early - 3 ish - and is always quite snacky (today was marmite crumpets and a chocolate rice crispie thing) so I somehow feel he ought to have some proper food in the evenings.

So tonight he's completely knackered so he's sitting on the sofa eating a Marmite rice cake (huge one) and a banana. So he is hungry, but getting him to eat proper food is completely frigging impossible!

Thanks niecie, good to hear my DS isn't the only one not interested in tea!

he doesn't have milk at night, he still drinks a bottle of milk in the morning though, at least 7oz straight down.

It sounds fine to me. He's getting a balnced diet with what he is eating, don't worry.

also carefully pulling the evil 'strings' off the banana....can't trust those strings

Thanks lazarou

What is it about feeding a child that turns mums into complete paranoid fools? I somehow feel if I don't give him enough he'll fade away in the night or something.

OR (says rational head) he might say 'Mummy I'm hungry'

D'oh.

My ds does that! Pulls the stringy bits off the bananas and gives them to me.

Ds is obsessed with string. If he gets a hair in his mouth he says 'Got a string!' in tones of complete despair.

Strings on bananas are a complete no-no, as are loose threads on clothes.

Sigh.

You're right we do turn into paranoid fools sometimes. I worried about my two at the time but with hindsight it was pointless as they got plenty to eat - they just don't know that you are supposed to eat at certain times a day! They ate if they were hungry and not if they weren't.

Now of course, I worry about them eating too much but I think they have hollow legs.

I think that by the evening 2 yr olds just don't have the energy to eat. All you can do is provide him with nutrious snacky things and let him eat what he wants.

Good luck!

I'd think about something nourishing and light as a sort of bedtime snack. Milk with cheese on toast/sandwich and a bit of fruit, that sort of thing. I honestly think children don't need two cooked meals a day.

Thank you! I think you're right - I was worrying about him not having two proper cooked meals, but actually snacky things is probably all he needs.

Might offer him milk tomorrow as well and see if he wants it.

To be honest, today was not a good day as he didn't have his nap at nursery (Stretch and Grow day, no chance he'll sleep and miss that!) and so was really grumpy and not at all in the mood for food.