Just wondered, what's a typical day's food for your toddler?

[lucysmam]

Mine seems to eat from the moment she gets up, to when she goes to bed sometimes. Just wondered what a typical days meals and snacks would be for other toddlers as I'm trying to work out if she's having too much sometimes

A typical day for my lo would be

brekky
snack of fruit or yoghurt or cheese & crackers
maybe a biscuit or flapjack
lunch
another snack later on of whatever she didn't have in the morning
maybe another biscuit if out and about
dinner & a pudding
supper of something small like half a banana or couple of crackers with cheese spread and a cup of milk

Plus she helps herself to bits off our plates sometimes (mainly chips because they're a treat)

& she sometimes gets sweets, but only if nanna's been to town, I never actually buy them myself for her

Does that seem a reasonable day's meals and snacks for a 20mo?

TIA

It looks quite a lot when written down but i suppose it depends on actual portion sizes. If your toddler is a healthy weight, fit and active then her diet is obviously fine!

My 3 yo will eat something like:

• bowl of porridge/Cheerios/weetabix
• snack such as apple or cheese at nursery
• poached egg on toast for lunch,
• banana/yoghurt or toast in the afternoon
• main meal. Sometimes has cake or icecream afterwards. Will have sweets about 2-3 times a week (like you, depends on how many times he sees his grandmother). He also drinks 1 -2 glasses of milk during the day plus juice/water.

I notice that quite a few mums i know worry about their children eating too much and therefore getting fat. But I think if you make sure that your toddler is active and has plenty of opportunity to run around and burn off the calories, then you will have no need to worry about what she eats. Better to have a healthy appetite and enjoy a good diet rather than being ultra picky and surviving on yoghurts or something.

just 3 year charge old will eat
bowl of cereal (weetabix / shreddies / cheerios/ cornflakes / rice krispies)
cup of milk

lunch... 3or4 quaters of a sandwich
or 1.5 slice of taost with scrambled egg
or 1 filled pitta bread
or bowl of soup and a roll
WITH
baby bel
slady bits with a dip on the table
OR 1 med size jack pot and beans including skin
AND a piece of fruit apple / pear / satsuma etc
cup of water

Dinner:
a portion of whatever we are having... portion would be 1/2 - 2/3 of my portion size
AND piece of fruit
AND custard or ice cream or jelly or yogurt

• maybe a slice of cake or a home baked biscuit if there are any in the cake tin cup of water

after bath
cup of milk
a pancake or rice cakes or piece of fruit.

occasinaly he may have a snack of 1 biscuit / box of raisens or similar

throughout the day he will also have at least a whole sports bottle of water

forgot to mention a yogurt at lunch time

bowl of cereal
Banana
One slice of bread sandwich (cheese/ham)
Apple and/or yoghurt
Evening meal with us (Potatoe & tuna, pasta & mince, chicken & rice or similar)
Supper - icecream or crackers & cheese

Occasional treat - cookies or small choccie bar

DS 23 months:

cereal and/or toast for breakfast (early)
scrambled eggs (elevenses)
filled pitta, or soup and sandwiches (late lunch) yoghurt
banana (the only fruit he'll eat)
later: whatever we're having

he usually drinks a pint or so of milk a day

DS is a skinny little thing and is more of a grazer so I feed him little and often. He doesn't do well with big portions and fruit is a real struggle. He loves smoothies though, so I pump him full of those.

Ds is 18mths, has chubby little legs and is a "solid" child, but is not at all fat. He eats a lot, which I sometimes worry about, but he walks at least a mile a day and runs around a lot, so I think he works it off.

Breakfast - 1 Weetabix with milk, raisins and banana sliced on top, small or 1/2 slice of toast with butter and a scrape of jam. Milk to drink.

Lunch - 1/2 portion of whatever we're eating, usually lasagne, pasta, risotto, etc. Whole apple OR small bowl of custard with apple crumble. Water to drink.

Tea - 1 slice of bread made into cheese toastie, 1/2 Yeo Valley yoghurt with some raisins, and fruit salad, OR crackers and cheese OR vegetable sticks. Water or fresh fruit juice to drink.

Bedtime - Cup of milk

have you thought about a snack box? ds has had one since he was 2.2 it might work with your dd? otherwise how about a snack plate? a plate that is out constantly with a variety of snacks on that she can help herself to as and when she pleases? ds has always had one of these ever since weaning began!

dd (2.11) basically lives on pork products, sugary snacks when she can get them, cherry tomatoes and rice milk. [sigh]

I am a really, REALLY, crap mother.

Tryharder, it wasn't so much that I'm worried about her getting fat, justs she seems to be constantly eating. Although from the replies, I wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with her diet so thanks for reassuring me

I like the idea of a snack box for her, very much. She's very independent & that'd give her some more freedom.

I'll have a look for a suitable box in my kitchen in a while as I don't have the drawer space but that would certainly be easier than worrying about whether she's acutally hungry or just eating snacks because they're there

Thanks for the idea nappyaddict

My almost 3 year old never stops eating, but he only sits still long enough to eat so I suppose he needs the energy from the food.

Breakfast: 1 1/2 oatibix with warm milk, 2 yoghurts, 1 slice of toast, bowl of dry cereal while older two have breakfast later.

Morning Snack: Apple or banana, handful of raisins.

Lunch: 2 slices of bread, cold meat or cheese, salad stuff and grapes, cheese sticks,and a biscuit.

Snack: Satsuma, breadsticks and dips or a teacake

Tea: What we are having, about 2/3 the size of what we have.

He dosen't drink milk, and is tall and slim for his age group. He eats more than my 4 year old dd. I keep meaning to try the snack box thing, but haven't got round to it yet

My DD seems to be eating less/growing more right now, how does that work? although she drinks too much milk, thats probably it.

breakfkast - toast - half a slice, or scrambled egg, most, or cereal, few mouthfuls. She is never really hungry first thing.
snack - 10am, little fruit, toast (if not at brekky), milk, biscuit.
lunch - pasta/pesto (about 10-15 peices), omellete (if no egg at brekky).
Snack - yoghurt/cheese/fruit - little
dinner - fish fingers, carrots, potatoes (one finger, sometimes more, two baby new potatoes, 5 bits of carrot?).
supper - toast/nilk
bed - 18 oz milk!

A round or two of jam or pb on toast
a biscuit or some clementine, or a banana
half a round of ham or cheese sandwiches, no crusts, 2 pieces of cucumber on the side.
1 sausage (or equivalent amount of protein food) with a teaplate full of mash, pasta or noodles, with carrots and brocolli and cauliflower, or similar.

That's about it

My ds2 is one and he eats like a pig.

Breakfast= milk feed, banana, half a weetabix, juice, maybe bit of toast

Midmorning=biscuit or fruit

Lunch=either sandwich, pasta, sauce and cheese or beans on toast, yogurt or friut

Mid afternoon= grapes, banana and /or mango& juice
Dinner = whatever we are having eg. cooked dinner or maybe casserole, mash veg. Yogurt.

Bedtime = milk

And he scavs anything else that anyone draes to eat without him!

I am reassured she's not eating loads after reading what other people's lo's eat during the day. A lot seem quite similar in diet/amounts & the kinds of snacks they have.

carmen I lol@your lo scavenging anything anyone eats without him, that's sooo like my lo!

The snack box is going to be a small biccy tin I've had for a while for the moment, but I think I'll get her something lunch box ish so she knows that it's hers. Just need to figure out what to put in for a day now but will do that tonight and start with it tomorrow I think since we're already half way through today