Toddler constantly wants snacks

[MakeTeaNotWar]

DD is 2.8 and wants to snack all day long. It does my head in as all day she'd have me fetch snacks for her and I think it's a really bad habit! She's a good eater - 2 weetabix or large bowl of porridge for breakfast, sandwich & fruit or baked potato for lunch then whatever we're having for dinner. Is she really so hungry? She can help herself to fruit but would want yogurt, cheese cubes etc to snack on all day long if she could. Should I discourage this snacking or does she need all this extra food?

My 2.6yo dd goes through phases of this and I really struggle to know how to best deal with it too.

The last time she was really bad it was starting to impact on everything we did so I tried (perhaps successfully) to tackle it a bit.

One day at toddler group she was pestering for food so much that I just couldn't stand it any more! I just wanted to have a 5-min conversation with my friend without being pestered for food when she had had a big snack 20 mins previously.

I told her that if she kept pestering for food I would go and put her on the other side of the room because I was trying to have a conversation.
She kept pestering so I put her on the other side of the room, returned to my friend and completed my 5-min conversation in peace. I tgen went to play with dd. And she didn't pester me again until lunchtime.

Writing it down, it does seem a little harsh but it is sooooo draining to be pestered for food all the time and I had had enough.

I think you need to get to the bottom of why she's asking all the time though. Last time for us it was all about attention as it coincided with dd2 being born.
Previously to that it has sometimes been about comfort. So if she fell over she would immediately ask for food. We spotted this and started offering copious cuddles instead.

Obviously if she's hungry we give her food but we really try to be tuned into whether there might be another reason for her asking.

That felt like a bit of a ramble but I really know what you're going through.

Hi, my dd is same age and I could have written this! The minute I step foot in the kitchen, she is nagging for stuff! I'm not sure if it is boredom/attention thing as she also eats well. Also if I offer a banana instead of something more exciting she tends to refuse... Could be a genuine growth spurt so maybe that makes them more hungry too? Sometimes I give her a drink of milk and that does the trick (until the next time). She is on the go all the time and her weight doesn't fluctuate too alarmingly so I suppose we shouldn't worry too much. Sometimes when we visit relatives, it seems that she is eating non stop which I'm not that keen on but get made to feel like a meanie if I say anything.

Is she getting enough meat and protein in her diet? I found that if ds isn't getting enough protein, he will want more food. If I eat loads of carbs I crave more too. Protein is more satisfying and filling.

Could she be thirsty and mistaking this for hunger?

My 2.4yr old is always snacking too. We have certain rules (only 2 biscuits a day, yoghurt with a meal) but I snack a lot as well, and get very grumpy when hungry so am trying not to be too harsh on him!

I've read about snack trays but never got round to using them - a the beginning of the day you set up a tray with several suitable snacks for the day set out in portions/pots/small bowls so the child can help themselves but need to know that once they're gone then that's it for the day.

Toddlers need regular healthy snacks or mini meals. Small cream cheese sandwiches, hummus and veg, cubed cheese, oatcake and apple, glass of semi skimmed milk and a banana, boiled egg on toast, yogurt and fruit etc. All completely normal and to be encouraged. Think of it as 7 or 8 small but well balanced meals . It does feel relentless!

http://www.firststepsnutrition.org/pdfs/FSNT_EatingWell1-4years.pdf Excellent guide to eating well for 1-4 year olds

Oops, trying again

Excellent guide to eating well for 1-4 year olds

Shiraztastic thats a fab resource!

What does she have with her baked potato? They are metabolised quite quickly so she might be feeling hungry again quickly afterwards?

I'd try increasing the amount she eats at meals, maybe fruit and yoghurt after lunch say?

My almost 3yo is like this, it's not hunger as the whining can start 10 minutes after a meal.
All she wants is junk though. It'll start with "mummy, something to eeeeeeat"
Me: do you want a satsuma?
Dd: no, crisps!
Me: you're not having crisps, how about a banana/toast/grapes?
Dd: NO! CRISPS, CRISPS MUMMY CRIIIIIIIIIIISPSSSSSSSSSSSS
by now she is hanging off my clothes and crying crisps over and over again.

The other scenario is the endless "something to eeeeeeeeeeeeeat, something to eeeeeeeeeeeat" done in an endless droning whine that can go on for an hour. But she doesn't want something to eat because she is hungry, she j7st wants junk again.
My brain is frazzled with it.

shiraz that PDF is brilliant, thank you.

I like the idea of viewing it as 7/8 small meals & will look at upping protein. I do wonder if its also an attention thing - DS is just coming to 8 months old so I guess for her I am always feeding him from the non-stop nursing of the early months to now spending time helping him to eat solids

Thanks for all the advice!