Toddler meal times

[LackingCommonSense]

Hi all

17mo DS has become a bit more challenging with his food of late and have been trying to 'make sure he's actually hungry ' before trying to get him to eat.

He's also recently transitioned to one nap which tends to be around half 11 until 2ish.

We used to follow the typical nursery meal times (roughly breakfast 8am, lunch 11, snack 2-3 and tea around half 4). He used to be a big eater and would have a 'proper meal' plus dessert twice a day.

We've now somehow found ourselves with a snack around 11 so he doesn't wake hungry from his nap and his only big meal of the day about 3ish with a snack about 5ish.

Does this sound ok? it feels like he's eating much less! what do you do with your toddler?

Mine is a bit younger (14 months), but also has only one nap a day - if at home it is usually around 11:30 til 13:00 (ish), but if at nursery, more like 12:30 til 14:00. She eats at different times depending on where she is, so nursery it is breakfast when she arrives (8:30), lunch at 11:30 and tea at 15:30. I sometimes give her a tiny snack when we get home, but not always.

If at home, we are always out and about in the mornings, and she falls asleep in the car on the way home at around 11:30. This obviously means she doesn't get an 11:30 lunch, on these days she eats as soon as she wakes up, then has her tea later, say at about 17:00 or 17:30.

I don't see a problem with allowing them to wake up hungry from a nap. So long as you can serve something up pretty quick, it would actually fit in with you wanting to feed him when he is actually hungry.

Could you do a big breakfast, a tiny snack (literally just half a banana, or a couple of rice cakes) at 11:00, proper lunch at 14:00 and then a light tea at 17:00?

That's pretty much what were doing.. does one big breakfast and one big meal mid afternoon sound like enough?

When I say I don't want him waking up hungry from his nap I mean I don't want him waking up BECAUSE he's hungry. Obviously I don't have a problem with him wanting food when he wakes up. I'm quite often hungry when I wake up