Toddler is OBSESSED with food

[birdybirdbird]

Is this normal?! My 2.4 year old is constantly whinging for food. He eats a varied, healthy diet - plenty of fruit and veg, most things are homemade, we eat together as a family 75% of the time etc etc. He loves helping to cook and will chop veggies etc and his favourite game is using his play kitchen. We’ve struggled with portion sizes (giving too much) in the past but have been gradually addressing this and I think it’s ok now. I have no idea how much he weighs but people often comment that he’s heavy. But he’s just obsessed!
We can’t eat anything around him without him asking for some, but this extends to ‘mama have a snack?’ every time I make a cup of tea and then a strop because I don’t want one (which means he can’t ask for any). From about 3pm he endlessly asks ‘is it dinner time?’ or ‘time to make dinner now?’ Today he started droning on less than 10 minutes after he’d had a snack! Is this normal?!

What does a typical days food look like op (with approx portions sizes)?

Yep, my ds is the same age and exactly the same.
As long as height and weight are along the same lines (I used the red book to do this) then all is OK. I double checked with HV and this was her advice.
I just have to hide from my toddler when I want a snack he either cabt or shouldn't have!

So today, which I think was fairly typical was: Breakfast - porridge (half an instant sachet), a handful size of fruit, half slice of toast with peanut butter.
Morning snack - cheese oatcake, small portion fruit
Lunch - sandwich (made with a sandwich thin), a baby bel, small amount ham, table spoon (maybe?) of hummus, cucumber
Afternoon snack - mini vegetable and cheese muffin, small portion fruit
Dinner - whatever we’re having. Today was beef and vegetable stir fry with noodles. Plain Greek yoghurt, maybe 3 table spoons?

@TheGracefulwhale he’s quite good about not having what we’re having, as long as he has something else! I had a brownie when he had his afternoon snack and he accepted that ‘ooohhh it’s not good for toddlers’
He always clears his plate. Always. Every last scrap. We’re quite a foodie family, I love to cook, but I seem to have created a monster!

I'm no child nutrition expert and don't yet have children that age.

But to me, that looks like he's not having proper filling meals throughout the day, his main meal is dinner. He needs a filling breakfast, and a filling lunch, especially if he's burning off lots of energy during the day.

A sandwich and some hummus isn't enough for lunch, try and give him some easy pasta/rice/potato meals even if they're in a salad form?
Again half a piece of toast and half a sachet of porridge doesn't seam enough.

Keep an eye on the predicted growth charts but unless he's way off the top, I wouldn't worry.

I have no idea how tall he is. How do you measure them accurately?! We get something different every time! I don’t think he’s very tall though (I’m only 5’1) and do have to fold up the leg cuffs in age 2-3 joggers. We also don’t own scales so I’m not sure on his weight. But my stepmum always says how heavy he is (though mainly in comparison to his cousin who is the same age and very petite). I guess getting some accurate measurements would be a good starting point.

My toddler sometimes has a bowl of cerial and 3 slices of toast.. Yes 3, for breakfast! Then he has another breakfast at nursery. They're doing so much growing and using so much energy at that age, I wouldn't worry about it

I don't think he's eating a huge amount tbh. My daughter always had a full sandwich at lunchtime, from age 2 eg 2 peices of bread with filling, plus fruit, veg and another protein item so boiled egg or chicken. Maybe filling him up more at meals will reduce him wanting a snack.

Thanks @EileenGC Maybe I do need to up it then but the porridge is half an adult portion, plus toast. And a lunch with meat, cheese and bread? I feel like I’d agree that he’s not getting enough if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone comments that’s he’s really heavy and he does have toddler chub (still has the sort of ‘elastic band’ wrists if you get what I mean). He’s also not mega active. To quote his key worker ‘given the choice between books and the bikes, he’ll sit with a book every time’.

My DC are a couple of years older than yours now but I always found that a decent lunch like a jacket potato or pasta stopped the afternoon snacking much more than a sandwich did. So I changed their mealtimes round and they still prefer to eat that way. I would trying filling him up a bit more at lunch and see how that goes.

Has he not had his health visitor check up recently? Iirc they have them at 2 year old or there about and one at 3 years old and they bring scales and measure their height whilst lying on the floor - the toddler not the HV

My HV team run drop in centres to weight/measure babies/toddlers, I used to take mine now and again - although I don't know how they'll be operating those now.

My son is the same age and loves to eat. Anything I have, he wants.

His menu today:
Breakfast- Bowl of Weetabix and a separate bowl of chopped up banana and mango

Snack- tangerine

Lunch- scrambled eggs and beans. Chopped up apple.

Snack- Mini flapjacks

Dinner- spag bol and garlic bread. Yoghurt for pudding.

Cup of milk before bed.

@birdybirdbird

Thanks *@EileenGC* Maybe I do need to up it then but the porridge is half an adult portion, plus toast. And a lunch with meat, cheese and bread? I feel like I’d agree that he’s not getting enough if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone comments that’s he’s really heavy and he does have toddler chub (still has the sort of ‘elastic band’ wrists if you get what I mean). He’s also not mega active. To quote his key worker ‘given the choice between books and the bikes, he’ll sit with a book every time’.

My 18 month old has an adult portion of porridge PLUS a whole slice of peanut butter toast for breakfast. I would be tempted to give as much as he will eat at mealtimes but eliminate the extra snacks.

Yes, get him used to eating proper meals and eliminate some of the snacks. He needs fuel for his body during the day, not just in the evenings.

I'm not from the UK and in my country lunch is the main meal of the day. Breakfast should be consistent too. I'm always surprised at how much food people can eat in Britain for dinner. After 'snacking' all day.

In my school (preschoolers start at 3 and we all ate the same meals - I later volunteered so this is a fact, not my 3yo's vague memory), for lunch kids get:

Salad
First course - something like stew, soup, veg stir fry
Second course - almost adult sized portion of things like pasta, rice, chilli, potato omelette, mini pizzas, veggie burgers, eggs and chips or a jacket potato.
Fruit or yoghurt. Sweet treat on Fridays.

Most kids ate everything. School starts at 9, lunch is 12:30/1pm and parents pick you up at 5pm. Even with a UK bedtime which is right after an early 6pm dinner, if you want less snacking you're going to need more substantial meals.

My 3yr old daughter is exactly the same.
“Mummy what you eating”
Will eat anything, constantly talks about cake chocolate and ice cream- she has a healthy varied diet, is super active from 5.30 in the morning and a healthy weight and height. I think she’s just a lover of food....think it’s genetic