2 year old does not stop demanding food

[FingersCrossedXXX]

Hi,

I am looking to see if anyone else is in the same boat.

My 2 year old son seems to be obsessed with food, to the point it can take over the day if we are stuck in at home. He will constantly be asking for food or attempting to drag me or his dad into the kitchen to get him food and will cry and whine if we say no and it can go on for some time. It is sometimes possible to distract him for a short while, but he soon goes back to it and the cycle begins again. It is not only at home, though this is when it is worst, but even if we are out and he see's a counter selling food, or knows we have food in a bag, he will constantly try and go to the counter/open the bag.

He does have a fairly healthy diet and he mainly is asking for fruit but even so, surely there has to be a limit on the volume he can have! He is on the 98th percentile for weight but is also a tall boy and is on the 98th percentile for height too. The health visitor didn't raise any concerns on his weight during our last visit a few weeks back.

Does anyone have any tips on how we can resolve this or is anyone else struggling with the same issues? I am constantly worried he is over eating but also do not want to create a negative association with food.

Growth spurt maybe?

Otherwise if you think he's having too much it could be bordum. Try and distract him.

My son was a grazer though and preferred food in smaller quantities but more often.

Thanks for your reply @SunshineClouds1

He has been like this for the past 6 - 12 months, so it doesn't seem to be bought on by a growth spurt. I will check with nursery to see if they have the same issue (though they havent mentioned anything) as obviously that is a busy setting so perhaps less opportunity to become bored!

What's he eating at meal times?

I'd just give him fruit, nothing wrong with that, it's not like it's sweeties.

Is he eating enough at meal times. My boy is a grazer and eats when he's bored so have to keep him busy. I don't mind him eat fruit between meals but not much else.

Fruit isn't great for his teeth though ... I would suggest boredom and habit may be the reasons, in which case you will need to set clear boundaries and a clear example, to help him to eat at mealtimes/designated snack times. This hopefully would not create a negative association with food, any more than bedtime creates a negative associstion with bed iyswim?

It's probably worht finding out how they arrange eating and snacking at nursery and trying to adopt similar 'cues' at home?

Possibly he is also thirsty but thirst can be misinterpreted as hunger (even by an old bird like me!) - ie he knows he wants something in his mouth, has not distinguished what.

However it may of course be something else going on - but some suggestions anyway.

Perhaps put together a Tupperware box of snacks at the beginning of the day and put it somewhere he can reach.

Have a range of food including cheese, crackers, raw veg, fruit as well as some treat food. Once the treat food is gone it's gone but you could top up the healthy bits. Then he is eating food that is good for him, he knows it's available when he wants it and you aren't being driven mad.

Nothing wrong with fruit, it's fruit juice and smoothies that aren't good for teeth.

Does he eat large enough meals? Enough protein?
If you suspect it's boredom keep him busy, have defined meal and snack times.

He might need more protein and fat in his diet. Little children need more fat than adults do, for all their growing. I don't know what his meals look like, but for example instead of porridge or cereal based breakfast a couple of eggs scrambled in butter with some cheese is good and keeps hunger at bay longer. Have lunch and dinners based around proteins such as oily fish / chicken thighs / 20% fat mince / cheese etc, and offer a substantial mini-meal type snack mid afternoon.

My 3 year old DD is also in the high percentiles for height; she is slim and very very active and only seems satisfied and settled when her meals are quite high in fat (though I keep them low in sugar). An example of what she eats in a day:
Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, one slice of toast with butter. Fruit. Whole milk to drink.
Lunch: Jacket potato with butter and tuna mayo. Raw carrots / cucumber. Full fat yoghurt and chopped banana.
Snack: cheese and crackers, grapes. Spoonful of peanut butter. Milk to drink.
Dinner: Shepherds pie made with 20% lamb mince and a home made muffin (with ground almonds in the mixture for added fat and protein). Fruit with some double cream on. Milk to drink.

She eats until she says she's had enough. If she's extra hungry some days I'll add in a supper too before bed. I trust that she knows what her body needs, and I keep processed foods / sugary foods to an absolute minimum. But I don't limit her access to cream /butter / olive oil etc as I really think her body needs it.