How much does your 2 year old eat?

[Greengiants5]

Today my 23 month old had:

• 2 weetabix + milk for breakfast, a banana, a few strawberries then she had one egg off daddy's plate (the egg white, she doesn't like the yolk)
• for lunch she had a slice of ham & cheese quiche, cucumber and carrot sticks with dips (maybe 6 or 7 pieces). Greek yoghurt for pudding
• ice cream mid afternoon (not a daily occurrence, we were out at a festival)
• for dinner she had a beef burger, a whole medium sized sweet potato, and corn on the cob (half). Mango for pudding.

Dinner in particular seems like a huge amount to me, and she was asking for more food by the end of it.

I thought that at that age they are good at self regulating so will stop eating when full but I'm really not sure she does. Yesterday I made chicken curry and rice and she had thirds and still asked for more.

Does it sound like too much food or OK?

I only have her sister to compare with and she really didn't eat much as a toddler at all. She would sometimes go 3 or 4 days just picking at a few bits before having a decent (still small) meal. DD2 now frequently finishes her plate!

My LO is a little older, he's just turned 3 but he can be like this sometimes!

First thing he does in the morning is ask for an orange and banana 🙃

A typical day for him looks like

Wake up - orange and banana
Breakfast - up to 4 wheatabix, strawberries, 2 little yoghurts & a tube yoghurt and a cup of tea (mostly milk)

Snack - another orange & a pack of crisps or something

Lunch - cheese / ham toastie or sandwich, pineapple, mini chocolate fingers, 2 little yoghurts and raisins

Afternoon snack - whatever he can get his little mits on

Dinner - whatever we're having. This is definitely his worst / pickiest meal at home. At nursery he hoovers it up. Usually has a biscuit and more yoghurt after (the boy loves yoghurt!)

He eats a lot but he knows when he's full for sure and he's nowhere near overweight etc. also for toddlers I think they're so active they burn it off.
I know what you mean though, so many of my friends kids seem to survive off a lick of a strawberry and half a chicken nugget 😂

Wow that's an impressive amount of breakfast @febbabies2023 😊 I am glad she has a good appetite it's just so hard to know if it's OK or not! Last night she was quite unsettled and seemed like she had a tummy ache so it made me question myself for giving her thirds at dinner.

Good to know that even at 3 your little one knows when to stop.

She was quite a chubby baby but slimmed down when she first learned to walk, we're firmly back in chubby territory now 😂with a big toddler tummy and chubby thighs, she's adorable 😍 Maybe she's getting ready for another growth spurt and will stretch out again.

I did check on the chart last week and she's perfectly in the 50th centile so hopefully all normal!

I think this about my 16 month old today she's had

• A croissant, a bowl of blue berry porridge with extra blueberry's on the side, a banana
• a snack size sausage roll
• leftover fish pie carrots and broccoli
• 3 new potatoes, a corn on the cob, a burger and 2 chicken nuggets!

Then she had 8oz of milk before sleep.

I don't know where she puts it!

But then in contrast my DS 5 has had

• dry cereal, 2 slices of toast, 2 yoghurts and a apple
• 4 chicken nuggets and 6 alpha bites
• 1/2 a cheese sandwich, 3 quavers and an ice lolly

Both very active kids, 5 year old is incredibly fussy (hence the randomness of his food)

@Greengiants5 he doesn't always have 4 but sometimes he does! Not sure where he puts it to be honest cause I can't eat that much! He'll still be foraging for food after 😂

Ahh bless her I mean it may have been a little too much for her but I mean if she's asking for it it's not like she's guzzling fizzy pop and chocolate so I'd be the same as you

Oh little chubby baby! My second (6m) is SO incredibly chunky it's hilarious. She's on the 90th centile where as my 3 year old is on the 50th. Funny how different they are and I do wonder if she'll eat like him 😂

I don't think you need to worry, sounds like she gets good variety :)

Sounds very much like us @ToeToeToe23 .

We had a very active day today and DD 5 did much better with her dinner than she usually does, but she still had less than half what her little sister had! She only managed half a burger and half a sweet potato and said she was full. She'd also only had cucumber and carrot sticks for lunch.
She used to have decent breakfasts like your DS but now she's not even hungry for that and leaves most of it.

I guess developmentally they have a lot going on in the toddler years so maybe they're using all the food for brain power!

My daughter is the sane. 2.5. I could survive off her calories- easily. She's skinny. Today she had banana porridge, cheese sandwich, crisps, 2 bananas, some grapes, potatoes and chicken and a scoop of ice cream.

Flip, my just turned two year old has:

1 Weetabix for breakfast

An apple around 11ish

A small yoghurt at lunchtime & maybe some blackberries

A small portion of whatever we are having for dinner - she never finishes it

Half a toasted pancake/round of toast for supper - again, never finishes it

She's sturdy.. her height/weight is fine, not chubby but not skinny either

Thanks @TaraRhu and @roastytoastysnowballs it seems like they really are all different! I think I'll keep letting her eat as long as long as she doesn't make herself ill!

@febbabies2023 ah bless her! You best plan for a hefty food budget for your 2 😊

It does sound a lot to me but not in a bad way, I just struggle to get my 19 month old to ear one weetabix with milk! He loves it but he rarely ever finishes the one block - always leaves a spoonful or 2. He's always been around 25th-30th percentile though so perhaps he just can't manage it as he's on the smaller side.

Mine is just over 2.5 years and is 98th percentile for height and weight ( ie he's a tall, solid little chap!)

He usually has:

Cup of full fat milk 1st thing, with the vitamin drops in. Maybe half a banana.

Porridge with raspberries

Apple mid morning, occasional cup cake

Cheese sandwich on wholemeal, few crisps (skips, pom bears), blueberries, apple slices. Corn on the cob a few times a week.

Ice lolly/cake/,biscuits mid afternoon

Mash potato or sweet potato with meat or fish and mixed veg. Sometimes I make a cheese and spinach crepe, once a week he might have a pizza and some ice cream.

Yoghurt.

Tends to eat everything for every meal but ask him to eat meat or fish without mixing it in mash and its big no.

Oh and he's super active. Doesn't stop running!!

My 4 year old eats more than me some days. They need the calories to grow. I work on the principle that as long as it's healthy, balanced food he's fine. He has the odd ice cream etc, but basically home cooked fresh food with plenty of veg and fruit, sounds similar to your DC. He's on the go constantly, and is tall and lean. Don't worry!