So what is better for a 10-month old - 3 biggish meals a day or 3 smaller ones and 2 snacks?

[Ceebee74]

Just wondering as I have replaced DS's mid-morning and mid-afternoon bottles with snacks (he dropped the feeds of his own accord) but he has a big breakfast and then a snack when he wakes from his am nap - usually about 11ish - but then doesn't eat a great deal at lunch.

Should I forget about snacks for now and just give him 3 meals a day?

no .. don't expect your child to have 3 meals a day until he's a teenager

little and often that's the ticket

don't forget that their stomac is about the size of their fist (how much food do you think will fit in it?)

oh and the average 2 year old eats 11 tablespoons a day and 1 meal every 48 hours (when averaged over a couple of weeks) .. some days barely anything, other days loads

Three smaller ones and a couple of snacks always worked better for my children.

Their tummies are small and they need snacks to keep them going between meals - dd is 6, ds is 8, and they both still needs a couple of small snacks a day.

Maybe the answer would be to have a slightly later lunch? Or a slightly smaller breakfast!

definately little and often or you will be setting yourself up for disapointment and stress. DS has gone through phases of never eating at meal times and just grazing through the day. As long as it's healthy stuff it's not a problem

mine at that age would still have milk as breakfast and snack (mid morning and mid afternoon) and 2 meals.

hi ceebee,

my ds has milk and beakfast (cereal) at half 6am then a piece of toast around 9 ish, then lunch at half 11 (usually 6-7oz milk and 9 cubes of food + pud), then yogurt or fruit pot at around 2-3ish, tea at half 4 (similar to lunch), then a biscuit before he goes to bed.

dont know whether thats what he should be having, but he seems happy enough!

HTH

I would - as soon as you can - get them into eating when you do (you may have to have lucnh slightly earlier than you normally would). Otherwise you are cooking/preparing food all day.
We have (with a 15 mtn old) - breakfast 7.45. Snack sometime in AM, lunch 12. Nap. Tea 5pm. Bottle and bed at 7

Thanks for all the advice - my instinct was to keep things little and often so I will just go with the flow

I think you're doing the right thing