Do toddlers eat?

Question

My son is almost 15 months old and I am lucky to get him to eat enough to be considered one meal for the whole day. He is not small by any means, 25 lbs at 15 months old but its kind of worrisome to see your child eat enough for a baby bird all day. He is in this snacking phase, he wants to snack all day but no meals. I have moved him into healthy snacking, cheerios instead of chips and graham crackers instead of cookies etc... but this is my 1st child so everything is new to me. Any help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

My daughter did the same. I asked her doctor about it. He said that children do not have a run way model outlook on life. They eat when the are hungry, make sure to keep snacks down low for him to reach. He also had me reduce her milk intake, milk is a filler. It worked for us.

Answer 2

I'm sure he's fine. Kids will generally eat what they need. Your job is to simply provide a variety of healthy foods throughout the day. It's great that you've switched to Cheerios and graham crackers instead of cookies and chips, but what about taking it one step further?

You could offer fruits throughout the day -- bananas, apple slices, applesauce, cut-up grapes, strawberries, canned peaches or pears, etc. Frozen banana slices are a little messy, but my girls love them (and they're great on sore, teething gums).

Many vegetables are good for snacking, too. Both my girls love peas, so I'll either heat up a can of peas for a snack or just get leftover cold peas out of the refrigerator. (They really love them cold.) Canned corn and cooked carrots are also pretty easy to heat up for a meal/snack.

Or what about yogurt or cheese? My younger daughter went through a big dairy phase, and she loved to snack on a piece of cheese or share some yogurt with me.

I usually serve protein with meals, but a hard-boiled egg could be an easy snack. Or maybe apples dipped in creamy peanut butter (assuming you've introduced him to peanut butter). Or even some cold, leftover chicken or a slice of lunchmeat.

Don't get me wrong -- you can still offer the Cheerios and graham crackers, but maybe if you mix it up a bit, you'll know that he's getting enough nutrition throughout the day.

Hope that gives you a few more ideas! And as long as his doctor thinks he's healthy, I'm sure he's fine. :-)

Answer 3

Try to cut the snacks. I know it is hard to deny a child food when they are hungry but if you want him to eat meals you have to. Otherwise you will spend the next eighteen years fixing snacks all through the day. And if he refuses tell him the kitchen is closed until the next meal. (Which may actually be the meal a few hours latter) He'll get the idea. And will probably eat enough to satisfy you. More than likely he is getting the calories he needs now from the snacks. But I bet he's not eating veggies.Good luck.

Answer 4

Getting him to eat will take some time. If he drinks a lot he won't be hungry and if he snacks all day cut out the snacks . Keep him occupied so he isn't thinking or food so he will eat a meal. Go to the park or for a walk, play with him. I would also sit at the table and talk to him and eat meals with him so he sees that you will eat also. The more time you spend with him at the table the easier it will be to get him there to eat. Get him to help even.

Answer 5

If you can't get him to sit for a one good meal and he is in his snacking phase then I think your doing the right think by making him eat healthy snacks. But gradually build up to one meal, maybe start off with a snack and then after time add a little bit more until he is eating a whole meal. But it's not a good thing to force him to eat, what your doing is perfect!!! Healthy snack and build up to a whole healthy meal, let him take his time!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Completely normal. Most of the answerers gave good advice and covered the basics. He won't starve himself. Also, remember that this is the age where they start trying to control things. Up until this point, youv'e had to make pretty much all the decisions, and do most things for him. Just make sure there are several healthy options available to him. My son was a little overweight until he turned two, but since he started this phase, he has lost 7 lbs and slimmed down alot.

Answer 7

Toddlers bodies are not the same as ours. Toddlers do eat but they do not really have a "set" schedule, they eat when they are hungry. I heard on the Today show that toddlers sometimes will skip meals and that is ok. Do not force him to eat, encourage him, and let him eat when he gets hungry. Of course feed him healthy food and he will do fine. Remember also that his stomach is incredibly tiny so he will eat like a "baby bird." If you are really scared, ask more info. from his pediatrician and good luck!

Answer 8

My mother always said, "There's never been a child who's starved himself to death" so don't worry! Almost all children go through finicky stages - he's also at the age where anything is more interesting than sitting still eating. He wants to be up and on the go!

Applause for steering him towards healthy snacks. Try to integrate things like string cheese, rolled up slices of lunch meat and peanut butter & raisins on a celery stick. Handheld items are more appealing to him at this point but watch where he heads with them so you don't find discarded items days later! LOL

Answer 9

This sort of thing is so common some experts think it's normal. I wonder if maybe you're expecting him to eat too much? A good rule to follow is that a serving of any particular food is one tablespoon for each year of age. So offer for example 1 tablespoon of meat, one tablesppon of rice, one tablespoon of apple sauce. and one tablespoon of peas. That would be a reasonably sized meal for his age. If he wants more, he'll ask for it.

It's also normal for a todler to want to eat small meals all day; this is acatlly helahty. It is generally recomended that you offer your todler 3 meals and 2-3 snacks each day It is your responsiblity to offer helathy foods and his responsiblity to decide what if anything he will eat.

Try not to stress. Healthy children will eat when they're hungry; he won't starve himself.

Answer 10

Hiya as long as your son is eating I would not worry at all. I have 5 children and they have ALL gone through what your having with your little boy. My daughter was so bad she had to be sent to hospital for tests and there was nothing wrong with her apart from fusiness. Babies and small children have a tiny stomach and what may seem a very small amount to us is actually right for them. The fact he is a healthy weight and I assume full of energy will show that he IS getting what he needs. Also when you have your own meal try letting him have a taste...my little girl took a fancy to vegetable curry(mild)!!! Try not to worry your doing all the right things.