16 month old suddenly wants to eat ALL day!?

Question

My 16 month old daughter is 30" and ~22lbs. Up until now, she's had normal eating patterns (for a toddler) and I haven't been concerned about her food intake at all. We feed her very healthy food, and she LOVES fruit. Lately, she goes into the kitchen and points to her highchair ALL the time! She will just eat and eat, so I started offering her kitchen utensils, bowls of water, etc. instead of food, because she was shoveling in so much, that I was afraid she'd get sick. Mostly she wants bananas, and points to them on top of the fridge (whether she can see them or not) as soon as she's seated in her chair. Even though I've been offering her "other"activities to do in her high chair, she wants to eat every 1/2 hour. (This has gone on for about a week now.) She eats very well during mealtimes, and always has a protein, fruit/veggie and starch at each meal. Has anyone else had this problem with their toddler?

Answer 1

right before a growth spurt my children want to do nothing but eat until the belly is full... then they sleep....
from the description you give, it sounds like she is hungry... not over eating.... all healthy options.... remember the size of a stomach is their fist... go look at hers... doesn't fit much... also remember until recently she did not "burn" as much.. she needs to eat more for the energy and the growing..... as long as they asre healthy foods, let her eat.... keep a list for a day or two of amounts etc. if concerned and bring it to your next dr appointment for her....
I think that it sounds prefectly reasonable for a toddler though

Answer 2

does he cry when he is in the high chair with his food? I've seen this happen at my daycares before. Its really a power struggle. A few babies this age will refuse to let anyone feed them. There was one child in particular that was about 14months. When any food was placed infront of him he would cry. Sometimes until he was beside himself. I think when he was at home he lived off stuff like yogurt or other sweet things. At the daycare all the babies get the same thing. Oh, and he would refuse to let anyone put food in his mouth Anyways, we decided eventually that enough was enough. He didn't have to eat but he needed to sit there with all the other babies. We'd put food infront of him and he would cry and cry. We'd ingore him (like not tell him to eat or anything, just go about feeding all the other babies). I know this may sound mean but it was basically the "cry it out" method. We made sure he wasn't hurt and nothing was wrong. And let me tell you, the first time he cried a good 15 or 20 minutes while everyone ate and then all of a sudden like a switch he started to eat!! We did this at every snack and every meal and in about 1 week he went the whole day without crying at any meal and just eating! And it wasn't long after that that he would sign for more food! The trick was to never force the food into him. If it was food time he needed to sit. If he chose not to eat, fine, but he had to sit there. Pretty well every time he'd end up eating a ton! Hope this helps! Oh, and don't give in and just give him the bottle. It'll help if he gets food when he's hungry, and his bottles a little after the food so that if he's hungry he'll eat, and not just cry until he gets the bottle.

Answer 3

Yes, my son does this in cycles every few months. It is associated with growth spurts, and he usually sleeps at least an hour more during the day or at night. Although his eating spurts are a little more pronounced than other kids', they usually end after a couple of weeks. If it continues for more than that, or if you notice an unusual level of weight gain, just call the phone nurse at the pediatrician's office.

Answer 4

Yes. She is probably going through a growth spurt and needs the extra food right now. I would give it to her. They say a toddler will only eat if they are hungry. It should settle back into a routine within a few weeks. Good luck

Answer 5

Start buying larger clothes, she's hit a growth spurt.

If you are really concearned about her caloric intake, give her some fruit but also switch it up with non starch veggies too. Green pepper slices, cucumbers, blanched broccoli, and lettuce leaves were some of my daughters favs.

Answer 6

Sounds like she's hitting a growth spurt. Keep up with the healthy snack options. Some kids become grazers at this age; both of my children sure did!

Answer 7

i have the same problem with my daughter she wants to do nothing but eat. she will eat her food she will want to eat other people food, then she would want something else. what you have to know is when it is enough. I'll stop giving her food she will cry fall out on the floor and everything else. what I'm i trying to say is rather it's fruit or regular food enough is enough.a child can't be that hungry all the time. stop feeding her everytime she thinks that she is hungry.

Answer 8

Sounds to me that you have a typical 16 month old on your hands..(I raised 5 and have a granson) .Let her nibble as long as its healthy,,,and offer water or juice also....By this time next week you will be wondering why she does not want to eat...Children go through growing spurts and she most likely is in one...

Answer 9

oh yeah, lol. Just before growing spurts kids will pack it in for a few days straight. My kids will eat like crazy for a week or so, then a few days later they are up another clothing size, lol. It sounds like she's wanting decent foods so I wouldn't worry too much for now.

Answer 10

Sounds like a growth spurt. She'll probably go back to her "normal" eating soon. Be careful about the bananas, they (and cheese) can cause constipation.