Is there such thing as eating too many bananas?

Question

My 13month old son is obsessed with eating bananas, like a lil monkey, lol. He is eating at least 3 whole bananas by himself a day and I am afraid to let him eat any more than that, which I am sure he would. Is there any danger in letting him eat bananas, like an overdose in potassium or anything that I need to be worried about?

He eats all kinds of fruits and veggies all day... So its not just the bananas.... he loves peaches and pears, strawberries, kiwi, apples, tangerines, but he just freaks out when he can't get a banana, even if he sees them at Walmart, lol.

Answer 1

Well, it's possible to have too much potassium, but hard to do unless he has kidney failure. My son is the same way, and set a record with 7 in one day at 15 months old. He's a banana scammer, and collected at least one from every family member, unbeknownst to me. He's never had any problems that were banana related, but I worked hard to turn him on to other fruit, as well. It's not a bad idea to try for a little more variety, and less emphasis on the bananas, or only hand out little pieces at a time, spread throughout the day. Good luck!

Answer 2

Great question, I've wondered that myself! Evalina's answer above was so funny with "banana scammer"!! I have one, too- she's 20 months old, but I thought 2 or 3 bananas a day was a lot. I just try to keep her diet balanced, and even though I'm a die-hard about juice being a junk food, if my daughter has 2 or more bananas, I'll give her some juice, and she's usually fine. I think constipation is the biggest worry with eating a lot of bananas.

Answer 3

we buy about 12 pounds of bananas a week and the checkers always ask "do you have a monkey at your house" which i answer by pointing to my kids. 2 monkeys to be exact. i wouldn't worry. bananas only cause constipation when they are under ripe. they can cause diarrhea when overly ripe, but that in between stage is ... perfection! i think 3 a day is fine until this stage fades out. my now 3.5 year old is down to about 2 a day. her 14 mo. old brother is around 3. i hold the household record...
good for your little man making healthy choices!

Answer 4

Bananas are very good for everyone. I noticed children like Bananas and are a natural soft food for children to chew and eat. I would limit the amount of Bananas for your child to eat just because they contain high amounts of sugar. I'm sure a couple of Bananas a day are fine for children. Your right about your child being a little monkey. Good for him!

Answer 5

I imagine he'd get sick of them before he'd overdose on potassium.

However, they will stop him up real bad if he keeps up on it. Maybe try introducing another fruit in the place of one banana, or, mix part of a banana with another berry or something.

mix it up a little.

Or, if he wont choose the other, take the bananas away for a couple days until he realizes he likes other things too.

Answer 6

Wow, I thought my daughter's 2 banana a day habit was bad! I was worried about giving her more than that, too, but she recently has started being picky and won't even eat the bananas as much any more - I wouldn't worry, babies eating habits seem to change so frequently.

Answer 7

I have heard that too many bananas cause constipation. However I have yet to see any evidence. *lol* But I limit my son to two a day.

You might want to try some other fruit ;-) (Note I said TRY)

Answer 8

My baby is the same way! She loves bananas! When we buy them and put them in the cart she tries so hard to reach them. I have not noticed any ill effects, however I was told when they have diahrrea to give them bananas bc it is supposed to firm their stools but my baby's stay very soft.