How much table food should a one year old baby eat?

Question

I have one year old twins, and I just worry that they are eating too much. They eat three meals a day. Breakfast @ 9 am, nap @ 11 - 12:30, Lunch @ 1 pm, nap @ 3 - 4:30, and Dinner @ 5 pm. I know a lot of people feed their kids three meals and a snack in between, but mine sleep right through the time for a snack. I want to make sure they get enough to eat, so i put a variety of different "finger" foods on their trays and let them go to town. My problem is, they dont stop eating, or at least i have never seen them turn down food. Even when i was feeding them jars of baby food (one stage three jar each), they didnt turn away from the spoon. My son would get upset when i would scrape the jar, because he knew it was empty. I dont give them too much to eat, but how much is enough?
Example meal : 2 Tbs of green beans, 2 Tbs of carrots. 3 Tbs of cheerios, 2 Tbs of cheese stuffed pasta, 3 Tbs of yogurt, and 4 oz milk. The veggies and grains vary every meal, is that enough?

They are both growing fine. He has been off the charts with his weight since he was 4 months old, and she was always on the small side. The doc says they are doing great, i just worry because they DONT stop eating. They both cry at me to get more after finishing a meal, so i usually just give them extra milk or a sippy with juice to satisify them.

Answer 1

"Table food?" What are your children...dogs?

Answer 2

Unless your toddlers are obese you should just let them eat what they want.

Around 14 months my son really got into solids and breakfast everyday was 1 whole banana, 1/2 cup or more cereal, 1-3 eggs, and usually toast. Then he'd eat a good sized portion of whatever was for lunch (he at my food), usually stir fry. Dinner he didn't eat much of. Throughout the day there was always crackers and veggie sticks, usually cheese too. From 8 months of age to 18 months of age he didn't gain a lbs despite how much he ate.

Toddlers will generally only overeat if they have a few very rare conditions, or if mom is constantly saying "One more bite". As long as it is healthy food they should be allowed to eat what they want.

Answer 3

Ha HA HA! "Table food?!" HA HA!
Toddlers of this age are making the change from jar food to finger foods and enjoy the freedom of choice involving how much they actually want to eat. It can be nervewraking to think your chilren aren't getting enough food, so you have to consider that an "unstretched" stomach of the human anatomy is about as big as your fist, when you consider the size of a 1 year old's stomach you can see that many small frequent meals during the day is the obvious way to ensure they have healthy diets, just make sure you're feeding them plenty of protein and potassium..

Answer 4

I have a 14 month old with the same problem. He's not on babyfood anymore (although it was easier to feed him), but I have a hard time finding a good variety of food for him. He didn't want to eat by himself, just play with his food, until I gave him a fork. Now he tries to eat with the fork but usually ends up eating with his other hand instead. I feed him a lot of pasta, peas, hotdogs, green beans and fruit. It's easy fingerfood. But I end up making two meals everyday because the rest of us get sick of the same thing. And if I try to feed him what we eat, then he can't eat it well and doesn't get enough. We limit snacks and his sippy cup and that helps with him wanting to eat. I'm really not giving much advice. Sorry.

Answer 5

The important question is "How is their weight." A healthy appetite is a wonderful thing - don't get overstressed in a few months if they suddenly turn picky. Ignore it, keep feeding them a variety, and ride thru this first expression of individuality!
Are they pudgy? Are they at the upper end of the weight chart? If so, ease up on the fatty foods, switch to lower-fat dairy products. Are they in the middle of the chart? Keep doing what you're doing and keep an eye on them.

Answer 6

Are they losing weight? Are they still growing? Is their weight below the 40% for their age?

I wouldnt worry about it. Toddlers dont eat much, generally from 15mo to 3 years.

Are they crying for more food? Do they go play when theyre done?

Its really not anymore complicated than meeting the demand. Children simply wont starve themselves. If you were really worried because they were so far below average you could give them a pediasure to cover the bases. But as it is it seems pretty normal to me.

Answer 7

Allow them to eat until they are full, as long as the food is healthy they aren't going to become obese or anything. Some toddlers eat more than others because their bodies are growing and burning the calories. You are one of the lucky ones, my problem with my toddlers is GETTING them to eat, they'd rather be running around playing, and I trying to pull every trick in the book to get the food down them, if you have concerns contact your childs doctor, but I believe in a full tummy (and they tend to sleep better on full tummies).

Answer 8

Rule of thumb when feeding toddlers: Their tummys are about the size of their fist so that is about how much they should eat. If they are active they may eat more than normal because they are burning calories, and since they are not getting a snack they might be hungrier.

Answer 9

Although you shouldn't usually count calories, knowing how many calories your toddler needs can help when planning his diet and can also help reassure you that your child is getting enough to eat.

The average toddler needs about 1300 calories each day. Bigger kids will need a little more and smaller kids a little less. A good rule of thumb is that your toddler will need 40 calories each day for each inch of his height.

More Info Here:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/feeding_your_toddler.html

Answer 10

It is plenty and if it is too less or too much, they will stop eaing. I have 2 children...a 9 yr old daughter and a 21 month old son so i have been there, done that and learned with my oldest. As long as they are gaining weight, the doctor will say perfect