Can you overfeed a toddler?

Yogurt, grapes and granola? Banana, kiwi, and oatmeal? Sounds healthy to me. You probably have a grazer. Now if you said you keep a constant supply of french fries and sugar cookies on hand, I might be concerned.

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Kristin, that's great that Nolan eats so much good fruit! Maybe he needed something fatty or with protein, like some milk. Oops, he's probably still breastfeeding.

Anyway, as long as it's healthy-ish food, we'll give our son, who is 20 months, as much as he wants, and if he says he's hungry, we offer him lots of options (starting with fruit). He seems to have phases where he'll eat a ton of food for a few days and then he's back to normally. I figure he's in the midst of some developmental spurt when he's eating more.

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We have the typical fussy toddler -- all manner of coersion is required to get a meal into the child. However, his best friend is a Nolan type. She eats and eats and eats. She loves almost any food that is placed in front of her. Life revolves around meals for this 2 1/2 year old. Her parents started limiting her intake well before her second birthday. Given the opportunity, she could eat most adults under the table. Now, at 2 1/2, and even though she eats only healthy natural foods and is very active, she is quite "chunky", to the point that her pediatrician is requiring monthly weigh-ins and a strictly enforced daily calorie intake. I suppose that you might want to start thinking about how many calories Nolan is actually consuming each day and what would be right for his height/weight. That might give you a more concrete idea about whether or not any changes need to be made.

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As long as the choices are balanced by bedtime (some say just balanced across food groups across the whole week), then let him eat. You'll see dramatic changes when growth spurts stop and start and feel the need to restrict or encourage food each time. Resist. Children don't overfeed themselves if offered good, healthy choices. I don't allow snacks (even healthy ones) close to dinnertime, but I will allow him to eat any portion of the meal I've already prepared if he's crabby-hungry.

My toddler has, for the past year and a half, eaten as much as I do at dinner. He hates milk, so maybe that's why he has so much room, but I've noticed a huge change in the past two weeks and I'm wondering if he's starting to slow down. I've been pushing him to finish things he's requested, but now I realize that he, too, is used to wanting more. I'm going to take my own advice and let him be.

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I agree that as long as you're giving him healthy food, you should give him as much as he wants. My son loved to eat (note past tense) up until a month or so ago. He was always chunky (an avid nurser). Now at almost 2 year's old, he's on his own "restricted" diet. He was sick for a couple of days and then refused almost everything solid for awhile thereafter. I added a vitamin drop to his juice, then just relaxed about it. His appetite's coming back now (thank god!)

Anyway, I think their appetites go up and down depending on what their bodies feel they need, and the last thing we inadvertently want to do is make food intake an issue. I think if we push food, they want it less and if we restrict it they'll want it more (just like anything in life). My rule is that I decide "what" and he decides "how much."

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Ros ate like a horse right up until about 15 months, when it finally dropped off. She can still pack it away when she hits a growth spurt, but my god-between 12 and 15 months, we kept looking to see if she was really a cow and had 3 stomachs. She could eat more than me!

Now, it's levelled off. Which is a good thing for the grocery bill. I just believe that it's best to not make a big deal out of food, and let them eat what they need.

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Sounds like an awful lot of sugars. Fruit
(fresh fruit included), while containing some great vitamins, is mainly sugar and water, and depending on if you are making the oatmeal from steel cut oats or quick oats or even instant oatmeal preparations can have a large amount of sugars. Also granola is notoriuosly sweetened. Most of the yogurts that babies/adults tend to prefer have sugar only second to milk, and if it is non- or low-fat milk there is not much substance to grow from. As we know sugars are great for that quick hunger fix, but have little to actually give our bodies something to build on. It could be Nolan is really hungry for something more solid than fruit sugars and carbohydrates. I'd try protein, meat or cheese, eggs scrambled with some cheese is great and a good opportunity to get some vegetables in there, some finely chopped leafy greens and/or broccoli tops is hard to notice all mixed up with rich eggs and creamy cheese! Proteins also really help supply their groing brain development too!

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You're not going to overfeed him. He's growing by leaps and bounds and needs the extra calories. My littlest guy is 15 months and can really pack it away - some days. Other days he is a lighter eater. Given the opportunity and the availability of good, healthy food, kids will self-regulate. Any attempt to interfere will just sabotage his own "internal regulators". I just try to mix up what I offer my guy; fruit, veggies, carbs, protein. He usually knows what he needs!

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I think you are offering him healthy choices, and he is going through a growth spurt, for sure. Wasn't it only a few weeks ago that you posted he wouldn't eat, period??? Sometimes my daughter will be ravenous in the morning, eat a semi- ok lunch, then eat nothing more than two bites for dinner. In a sense she balances her caloric intake this way herself. At this age, don't limit him, he's only listening to his tummy.

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As long as you're giving him food when *he* wants (instead of forcing him to clean his plate at every meal, or passing him treats every time he happens to stub his toe, or whatever), and you're restricting yourself to healthy (or mostly healthy) treats (sure sounds that way), I wouldn't be worried.

This is how you raise a kid to know his own hunger cues.

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MY daughter is 21 months old and is 19 lbs. She has weighted that since she was about 12 months (doctor check up) and she eats CONSTANTLY! She is always walking around the house with a cup of cherrios/goldfish/animal crackers. We just let her eat because she does need to gain weight and even my doctor said you can't really over feed a toddler, they will eat until they are no longer hungry.

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You can't really overfed a kid that's begging you for more... especially when the choices are healthy. Personally, I aim to offer a different food group when my daughters ask for more after finishing their dinner, so if they've just finished waffles or oatmeal, would they like some cheese or a bananna?

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I'm inclined to agree with Tracy. Go easy on the fruit and sugar. Fruit is great for toddlers but they only need TWO servings a day and those servings are 1/4 the size of an adult serving, meaning about 1/4 of a banana and 1/4 of a kiwi. Go to this website for more info on common mistakes and tips:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/feeding_your_toddler.html

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My youngest eats once a day, from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed. The moment he wakes up he is wanting breakfast, I have difficulty getting him to be calm enough to change his diaper before eating. My oldest waits about an hour before he wants breakfast. I have asked him on multiple occasions if he was hungry after he was up and dressed and his reply is always the same "Not right now Mommy" They both are good eaters, not picky at all willing to try new stuff and LOVE fruits and veggies. Both of them are very active in their waking hours.
I would say unless the childs Dr makes it a concern, I wouldn't be worried. (As long as the child has many many more healthy food choices than they do ones that aren't healthy)

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First of all, it sounds like you are feeding him totally healthy foods. I really feel like kids adjust their appetites to growth spurts and activity levels. My kids are "good" eaters and are either at the low or average end of the growth curve. I generally let them have as much fruit, yogurt, and other healthy stuff as they want. We limit cookies, crackers, and other junk. Especially when my son was your age, he could put it away. In fact, he ate so much of a breakfast of eggs and bacon and pancakes at my Mom's once that he threw up afterward. I really would not worry about it. I am sure you are doing a great job!

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