What to do when your 14month old wants to eat all the time?

[schneebly]

My 14 month old DS has always been a 'good eater' but in the last month or so he seems to have developed an insatiable appetite. I try to make sure that everything I give him is filling and nutritious but when he has finished he cries for more - he has 'filled out' a wee bit and has just started walking in the last couple of days. I am worried about him putting on too much weight because DH and I are both overweight and always have been DS1 who is 2.5 probably eats less than DS2. Any suggestions?

[saadia]

On the one hand I would say if he is hungry let him eat as you shouldn't worry about weight at this age, but on the other hand this could lead to problems later on.

What if you give him things like apples and grapes which won't add weight? Is he having much milk?

[Enid]

what kind of food are you giving him?

[Bozza]

I wouldn't worry about a 14 mo old eating more than a 2.5 yo TBH. Think that happens a lot and I would guess that his appetite will probably drop off in the next few months. DD at that age was eating as much as DS who was 4.5! DS is now eating much more and DD much less. Give him plenty of fruit and veg etc and encourage him to be active.

[controlfreaky]

let him eat but make it healthy stuff. when they start walking they are using lots of energy constantly picking themselves up from floor. if worried get him seen by hv and see where his weight / height puts him on centile charts...

[schneebly]

He doesnt really have much milk at all - here is a typical days menu:

Porridge with mashed banana
milk

snack of grapes/similar

homemade soup with one slice bread
fromage frais
humzinger
Diluted juice to drink

Fish with cheese sauce,mashed potato and veg.
fruit
Diluted juice to drink

He doesnt drink milk at bedtime - not interested.

Any suggestions?

[Enid]

make sure he is drinking plenty of water too

sometimes they mistake thirst for hunger at this age

lots of homecooked nutritious meals like sheperds pie should fill him up nicely.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Yeah, as long as it's healthy food, let him have loads. My DS2 is 16 months, and my DS1 is 4. Quite often, over the last few months, DS2 has been eating more than DS1.

Adult obesity isn't caused by kids eating too much, particularly if they're eating healthy food.

[Enid]

make his lunch more filling

swap the tea for the lunch?

tbh that doesnt seem that much to me

[NotQuiteCockney]

Let him eat all he wants, his diet looks fine.

[controlfreaky]

normally molk would still be primary source of calories for 14 month old... could he have a weak hot cholocate (one without lots of sugar) if he dosent want plain milk? dont get all hung on it. a hungry baby will be miserable. he dosent seem to be eating a lot from what you've written. think how much he's still growing!

[KristinaM]

Does he only eat 3 meals and one snack? I woudl give him a couple of other snacks, like a sandwich or toast. If he doesn't have milk at bedtime then I suspect he will be hungry if he has nothing after dinner.

Is the only milk he has in his porridge? That would only be about 5 fl oz and they are meant to have a pint at his age. If he wont touch milk you coudl search MN for tips on for reluctant milk drinkers.

If I were you I would change the dilted juice for water. they are not supposed to have juice in a sippy cup or bottle ( I'm assuming its not a regular cup if he is 14 months) as its bad for their teeth.

BTW I knwo what its like to worry about your toddlers eating - I have one who eats too little. But then, as my DHsays, he's not fading away....

[controlfreaky]

mmm meant "milk"!

[schneebly]

thanks you guys. I am fairly sure about his diet being okay but just worried about the size of portions he seems to 'need' to satisfy him!

[Enid]

ditch the juice

essential, they fill up on it but it doesnt last = being hungry half an hour later.

give him water instead.

[Mum2Ela]

His meals sound ok to me. My DS can eat for Wales (he is 15 months). He will typically eat 3 Weetabix for breakfast with brown toast, half a banana and a handful of grapes. It carries on like that for the rest of the day. He is a teeny tiny little thing and I just think that he needs a lot of food to keep him going and so long as he isn't eating rubbish, i'll just keep feeding him.

TBH I personally am not too worried at this age about the amount of milk DS drinks, he's not a big milk drinker, never has been. He has a decent enough diet for me not to worry.

[Bozza]

Actually I think it is 2/3 pints after one. And there is also dairy in the fromage frais and cheese sauce. My DD was like that - wouldn't have bedtime milk at that age although she used to have milk first thing in the morning before breakfast and still does.

You could give him cereal for supper though to fill him up through the night and up his milk intake. And also an afternoon snack. But I think his diet is really fine, honestly.

[schneebly]

He does have a drink of milk at breakfst time-about 6-7oz as well as what he has in the porridge but doesnt seem keen to drink it at other times but he always has some fromage frais/yoghurt and cheese too. Regarding the juice - i cant get him to drink plain water but I make sure the juice is very weak and he uses a sippy cup rather than a bottle. I also try to keep the majority of his drinking to mealtimes rather than sipping all day - any tips on getting him to drink water? At the moment he spits it out!

[Enid]

I just offered it and didnt keep any juice in the house

dd1 was a juice addict, it took me 3 days to break her

[Elibean]

Agree with Kama - I focussed more on 'what' than 'how much'. My dd went through voracious patches between 1 and 2, eating loads for a few days then slowing down - she's always been a big eater, but isn't overweight. My DH's family have issues with weight, so I've been aware - not exactly worried, just keeping an eye out.
I think your ds's diet sound great - though I too would switch juice to water. My dd probably ate a bit less than that at 14 months (not much) but then she drank at least twice a day, and still does.
Have you tried different 'sorts' of milk? Warm and cold? Or flavoured (not sure how to do healthy flavoured milk, but there must be a way)?

[Sparklemagic]

are people talking about juice (as in fresh fruit juice) or squash?

[schneebly]

he has well diluted fresh apple juice.

[Elibean]

Me, I'm talking about fruit juice - I did start giving well diluted fruit juice to dd at around 16 months, once every few days, and now she's 2.2 she has some with her afternoon snack most days. Reason I didn't do it earlier (and probably should have waited longer) is that my dentist advised it, saying it was far more important to limit things like fruit juice and raisins in under 2s than it was to brush their teeth.
This was after I'd been giving dd raisins daily for about four months, thinking they were healthy - which they are, just not for teeth!

[NotQuiteCockney]

Fruit juice isn't great, it's true. It hasn't got much nutritional content, really. Water or milk are the only worthwhile drinks, really.

[Enid]

no I am talking about diluted apple juice

it really fills them up temporarily