2.10 year old obsessed with Food......

[pcbmc00]

Hi all...
Looking for some advice here.. my DD is obsessed with food she always asking for food and extremely happy when she eating ( there is nothing she wont eat...) Accoding to toddler BMI she is 'overweight' she is 2 stone 6 lbs and about 3 foot tall... I gve her healthy food all day ( porridge / fruit for breakfast, brown bread for lunch, home cooked dinner - always watch portion sizes and fruit during day) and after her dinner she gets a treat ( some jellies or a bun nothing major).. We have a good routine and she knows 'when her next meal is comng' but sometimes she can ask for food all day... - Im currently on maternity leave on DD2 and it just grates at me (Im hungry mummy / is it lunch time now 9.30am....) and obvously Im worried as she classed as overweight already...
Are a lot of toddlers 'obsessed' with food... obviously when I turn on TV she is distracted but I dont want TV on all day...

Thanks in advance

[MajaBiene]

Treats every day sounds a bit much, especially if she is already a bit too heavy.

Is she hungry or bored? If she'll be distracted by the TV then maybe she just needs to get out and about more?

[christinarossetti]

That sounds stressful. Genetics play a significant part in body shape tendencies and if a child is 'big built' then it's difficult but parents do have to pay more attention to portion size and type of food than the parents of 'can eat anything' children. Your dd's diet sounds pretty good but maybe consider having fruit as 'treats' and cutting out the jellies/buns? More protein and fewer carbs may fill her up for longer. My understanding is that most of us over-estimate how much a child size portion of food should be - how do you think she does with portion size? Exercise will be easier to up when the weather gets better.

My friend's doctor advised her not to let her dd gain any more weight but not to try to lose any per se then her height will catch up with her weight eventually.

FWIW, my 5 year old dd is much more food focused than her brother - I also find the what feels like constant requests for food extremely wearing.

[SCOTCHandWRY]

Is she getting enough fat and protein in her diet? Hunger could be her craving things she needs.

[MajaBiene]

Does she have snacks in between meals? Try giving her filling protein snacks instead of fruit/carb based ones - cheese, boiled egg, hummus and carrot sticks.

[pcbmc00]

Thanks ladies... not to sound extreme but her portion sizes are controlled my DH and I make sure she doesnt over eat at mealtimes.. e.g 1 weetabix/ banana for breakfast... 1 bread sandwich/ small portion cheese/ tomatoes/ sweetcorn and milk for lunch/ orange and raisins for snack today and her dinner was at her grandparents house broccoli, one potato and 2 fishfingers... her grandmother gave her 2 plain biscuits... we spend an hour outside at playground today and she still sleeps a lot during day ( 2 hours) only turn on tv from 6pm in evenings - she goes to bed at 7.30pm...we seem to follow all the rules but it really can wear on me that she is constantly asking for food or looking for food or 'picks' up old food on the floor...

[MajaBiene]

Her portion sizes sound fine, similar to what my 2.6 year old has. I find we need to be out in the morning between breakfast and lunch, and then out again between end of nap time and tea to keep DS occupied - if we don't go out then the TV is on a lot more.

I would definitely think about more protein - eggs for breakfast for instance might keep her going longer. And a protein based afternoon snack too.

[pcbmc00]

Thanks so much going to try that tomorrow... hate to say it but I have cut out milk and giving her bottles of water if she says she is thirsty.... between meals... I give her milk at meal time...people say they are jealous that she eats everything but sometimes I dont know what is worse... she was always quiet a High needs baby/toddler and I was always BF her( when she was v small) so this isn't new!!! where as her sister is a totally dfferent child totally chilled and relaxed.. thanks for all tips ladies...really appreciate them

[pcbmc00]

Sorry just to add.... maybe Im being stupid but I worry about the future when she has sleep-overs that she will just over-eat... when she goes to parties without me that she will just sit in corner and eat... honestly she loves her food that much...Im back to work F/T in a month and she in nursery full time ( I provide the food) but sometimes there seems to always be a party and parents bring in party food etc... should I ask nursery to let me know when this happens so I dont give her treat that evening / should I cut out treat after her dinner... as I mentioned im literally talking about 2 small jelly sweets....

Im so big into exercise/fitness so I suppose thats another reason why I never thought Id have to worry about this....

[MrsMushroom]

Is she getting enough excersise? A walk/runabout the park every day? That's important for all toddlers not just DC who have a tendancy to eat a lot.

I have a DD aged 8 who eats a LOT....I have to be quite full on making sure she gets some excersise daily...I make her go out to play even when she doesn't want to!

[MajaBiene]

I'm a boredom eater too. If she can be distracted by TV then she's not that hungry, she's just looking for something to do?

I'd cut out the treats - no child needs sweets and buns every day. Pudding can be fruit or plain yoghurt.

[fruitpastille]

My DD is also constantly asking for food. She does it particularly when tired, like she is mis reading the signal. I also worry about her weight but DH doesn't take it seriously which is hard. We try to give fruit as snacks but believe me she can eat tons of it!

[pcbmc00]

Thanks so much everyone.. really appreciate advice and like some said its probably just boredom/tiredness...
Sorry now to ask the obvious but on a regular day... Breakfast at 8am... snack at about 10am.... Lunch about 12.30 and snack about 3.30 and dinner at 5.30.... that all sounds ok... ( Im really going back to basics now :)..
And as some posters suggested try protein based snacks e.g. egg.. - would it be ok to give bolied egg as a snack between her meals... maybe Im genuinly not giving her enough food....

[fattybum]

My ds1 is 6.9 and was (is!) Like this. He's gotten much easier with age, starting to realise to stop when full etc.

I've worried so much in the past, convinced he would end up obese. He would also just obsessively eat at parties whilst everyone else would move on.

Partly think he's naturally greedy (bf constantly as a baby) partly think I was to blame, too controlling due to worry. My turning point was about a year ago when I bought a book, helping without harming, your child's weight by Ellyn satter. Please buy this book. Ds1 is still a food lover, not overweight but chunky, but things are in perspective now. It really, really helped our family.

[MajaBiene]

My DS tends to have breakfast about 7.30-8am (porridge or weetabix and a banana with milk), lunch at 12 (tuna sandwich/beans on toast/soft boiled egg with 1 slice of bread followed by fruit/yoghurt), snack at 3.30ish (cheese, hummus and veg sticks, peanut butter on crackers with milk), dinner at 7ish (lasagne, casserole and rice, veg etc on an Ikea kids plate). He is a fairly skinny, very active, 25th-50th centile 2.7 year old.

No reason not to give an egg as a snack.