my one year old eats more than I do

[Anonymous]

And I'm not kidding! Today for lunch he had the same size bowl of bean soup plus crackers and cheese and half an apple that I didn't eat. For dinner we split a large chicken breast, he had more brown rice than I did, and had veggies. Plus all the snacks that he eats that I don't and whole milk!

He's 15 months old and a big kid, but his height is in the 75% and weight in the 55% so he isn't overweight. (Can you be overweight at 15 months???) Anyway, do I just let him eat til he's full or is this creating bad habits? I try to just make sure he's eating some healthy foods and not just teddy grahams!

I'll be asking the ped too, but I'm curious if anyone else has a big eater.

[Anonymous]

Boys generally eat more. If you're feeding him good healthy foods (especially proteins and veggies) then i'd let him eat

[Anonymous]

My DD has always been a big eater (from the very beginning). She can eat me under the table. We limit her to healthy alternatives and don't allow junk food (maybe once in a while as a treat). She generally eats a decent amount of protein and a huge amount of fruits and veggies and not a great deal of carbs. Ped isn't worried b/c she eats healthy and she tends to eat all day long (not huge amounts at only 3 meals a day). She tends to eat about 6-7 smaller meals a day, but it does add up to more than I eat in a day.

[Anonymous]

Just wait until he is a teenager. My teenage boy eats at least four times the amount of calories I do per day. And the grocery bill. Yeesh!

[Anonymous]

Children need more calories per unit of weight than adults do because of their more active metabolism. OP, your child does seem as if he is eating more than average, but if he stays within his growth curve and there is not too much disparity between his weight and height %, then it is fine.
Talk to his ped nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Don't sweat it at all, you are supplying him with a healthy balanced diet. He will eat what he needs and his size sounds perfect. My one year old used to eat a TON, always way more than his 5 year old brother and often more than I did. Now he is 2.5 and hardly eats anything, just grazes. I don't spend much time thinking about toddler/preschooler eating, it's so variable. I think our job as parents is to 1) Offer a wide range of healthy foods. 2) Make no foods really forbidden, so that treats don't become super tempting. 3) Avoid all anxiety and power struggles about foods so we don't create hang-ups where there are none. Sounds like you are doing a great job and he is healthy and growing and just needs a lot of fuel!

[Anonymous]

I think it's great that he's eating well... and you are feeding him healthily. It's much better than if he didn't eat, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Don't worry, my son has eaten more than me since he was that age. I also sit on my butt most of the day while he runs around constantly. So long as he is feeding himself and eating healthy, don't see a problem with it all. Though I am worried what my grocery bill will be like later if this is how eats at three.

[Anonymous]

Totally normal. I am constantly amazed at how much DS (2 1/2) can eat. Eating a ton isn't setting him up for bad habits. You want him to learn to follow his internal hunger cues--basically, eat when you're hungry; stop when you're full. If he's still hungry, he should keep eating!

[Anonymous]

I was in awe of what DD ate as a one-year old. I literally sat goggle-eyed as she ate her dinner (five-six courses, including cheese stick appetizer, a protein, spinach pancake, two veggies, a fruit, a dessert), then part of my dinner, and then polished off a bottle of 5-6 ounces of milk. Did I mention this kid has always been below the 10% percentile in weight? I just couldn't figure out where she put this food. So a bowl of bean soup and crackers and cheese and a half an apple sounds like it would have been just a starter for my little piggie.

[Anonymous]

My DS (2 years) eats ALL day long and always has. I laughed at the post of do you feed your toddler a snack before dinner. I feed him about 4 snacks before dinner and then he eats a huge dinner. He is in the 70% height, 60% weight so ped is happy with growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My one year old used to eat a TON...and often more than I did. Now he is 2.5 and hardly eats anything, just grazes.

This was our daughter. Ate me under the table until a few months after turning two and then got much pickier. Now she has days where she eats a lot and days where she doesn't. We just put healthy stuff in front of her and let her take what she wants.

[Anonymous]

I think part of it is the enthusiasm for food and variety. At one, they are just getting the hang of eating and starting to sample the variety of foods available, following a long time of just formula or breastmilk. By 2, he will start to be more discriminating and somewhere between 2 and 3, you will find yourself saying alternatively "How can he possibly eat so much?" or "How can he survive without eating anything?". There is no middle ground!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has always been a big eater (from the very beginning). She can eat me under the table. We limit her to healthy alternatives and don't allow junk food (maybe once in a while as a treat). She generally eats a decent amount of protein and a huge amount of fruits and veggies and not a great deal of carbs. Ped isn't worried b/c she eats healthy and she tends to eat all day long (not huge amounts at only 3 meals a day). She tends to eat about 6-7 smaller meals a day, but it does add up to more than I eat in a day.

YOUr DD is smarter than her mother because all of us should eat 6 small meal per day as opposed to eating three huge meals per day.