Moms with 1yr olds-do you limit the amount of food?

I just wonder what to do. My guys are 15months old and love to eat. Granted they don't eat much veggies, but they ate a big 29oz can of mandarin oranges for snack today and were upset when the can was gone. At dinner they had some rice, green beans, and jsut over 5 chicken nuggets each. Gideon who is bigger will eat 3+ eggs if we let him. There are certain veggies they could care less about, but dish out beets or carrots and they polish of a can.I know people say that kids know when to stop, but how do we know when enough is enough. Let me end by saying, they are both big guys, Benjamin is about 27lbs and Gideon is 29lbs. Do they just require more?

 

I let mine eat till they are full. Mine are very vocal about when they are done. I wouldn't have given them more oranges but would have offered them something else.

 

I didn't then but I think I should have. At that age Kyle would eat seconds and thirds. He is a very big boy and I have within the last couple of years limited him to only having seconds. The thing is is he eats everything on his plate and asks for more of everything, it is not like he eats the potatoes and then leaves everything else and asks for more potatoes, he eats every last morstle then asks for more of everything and if I hadn't set the seconds rule he would be asking for thirds. Sometimes he even does ask for thirds in hopes I guess but I stand strong. He is certainly not starving, he is off the growth charts weighing in at 63 pounds at 5 years old.

 

I don't limit them either. Our kids are big, but they are not the biggest eaters and often times I feel like they should be eating a bit more. They are pros at telling me when they are done.

 

I asked their Pedi this same question at both their 1 year and their 2 year (done two weeks early) appointment.

He said they will let you know when they are full. They burn so much energy when they are awake, it's important they eat enough.

I too am amazed with the amount of food my guys can put away!!! But they have always gotten to a point when they stop. (and now they tell us they are "donedonedone")

 

We have only been on table foods for about 1.5 months now, but I don't limit how much they have. I let them eat until they show me signs they don't want anymore.

 

I might be the odd mom out ! I've always set out the food the boys are going to eat and that's pretty much what they get. I try to serve things I know they love/like and introduce new things every few days. They've never been upset by a meal being over though and if one doesn't eat one of the items I've selected, I'll make sure he gets something else to replace it. They get 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. I also haven't given the boys access to the kitchen (we need to finish remodeling) so maybe that makes a difference since they aren't seeing all their food options !

Mine are average weight for their age but are tall.

Mendy

 

I am so glad you asked this question, as I was thinking of posting it myself! I am amazed at how much my girls eat. In fact, they eat two to three times as much as my 3 year old son! They can each finish a hot dog, can of gerber ravioli, veggie and crackers in one sitting! My son can barely finish a hot dog. I am glad I am not alone. I think at this age, it's okay to let them eat because once they hit the 2-3 yr. mark, they should slow down a bit.

 

Nope. My boys were born early, and I've always felt the need to get them "caught up" size wise. They pretty much are, well, actually, they're still around the 20% percentile. But, i think that's kind of weird, because everyone who sees them says they're big for their age. THey're really just tall and skinny. But, to answer your question...I don't limit them (unless it's sweets...like cookies). They let me know when they're done.

 

I agree to let them eat until they are full(at least at this age). I wish Emily would eat more!! She is becoming very picky! It is good that they eat so well!!

 

Nope. My boys ate so much at one I thought they were for sure going to make themselves sick. Then a few months later they completely quit eating and I was so worried about how they would survive on one cracker and some milk for an entire day. They still do this to some extent, some weeks they are bottomless pits and other weeks they will barely eat a thing. It is just their growth patterns. I have learned to take thier que. My boys are average weight and tall.

 

My kids have large appetites! We do not limit the amount of food, but we do limit certain foods (so we won't give them seconds on chicken nuggets, but we will give them seconds of fruit). I worry because Hannah is such a peanut and Ben is like a linebacker. But they still eat the same amounts and often ask for seconds!

 

I do the same as Kate, I limit certain foods but some are unlimited. I limit carbs like bread and crackers, which they would eat forever if I let them, but meat (which they don't eat a whole lot of), veggies, and fruit are unlimited.

 

Not on principle -- only if we happen to not have much of something. I am happy when they eat enthusiastically, and I don't want to discourage them.

You are lucky that the mandarin oranges didn't cause a problem though -- I let Sarah have them for the first time the other day, and she absolutely loved them (which was great, because she normally doesn't eat much fruit), but she got a horrible diaper rash that is still hurting her 3 days later.

 

I let my girls eat until they start picking at food and stop really eating. I am often times surprised at how much they can eat, considering they're only 20 lbs!

On the topic of mandarin oranges, my girls poop them out without digesting them! So far it hasn't caused any diaper rash, but it looks weird coming out in their diapers!

 

I'm glad you asked this. Sometimes I can't believe how much the boys can put away. If you go to a site like wholesometoddlerfoods.com, it says 1 tablespoon for each year. According to them my boys would get 1-1/2 tablespoons each meat, starch, veggie, and that just would not fly around here.

I've often wondered if we were overfeeding them but at their 1-year appt the ped said to let them eat as much as they want to of the right foods. Our 18-month appt is next week so we'll see what they say then.

 

quote:
Originally posted by TwinxesMom:
I let mine eat till they are full. Mine are very vocal about when they are done. I wouldn't have given them more oranges but would have offered them something else.


I agree.

I always do the fruit last or they don't want anything else.
Mine love mandarin oragnes too! Ds is 15 months and actually goes into the pantry, takes out the can, and hands it to me!

I also find they will gobble up yogurt mixed with cottage cheese. Lots of protein which fills them up helps keep them full. I think the kinds of foods are important too. High amounts of protein help them be more sustained longer.

 

I have enough trouble getting the girls to eat anything, if they did eat alot i would be happy. I definatly wouldnt limit how much they wanted to eat at this stage.

 

I find that the right mix of carbs and protein is more important than quantity ... for a snack, in the afternoon, I always offer one of each or else they don't make it to dinner time. You might try that trick ... otherwise, let them eat!

 

JMHO - I think it's one thing to eat, eat, eat if they are underweight and need to catch up. I think it's another to let them eat for the sake of eating -- can promote some bad habits later on. There's a lot of talk and research about this now. Here's one recent article that talks about "bigger" babies...

Article

I'd talk to your pedi about it.

Mendy

 

At 16 months, my girls are about 20 1/2 pounds, approx. 20th percentile. They don't eat much, so we certainly don't limit it if they want more fruit, cheeee, meat etc. I wish the girls would eat a little more since I worry about them being too small, but the ped isn't worried.

Friends adopted a little boy(6 months) who was off the charts and had to slowly cut what he was used to eating and he is now, at almost 2, in the normal weight range.

 

I let mine eat all they want but I present a tray of food that is balanced. They have stayed on their growth curve. I was surprised by the quantities they ate from 12-16 months but they have slowed down some now.

Definitely talk to your pediatrician about it. I think it really depends on whether they are gaining on track or not. I changed some of the foods I was offering to make the meal more calorie dense when they started struggling to hang onto the 3rd percentile and I would think that a child gaining too quickly could be changed to less dense offerings to allow them to be satisfied with fewer calories.