https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 01 May 2026 06:49:51 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2081190 Mon, 23 Feb 2015 00:57:23 +0000 enjollah 2081190@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO just turned 3 and had his annual check up last week. I bought up his eating habits to our pediatrician and she told me an interesting thing she's found/ noticed about toddlers. She said that toddlers tend to eat and store up food for the week and they really just need one good meal/portion during the day. I'm somewhat skeptical about what she said but I can see how it somewhat pertains to my LO. He's not the most pickiest eater but he doesn't eat a whole lot each meal. I pack a good portion for his lunch at daycare and he eats it all. Hes really tall and thin (mirror image of DHs body image) and the pediatrician also said LO will have similar body types of the parents. So after talking to her, I feel like LO will eat when he's hungry and just continue to offer foods but not stress or push too much if he's done or refusing. I know it can be stressful when you make food and it goes to waste.. I've been there too! Its been a lot less stressful on myself to just let go and be ok with LO consuming a smaller meal. I do occasionally bribe with chocolate too haha. It gets a couple extra bites in. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2081177 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 23:52:12 +0000 sarac 2081177@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: You know, not like a fast food as big as your head burrito. But there was probably 3/4 cup of chicken/black beans etc in it, and she ate most of it. That was a good meal for her, though. Some times she doesn't eat as much, bulk wise. I focus on protein grams, fat, and fruit and veggies for bulk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2081159 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 22:52:03 +0000 irene 2081159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipra: I think we are on the same boat (you may be doing better than me actually)! Just drives me crazy when he eats "normal" for maybe 1 meal a day. And I make all these food where there are times the whole plate goes back to the fridge, or the trash. My 3 year old is also small and short.</p> <p>@sarac: Wait, what do you mean your child almost finish a "fairly large" burrito for dinner??????? What? </p> <p>One time we were at a kid's birthday party. After running around in an indoor playground for an hour or so, they served pizza for lunch. My husband and I looked at each other in horror when we saw another child (about 4+ months older than LO) ate two full slices all by himself while my LO ate about 3 bites (nibbles) total on the crust. It's not like my son would want to eat food after we got home. He just goes to nap and got up and wouldn't even want a snack. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080826 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 16:32:11 +0000 lady grey 2080826@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is 20 mo, here is a normal day for him:</p> <p>Bfast:<br /> 1/2 slice toast with almond butter or cream cheese.<br /> Scrambled eggs with cheese (he eats equivalent of 1/2 an egg)<br /> 1/2 small sausage</p> <p>Snack: string cheese and two mini muffins or crackers</p> <p>Lunch: two mini meatballs, 1-2 slices apple, ~1/4 cup yogurt</p> <p>Dinner:<br /> 2-3 fish sticks, dips in ketchup.<br /> Some hummus or guacamole.<br /> Freeze dried berries </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080643 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 14:14:39 +0000 wonderstruck 2080643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It really varies day to day - some days he barely touches his food, and other days it's like his stomach is a garbage disposal! But here's a typical day:</p> <p>Breakfast: Banana, blueberry waffle (always gobbles up the banana, the waffle is hit or miss)</p> <p>Snack: Grapes and cheese (eats it all and often requests more)</p> <p>Lunch: PB&amp;J (usually eats about half a sandwich, sometimes less), yogurt, orange</p> <p>Snack: Goldfish crackers, yogurt covered raisins (eats it all)</p> <p>Dinner: Chicken (picks at it, eats a few pieces), baked potato (eats about half), green beans (eats them all) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080635 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 14:04:38 +0000 vnvdvci 2080635@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>22 months, called a "good eater" by daycare:</p> <p>Breakfast: Weekend is ~1-2 eggs, oatmeal made with yogurt and milk, small bowl of fruit. Occasionally sauteed veggies with the egg. Weekdays usually just the oatmeal.<br /> Lunch: 2+ servings of whatever daycare gives. Often asks for 3rd serving, which they give depending on whether there's any left! Weekends eats less - maybe 1-2 servings.<br /> Dinner: less than breakfast &amp; lunch - usually about 1/2 a toddler plate of food + 1/2 cup banana smoothie.<br /> Snack (morning &amp; afternoon): crackers, cheese, fruit</p> <p>She'll eat sometimes more, sometimes less than the above. Drinks are milk or water. Milk at daycare usually, sometimes at home if she doesn't feel like eating, + 2 nursing sessions at night &amp; early morning</p> <p>She's off the charts for height (size 3-4Ts) but average in weight-for-height (29-30 lbs), so we assume she's eating appropriately for her size. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080628 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 14:00:11 +0000 skipra 2080628@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Next to nothing and he is tiny. On a typical day he will have a few bites of cereal in the morning and some fruit. Then he will have a few more bites of my cereal. A few hours later he likes some granola bar. For lunch he will have a small handful of pita or tortilla chips and hummus. After his nap he will sometimes have a small snack like some raisins or a fruit and veggie pouch but usually he won't have anything and then starts scavenging when I make dinner (he'll grab handfuls of cereal or a graham cracker, etc whenever I open the cabinet) and then refuses dinner. He might have a tiny bit of yogurt and 3 or 4 baked sweet potato fries. Before bed he will often ask for toast with pb and will eat about half a slice. He usually prefers to drink his calories so we either make him a smoothie or give him a pediasure a few times a week. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080619 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 13:39:01 +0000 yoursilverlining 2080619@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is 32 months and generally a good eater, but she's small (24lbs). She loves cheese and all carbs best, and will always eat mac and cheese, even if nothing else.</p> <p>Typical day looks like:</p> <p>Breakfast: cereal bar (nutrigrain), or a hard boiled egg, big handful of blueberries or raspberries, 1-2 cups of milk. Then she has a bowl of cereal and another cup of milk when she gets to daycare.</p> <p>Lunch: thanks to the positive peer pressure of daycare, she always eats well at lunch and eats whatever they serve. Always a protein, carb, fresh veggie and fruit.</p> <p>Pm snack: cheese stick and crackers, hummus, etc.</p> <p>Dinner: usually pasta of some kind, hummus and red pepper strips. Probably about 1/2 cup of pasta and sauce. She will also always eat blueberries, raspberries and/or strawberries with dinner. Last night she ate a *ton* of mushroom risotto, but we had friends over who have a 13 year old daughter who LO idolizes, so she ate so well in part because she wanted to impress the teenager haha</p> <p>Lunch today LO and I shared a platter of fried baby shrimp and french fries. She probably had 10 little shrimps and 5-6 french fries, and some salad too. That's a pretty typical lunch amount, and in a couple hours she'll have a pouch or snack of some sort. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080588 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 12:33:56 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 2080588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DD1 will be 3 in May and weighs 27 lbs<br /> She eats....hardly anything. Every single meal is a battle. she doesn't even like snacks.</p> <p>Yesterday, for breakfast, she bad a few blueberries and flat out refused the muffin and yogurt I offered her. She refused to eat anything until 2 pm or so, and then finally she ate about half of a bean and cheese burrito. For dinner she asked if she could please not eat, and then eventually had a cheese stick and a strawberry before bed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080572 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 12:12:50 +0000 Charm54 2080572@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Dd is 18 months old... Yesterday she had:</p> <p>Bfast : 1 slice PB toast &amp; 3 strawberries<br /> Snack: 1/2 banana<br /> Lunch: chicken, 1/3 avocado, cheese string, 1/2 apple and 1/2 cup yogurt<br /> Snack: granola bar<br /> Supper: Ham, potato scallop, peas &amp; carrots. 1/2 a cupcake for dessert :)</p> <p>That would be a typical day. Sometimes she only plays with her dinner. Lunch is definitely her biggest and favourite meal </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080569 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 12:10:06 +0000 sandy 2080569@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO turned 3 in November and she's 35 lbs. As a baby she was such a good eater and loved all veggies and meat. Around 2.5 she definitely became pickier but at least she will try a bite of everything. I just keep offering the veggies and some days she'll eat a lot and other days she won't eat much. Same with protein. Shes always been around the 80th percentile so I try not to stress and just trust she'll eat when she's hungry. I know a lot of people do cut snacks and it does help with eating meals. </p> <p>If she had a big dinner she usually isn't hungry for breakfast but I'd say my LO usually eats a big breakfast - a serving of fruit (berries or half a banana), a serving of yogurt, and either an English muffin (1/2) with PB or some eggs or oatmeal or bagel (1/2) with cream cheese. She will usually eat almost all of her breakfast </p> <p>Yesterday we spent the day out and about so she didn't have a snack (too busy playing) and we ate at the cafe at the science center - not the best selection but she had milk, maybe 1/2 a corn dog, some hummus with pretzels and grapes. On the way home I let her have a few pieces of dried mango. She barely ate any of her dinner but bc she had 2 decent meals that isn't unusual. </p> <p>@irene: my LO loves French toast and ice cream. If she had those two things in one day I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have eaten much more for the rest of the day. But I know for mamas with smaller LOs it's hard not to stress about eating </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080540 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 11:06:24 +0000 travellingbee 2080540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>He's 23 months and 29lbs. He's a pretty good eater. Here's a typical day:<br /> Breakfast: egg or slice of french toast, yogurt, and blueberries<br /> Lunch: whole PBJ, cheese stick, handful of fruit or veggies and a pouch<br /> Dinner: small portion of chicken, cup of brocolli with dip (ketchup often), a whole pear or peach or banana<br /> Snacks- he eats about 3 snacks a day. 2 at day care and one at home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080531 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 10:59:41 +0000 sunny 2080531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 2.5 yr old (25 lbs) is not a good eater unless I help her. We try not to let her snack too much because we noticed she doesn't eat well at meals. She gets milk if she asks for it between meals, otherwise I give it to her at lunch and dinner.</p> <p>On weekends, she gets either a cup of yogurt or a bowl of oatmeal in the morning. Then for lunch we have a bowl of food (I will fill a Skip Hop bowl)--she likes asian noodles, pasta, dumplings. She sometimes will ask for a snack after nap (around 4 or 5). Depending on the time, I will give her a few crackers. For dinner, I will give her another Skip hop bowl of food, then a small bowl of fruit for dessert and sometimes a TJs mini ice cream cone.</p> <p>She will eat veggies and meat only if I spoon feed or if it's cut up really fine and mixed in rice. She will usually self feed for a few bites/15 min and then I have to spoon feed her the remainder. I hate this bad habit but if we stopped meals when she stopped self feeding she would barely eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080514 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 10:41:20 +0000 fancyfunction 2080514@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 26 month old is a good eater - I think she eats more than me! Yesterday she has 2 waffles and a cup of yogurt for breakfast.<br /> Applesauce and crackers for snack.<br /> Chicken and bowl of fruit for lunch<br /> Blackberries and Cheerios for snack<br /> Pasta in meat sauce with a second helping for dinner. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080505 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 10:23:27 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 2080505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It depends and varies. I have to trust that she'lol eat when she's hungry. Both my kids can be big eaters, but are very small. </p> <p>My oldest is 3.5 and is 27lbs. She can eat an entire bag of microwave popcorn on her own. I don't know how she's so little considering how much she CAN eat.</p> <p>Here's Wednesdays meal:<br /> Bfast - strawberry oatmeal<br /> Morning snack at preschool<br /> Lunch, chicken with applesauce and Mac n cheese plus baby carrots<br /> Snack, apple &amp; banana<br /> Dinner, noodles, pork chops, olives, mashed potatos, stuffing, green beans (and she had seconds)<br /> Dessert, chocolate cake</p> <p>On Friday, she had cereal for bfast, chicken for lunch and fell asleep at 6pm so she slept through dinner. When she woke up at 11pm (yeah that was fun!) all she wanted was apple sauce, and then she fell back asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080492 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 10:06:26 +0000 Anagram 2080492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've noticed my 19 month old doesn't eat her meals well when she snacks, so other babies her age are on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, plus like 3 sippies of milk all day.</p> <p>My LO just gets milk when she wakes up at 5:30, breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12 with milk that she rarely drinks; small snack at 3 (like fruit), dinner at 6. Water all day on demand.</p> <p>I found that spacing her breakfast out from her morning milk meant she was really hungry, and she gets no other food or milk before her lunch so she's hungry then, too.</p> <p>A typical day she will eat a full toddler bowl of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, some type of meat and 2 veggies for lunch (she usually finishes most) fruit or a pouch for snack, and another meat plus vegetable for dinner (like salmon and broccoli). Dinner is only hit or miss if I let her snack too much in the afternoon.</p> <p>Because of her MSPI she doesn't get a lot of starchy snacks and she gets no dairy, so I also think that helps her get hungry for meals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080417 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 06:13:07 +0000 brownie 2080417@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It totally depends. At 1.5 years old he ate like food was going out of business ( we had to see a nutritionist because he wasn't gaining weight). Something like 3 hot dogs for dinner, nursing 5 times a day, breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, and his school lunch. Plus two snacks at school a day. </p> <p>At 2.5 he would have 1 egg for breakfast, snack at school, lunch which was typically lots of left over meat, fruit of some sort and veggies, afternoon school snack, snack at 4:30 pick up and meat for dinner. At 3.5 (now) he may eat 1 waffle, 2 pieces of pizza for dinner, one bite of hamburger and one bite of cheese (yeah that was tonight) or he may eat one bite or refuse to eat anything. It is completely hit or miss. I'll send a lunch and he may eat all of it or none if it with almost no rhyme or reason. I figure he won't starve and he isn't failure to thrive so we let him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080406 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 05:26:56 +0000 AprilFool 2080406@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not much! She had 3/4 an English muffin and a fruit strap for breakfast . Some Belvita biscuits for snack. We had a birthday lunch at DH families and she had a chicken finger, maybe a bite of a mini sausage roll, 2 rice cakes and a few bites of cake. She refused the banana pancakes I made her for dinner and had milk instead. Today was an especially bad day but the good ones are few and far between, food wise, these days. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080403 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 05:20:21 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2080403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh and I realize I just have to starve her sometimes. For instance, I wrote that she ate a lot this morning, but it wasn't all at once. In fact, she refused the yogurt DH offered her. Then about an hour later, she had the piece of pear and that's when I made the quesadillas.</p> <p>I really want her to eat lunch today, so I'm making sure she does not eat a thing until lunchtime, which I intend to serve late since she ate the quesadilla not that long ago:</p> <p>7:30 offered yogurt with muesli<br /> 8:30 1/4 pear<br /> 8:40 quesadilla<br /> 9:00 asked for more</p> <p>She took the last bite of quesadilla at around 10! It's Saturday and we're relaxed with eating (she's plays and comes back to it). </p> <p>I intend to let her get a little hungry before serving her lunch (at around 12:30-1:00). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080402 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 05:10:25 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2080402@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD 2.5, is 32lbs. However, she doesn't eat so well at home. Lately barely touches her dinner and hardly eats breakfast at home. Weekends are a hit or miss. </p> <p>This morning, for instance, she ate a lot:<br /> a few spoons of yogurt with muesli<br /> 1/4 of a pear<br /> 1/2 of a cheese &amp; smoked turkey quesadilla</p> <p>On a bad day, she'll have a bite of butter toast </p> <p>On an ideal morning, she'll have a handful of chopped fruit and 1/4 of a cucumber<br /> 2 slices of cheese<br /> drink 1/4 glass of water<br /> and buttered toast</p> <p>For dinner, on a really good night , she'll have a whole bowl of pasta, a large handful of broccoli and a few pieces of pickled veggies.</p> <p>On a really bad night, she'll lick the pasta and claim she hates it and asks for a cookie (then a lot of whining ensues)</p> <p>I'm not worried because thankfully, she doesn't have an issue with weight, but I'm really starting to wonder how much she eats at daycare because lately she's not eating at home! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080339 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 00:05:05 +0000 sarac 2080339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 3 year old eats really well these days. Today was fairly typical, although she ate way less fruit than normal for her.</p> <p>Breakfast - a piece of toast and a big orange. </p> <p>Lunch - a big pancake at brunch, some fruit, a little bit of my hot chocolate. </p> <p>snacked on some dried apples at the grocery store and some of my greek yogurt.</p> <p>Dinner - an entire carrot, several slices of red pepper. Some bites of salad with sunflower seeds. Most of a fairly large burrito with chicken, black beans, refried beans, and cheese. a cookie for dessert. </p> <p>she'll also have a bedtime snack of another orange or a banana. She tends to sort of ramp up her food consumption over the course of the day - this was a good breakfast for her.</p> <p>this is a pretty typical intake for her, although usually she has 4 or more pieces of whole fruit, and I wouldn't usually let her just have a pancake without some protein to go with it. She wasn't terribly hungry today. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080336 Sat, 21 Feb 2015 23:55:13 +0000 StbHisMrs 2080336@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 3.5 year old daughter does not eat well. She flat out refuses dinner unless it's steak. I worry about bad eating habits later in life, she likes to snack.<br /> 2 fried eggs for breakfast<br /> Cracker stick snack before lunch &amp; Greek yogurt<br /> Pb&amp;j for lunch<br /> Mixed frozen berries and pineapple<br /> More crackers<br /> Refused the fish I made for dinner, so I heated up last nights steak and she ate a small portion.</p> <p>Today was a good day, most days are torture. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-does-your-toddler-eat#post-2080315 Sat, 21 Feb 2015 23:13:04 +0000 irene 2080315@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to hear what is the "norm" of how well your toddlers eat! Tell me how old your child is and how much does he / she eat on a typical day and/or how much does he/she NOT eat on a day that he/she doesn't eat. And are you worried about his appetite at all?</p> <p>My son who just turned 3 literally ate nothing today. He ate quite a bit of french toast for breakfast this morning. Then before lunch his dad took him to get a small ice-cream as I was taking too long for eye exam (how brilliant). Of course he didn't want to eat lunch at all. Then he ate a small snack with 3 crackers at 3pm, and again ate only a few bites at dinner. He seldom complains about being hungry. Somehow I wonder how he survives.</p> <p>On normal weekdays he eats better than that, with hits and misses in the evening. He can finish a plate of food plus fruits in the evening if it were a good day. </p>