Hellobee Boards Topic: Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home.

Hellobee Boards Topic: Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home. https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:52:45 +0000 catomd00 on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422668 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 20:03:18 +0000 catomd00 2422668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Sounds pretty typical. Most toddlers tend not to eat a lot at dinner. My DD rarely eats dinner on days she is with my inlaws (who cook her gourmet meals!) but on days she is at the sitter (I pack her a lame lunch) she eats way more at dinner. As long as he's eating nutritious foods and a good variety and happy, I wouldn't worry about much. pinkcupcake on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422658 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:56:46 +0000 pinkcupcake 2422658@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it's normal that kids eat better around each other or when they're not at home. It's soooo hard to get my daughter to eat at home but she finishes her entire lunch at preschool. She also ears so much better on play dates or when other kids are around. nana87 on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422500 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 17:16:30 +0000 nana87 2422500@https://boards.hellobee.com/ my lo eats better at daycare too, though we provide the lunch. we actually send her in with things she won't eat at home because she's more likely to eat it there! Lilbear on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422492 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 17:06:13 +0000 Lilbear 2422492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Our DD eats much better at daycare too. She will eat a larger variety of foods as well as quantity than what she is willing to eat at home. Her teachers have said that this is common, because it's kind of a "monkey see monkey do" situation at school. The kids all sit at a table and eat together, so they tend to copy each other and be more open minded with their food options. PurplePeony on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422475 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:57:51 +0000 PurplePeony 2422475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think this is really common. My experience is that DD eats pretty much everything at daycare but her appetite is totally unpredictable at home -- sometimes she'll eat one bite and be done, sometimes she'll gobble her food up and want seconds. I don't sweat it. I read somewhere that toddlers often "front-load" their food, meaning they eat the majority of the calories they need earlier in the day. So by dinner time, they often just aren't that hungry. Plus, they just don't need all that much food. Unless your LO wakes up hungry during the night or you have other health/weight concerns, I don't think it's worth it to make a big deal of it. gingerbebe on "Toddler eats well at daycare, but not at home." https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddler-eats-well-at-daycare-but-not-at-home#post-2422470 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:51:05 +0000 gingerbebe 2422470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ So DS is 16 months old and just started an in-home daycare in January. He's transitioned beautifully. At home, DS generally refuses to be spoonfed so he feeds himself. He's also never been a food-motivated child and we worked really hard his first year of life to keep his weight up and finally at his 1-year appointment he hit 50% percentile for height and our ped told us we could relax. He's not picky per se, but he just doesn't like to eat all that much. We always offer a meat, carb, fruit, and veg with milk or water and let him eat what he feels like. So imagine our elation when DS started daycare and was eating well for his caretaker. The caretaker has actually mentioned several times that he often motions for seconds or thirds and eats like a horse. They generally spoonfeed the children, 1-2 kids at a time, until the kiddos can manage utensils on their own. Lunch is always a hot meal that alternates between vegetarian and omnivorous meals. Some days its chicken pasta and some days its sweet potatoes and broccoli, for instance. Snack tends to be yogurt with cereal on top. Overall, I think everything balances out nutritionally over the course of the week. However, the last few days, DS has barely touched his breakfast or dinner, which he gets at home. He often has a big full belly poking out when we pick him up and has been having a lot of evening poops (before daycare, he typically had a poopy diaper in the morning at wakeup and then had another BM in the afternoon). Last night he pooped twice between dinner and bedtime and had a MASSIVE diaper this morning at wake up. Should I ask daycare to feed him a little less, or should I be happy he's eating well during the day and not worry about the fact that he's not eating much at home? Anyone have a similar experience?