Toddler feeding himself - Worried he's not getting enough

xzanti

My Son is 19 months old and for the last few months he insists on feeding himself, he will not let anyone else spoon feed him.. it's great that he's getting so independent but I worry that he's not getting enough to eat as most of his dinners end up on the floor..

I try to cook things that he can eat both with his little fork and with his hands such as steamed potatoes and veg diced up and I always cut his fish or meat up in to squares, but as i said, most of it goes on the floor.

He drinks a LOT of milk from his beaker, when it's empty he'll hand it to me to fill it back up.. and he drinks water with his meals..

He is not underweight or anything but I just feel he could be bulkier for his age..

Has anyone else gone through this with their toddler and have you any tips?

I should add that he doesn't have his back teeth yet, they are only starting to come up now, so I guess this could have something to do with him not chowing down as much as I'd like him to

Thanks

Hannibal Smith

is he sleeping well? He doesn't appear hungry does he?

I think that's pretty normal for a 19th month old to want to feed themselves, in fact, be glad you got away with feeding him for this long They're at the stage they'll let you know if they're hungry.

xzanti

Yeah he sleeps great, goes down at 7.30Pm and sleeps pretty much 12 hours.. and I always leave his food in front of him for as long as I can in the hope that he'll pick at as much of it as possible..

And he never seems hungry.. I give him the (very) odd treat like an ice cream or a Milkybar and he never finishes them..

Maybe he just has a very small appetite..

Hannibal Smith

Its hard to know without seeing how he's eating, but he may be getting more than you realise. What about keeping a diary of what he's eating it maybe more than you think.

I think the key with toddlers is little and often and looking at it as a week to week thing rather than day to day. Today they could eat plenty, tomorrow hardly anything.

If you're worried about the amount he eats at main meals, what about giving him mid morning and afternoon snacks of scones or fruit or toast or something?

littlemissfixit

I second the increase snacks, at that age they need refueling regularly as they are so active. As long as everything offered is healthy and his appetite not dampered by junk, he probably is getting enough. But liquid fill little stomach very fast too. I always wait till my daughter is about halfway through her meal to give her milk, so she drink for thirst and not for hunger.

xzanti

Thanks for the replies ladies

Yeah I had a feeling he might be getting too much milk, I think I'll start curtailing the beakers of milk.. it'll be hard as he loves it so much but I think solid food is more important at this stage..

Fingers crossed

Moonbeam

if he is hungry he will let you know:)
my 17 month old feeds herself and most things are ok but yogurts and anyhting messy is a mess!! but if she is hungry after it she will ask for "more please" and if she is hungry she will tell me.
I would not worry too much.

How Strange

I agree with Moonbeam that you should trust that he knows himself when he's hungry or not. My son is 18 months and when he's hungry he keeps asking for more.

Their tummies are the size of their fists so that makes you see how small true tummies are and how little food they need to be full.

ocy

I have a 19month old also, who insists on feeding himself, so we let him to it, if we want to feed him we distract his hands with a toy or book.

The only milk he gets is a bottle going to bed and if he wakes during the night. As far as i know as long as they have a balanced diet the only need around 500 ml of milk (including all forms of dairy) so between breakfast, yogurts and cheese and the bottle in the evening I reckon he gets enough. He gets water to drink during the day.

I wouldnt worry too much about it all kids are different, my first is a 3 meals a day with very little snacking, the 19month old is bad at breakfast 1 weetabix can be a struggle, but 2 good meals and loads of snacking, in fact rarely without something in his hand/mouth.