Portion Size

mamaZbo

I know I have posted about this before, but after DD woofed down her dinner I am a little concerned. I know I struggle with portion size for myself, so I don't know that I am the best judge for her. I feel like I give her a ton of food every day and she eats/drinks every bit of it. She is not picky and will eat pretty much anything with the exception of most veggies.

For example today she ate:

• Dry cereal (a mix of kix, cheerios, and oatmeal squares) 1/2-3/4 cup and a tangerine
• 4 oz greek yogurt with 1/2 pouch of veggie and fruit with 1 graham cracker
• About a cup of pasta with 2 meatballs and 4-5 strawberries
• Cheese stick and a few crackers
• 4 fish sticks, 3 potato wedges and a baby carrot
• 16-20 ounces of milk
  

 She is, and has always been, in the 100% percentile for weight and height. Does this sound about right compared to what your LO's are eating? Do these sound like the correct portions? I think I feel a little insecure since several people, including my mother, keep asking me if I am feeding her too much. I think if I was skinny, no one would question what I was feeding her, but I think they look at me and immediately think I am overfeeding her.

CMonkey515

That sounds like about how much DS will eat in an average day. Some days he eats even more. My pedi said at this point to feed him as much as he wants as long as its healthy stuff. He's just above the 50th percentile so I don't know if that makes a difference. 

If you are worried call your pedi, but I can't imagine they would tell you not to feed her so much if she is truly hungry.  

pennysuedog

The kids in my family are big, my nephews are off the growth charts too.  My Children are all pretty tall  Some kids are just bigger.  I don't really watch the portion sizes.  I do watch what they are eating more.  Oliver has always been able to eat large amounts of food. 

This was yesterday from what I can recall:

Morning:

Half cup  juice, a whole banana 1/2 cup cereal.

Snack:

3-4 animal crackers and a cutie orange.

Lunch:

Half a grilled cheese, a kiwi, and a glass of milk, 4-5 green beans

Nap:

4oz bottle

Snack:

a piece of lefse with grape jelly on it.

Supper:

Avacado 1/4 cup maybe

Taco meat: 1/4 cup

1/4 cup black beans.

a cookie

cup of milk

 

 

 

 

 

 

cantalopes24

I agree with PP. Unless your kid is eating junk or eating until they make themselves sick I wouldn't worry about portion control. Your pedi would absolutely bring up if they thought your kid was overweight. It sounds like she's eating a great variety of food and it seems like her portions are appropriate. Lo eats more than her brother most days but they are burning a ton of calories just existing and growing right now.

jonnygurl76

cantalopes24:

I agree with PP. Unless your kid is eating junk or eating until they make themselves sick I wouldn't worry about portion control. Your pedi would absolutely bring up if they thought your kid was overweight. It sounds like she's eating a great variety of food and it seems like her portions are appropriate. Lo eats more than her brother most days but they are burning a ton of calories just existing and growing right now.

All of this! Except in my case it is that DS eats more than his 3 year old sister.

kagl08

jonnygurl76:

cantalopes24:

I agree with PP. Unless your kid is eating junk or eating until they make themselves sick I wouldn't worry about portion control. Your pedi would absolutely bring up if they thought your kid was overweight. It sounds like she's eating a great variety of food and it seems like her portions are appropriate. Lo eats more than her brother most days but they are burning a ton of calories just existing and growing right now.

All of this! Except in my case it is that DS eats more than his 3 year old sister.

Add me to the list, DS also eats WAY more than his 2.5 yr old sister. 

blu-eyedwife

At this age, kids really don't overeat. They self-regulate pretty well because they don't have any concept of societal "portions." They eat till they're full and then stop. The bigger issue for young eaters (and I'm talking from the introduction of solids on) is overfeeding.  As in forcing them to finish what you consider to be a portion (like making them eat everything on their dinner plate). 

As others have said, try not to worry about how much she's eating if your choices are healthy ones. 

mamaZbo

Thanks all,

I have no intention of restricting food, or limiting portions, I just wanted to gauge how her portions compare to her peers. She doesn't graze and eats a pretty balanced diet. I am grateful she is a good eater, but I think it may be my own issues that make me worry for her in the future.

Fianschneid

DD has gone through phases where I feel like I'm feeding a teenage boy. I asked her pedi about it and she told me that at this age, you feed them until they stop eating. She even told me about one little boy who ate for two hours straight at a restaurant with his mom.

When she's a little bit older, it might make sense to worry about portion control. For now, as long as DD is eating healthy food, remember that she's just trying to get calories to grow a healthy little body. Think of all the energy a toddler uses!

NHbride129

Sounds just like my dd.  She is 99th percentile for height and weight and eats more than my 3 yr old.  Are you or your H tall?  We are a tall family so it makes sense for us.