Question about daughter (Is she eating too much?)

[KHADIJAH]

Ok so I havent been vegetarian long. Was going back and forth on it till I got here to Egypt. Saw how the animals are treated and decided to go all the way. I have a 15month old daughter. Im raising her vegetarian too. Well she seems to eat alot, and I was wondering if she is eating too much. She constanly eats and i give it too her, She never seems to fill up. I dont want her to be one of these big babies that u see on the maury show. so what should i do. Feed her or limit what she eats during the day. Should i space the meals out. She was 8lbs 10oz at birth, or am i worried about nothing. I thought at this age kids slow down on eating,she seems to be eating more.:lovesign:

[rabid_child]

Babies are pretty good at eating when they're hungry and stopping when they're full. Those huge babies on TV either have genetic problems that messes with their metabolism, or they have families who admittedly fill them full of fried foods and sugary treats, sometimes until they vomit.
Toddlers are constantly moving and burning energy, plus they have small stomachs so they can only take in so much at once. All the toddlers I've known have grazed all day long and none have been overweight.

[Fritemare]

Yeah, my 16 month old eats like the world is going to end. He runs around all day frantically popping grapes and other snack foods in his mouth, then sits down for dinner. I think it is just a toddler thing. I wouldn't worry too much unless you are sitting there feeding her stuff that isn't healthy. Most of the children I saw on Maury were going into the kitchen and grabbing stuff like ramen noodles with cheese and butter on them, or fried chicken. Those people LET their children get out of control.

[codemonkey]

If she's not eating junk food and not getting overweight, don't worry about it.

[The Lurker]

All kids that age do is eat, poo and cause terror

[MamaVeg]

I agree - I wouldn't worry about it at that age. Even when they're older toddlers, they will go through stages where they'll eat seemingly constantly and then others where they seem like they aren't eating much of anything at all. Just make sure you're giving her healthy foods and not things like chips, fries, etc and she should be ok. :)

[yoginisarah]

A 15 month old cannot eat too much. My son has always eaten a TON and is in the 15th percentile for weight. He literally eats more than I do and I eat a good amount. Just feed her only healthy foods and she'll eat what she wants.

[MRSSHF]

My 12 month old son eats a ton. He's pretty much always eaten a ton. This morning, the quinoa didn't cook fast enough, so he had half a banana, half a piece of toast with almond butter and fruit spread and a handful of Cheerios, plus breast milk. Then, when the quinoa was cooked, he ate half a cup of that. He's 99.5th percentile in height, but only 91st percentile in weight, which means he is a very big kid, but not fat, or at least not fatter than babies are supposed to be.

I feed Will until he doesn't want any more at meal times, and I provide plenty of snacks for him to grab as he crawls around the house.

Personally, I think the trick to keeping a child at a healthy weight is to feed him/her healthy food, model the correct behavior by eating healthy food yourself, and, most importantly, be active with your child. Will and I walk, hike, bike, swim and wrestle, and he attends a day care that encourages active play as well.

[Fritemare]

well if her diet is vegitarian based i dont see how she could gain a uncontrollable amount of weight.

You'd be surprised. Just because someone is vegetarian doesn't mean they can't be obese. Plenty of unhealthy vegetarian foods out there.

[animallover7249]

I hope you're not implying all obese vegetarians are so because they eat unhealthy foods all the time. I can tell you that's not the case.

I dont think she was saying that, just saying that people can eat junkfood veggie diets, not just omni diets. of course not everyone over weight eats unhealthy foods!

[yoginisarah]

well if her diet is vegitarian based i dont see how she could gain a uncontrollable amount of weight.

One word: CHEESE.
I've known a couple overweight babies and it was because they would eat cheese almost all day long. I'm still not sure how those babies ever pooped.

[Bells]

My 12 month old son eats a ton. He's pretty much always eaten a ton. This morning, the quinoa didn't cook fast enough, so he had half a banana, half a piece of toast with almond butter and fruit spread and a handful of Cheerios, plus breast milk. Then, when the quinoa was cooked, he ate half a cup of that. He's 99.5th percentile in height, but only 91st percentile in weight, which means he is a very big kid, but not fat, or at least not fatter than babies are supposed to be.

I feed Will until he doesn't want any more at meal times, and I provide plenty of snacks for him to grab as he crawls around the house.

Personally, I think the trick to keeping a child at a healthy weight is to feed him/her healthy food, model the correct behavior by eating healthy food yourself, and, most importantly, be active with your child. Will and I walk, hike, bike, swim and wrestle, and he attends a day care that encourages active play as well.

I agree. I know several parents who are afraid to give their kids too much food because they are afraid they will get fat (I think pressure to not get fat often has the opposite effect anyway)... And, out of this fear of gaining weight, some parents actually starve their children of the fat their growing brains and bodies need.

Besides, kids grow in spurts. They may eat the whole house today, but eat next to nothing tomorrow. Listen to your child, she will tell you what she needs.

[crazy4mango]

All kids that age do is eat, poo and cause terror
Very true, very true :yes: