Help My Son Doesn't Want to Stop Eating!

I went through a similar situation with my oldest child who is now 7. She was always in the 95 percentile or sometimes even off the charts for both height and weight. She loved to eat and seemed to need to eat all the time. I physically had to remove the food from her because she never seemed to feel full. I tried to just provide healthy options like fruit, whole grains, and natural foods. We didn't really give her juice, just milk and water and we switched to skim milk.I remember being very concerned about how much she was eating, but my pediatrician was not. He was right! She eventually grew out of this eating pattern. She's still tall for her age, but in the 75th percentile for weight. In fact, she looks pretty slim now! Our pediatrician was never concerned because he felt her growth was within normal range and followed a curve and we kept her very active. I think you shouldn't stress too much about it. Provide healthy snacks and meals, keep him active, and it will all work out.

Allow him to have extra servings at meal times or snacks of vegetables only. If he eats those then he probably really is hungry and needs more food. When I say vegetables I mean ones that are low in starch, not corn, potatoes, peas or beans. Make sure his meals are balanced, that he eats protein, starch, and vegetables at the same time. This can help stabilize his blood sugar which makes a person less hungry.

Kids aren't like most of us adults, they actually know when they are full and will stop! Unless they have been trained to eat while watching TV or eat while they are bored, then you have no worries. He most likely is hungry!

If you are feeding him healthy foods and he is getting out and moving then do not worry!! My son is 3.5 and eats a lot too. I give him 3 healthy meals a day, plus snacks in between. I'd say he eats about every 3 hours.

Best wishes,
M.

Hi

well there are a few things I hoped you talked to your doctor about, one, thyroid, two a slow metabolism or he just could be going thru a growth spurt. You may have to do the out of sight out of reach for the kitchen. Keep him active with anything that does not show food products. Puzzles, books etc.. Please make sure you have your doctors run test and keep up with the healty food.

He's 18 months and more active. He needs to eat. As the others have said, offer healthy food and balanced meals and snacks. And let him eat.