Help with toddler screaming for food

[LoveMyBaby786]

Like literally! His favourite word is kah which means eat in my language. He is always screaming kah kah even after he has just eaten! This only started happening recently about a week ago straight after he recovered from being ill.
He will eat for breakfast 1 and a half weetabix with milk and leave about a spoonful. Then 20 or so minutes later he will have a massive tantrum for more food pointing at the chocolate cupbaord. I try to give him other options such as fruit but he wont have it he'll chuck it on the floor or say err and carry on with his tantrum. If I give him a cheesestring or anything else he will happily eat it so its not like he is screaming for food then wasting it. He actually does eat it which is weird as surely he should be full!
He does this throughout the whole day no lie. Every 20 or 30 mins max he will scream for 'kah-kah'.
I gave him a pack of jacobs oddities bakes cheese flavour snacks and he ate the whole packet. I havent changed his meals or anything he eats the same amount as always except now he wants snacks and food all the time.
What can I do? Do I just carry on giving him snacks because he does finish them or do I leave him? I feel really bad if I leave him as if im going to leave him to starve simply because he does eat it all.
Any advice on what other snacks I can give apart from fruit as he hates it. Im thinking of buying some dried fruit packets and giving them but what else should I be doing?

 

[AngelUK]

Hm difficult one. It might just be boredom and not real hunger. I just cannot imagine that 20 minutes after a meal his tummy can be empty again? My boys could eat their biccies all day long too I am sure, so I have to be strict. Which of course can result in a total tantrum too. But I always try and tell myself that if I give in to their tantrums, I am teaching them that tantrumming is what they have to do to get their own way and thus they will do it more and more. It isn't always easy to stick by that rule. For example, the went through a stage of screaming and crying when out in the supermarket so I would give them treats to keep them quiet and happy. But soon I realised that they now expected to get treats and they screamed more. So I gritted my teeth and never gave them any and just bore the tantrums. Now they don't scream any more as they know they won't get anything. But it was tough for a while!
Also I would avoid dried fruit as a snack, as they are very high in sugar content and stick to the teeth much more than fresh fruit.

 

[seaweed eater]

Are you letting him eat as much as he wants at each meal? If you are limiting his portions, that could be why he is hungry so soon after meals. It could also cause him to eat more because he may feel unsure about when he will next be able to fill up.

If you are letting him fill up at each meal, he shouldn't need to eat more than every 2-4 hours, so you can confidently say no.

I would highly recommend looking into Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility for feeding https://ellynsatterinstitute.org/dor/divisionofresponsibilityinfeeding.php/ -- it is a great model and a huge help for all kinds of eating-related fights and problems.

 

[LoveMyBaby786]

Yes he feeds himself and finishes when he is full. For example yesterday I didnt have time to make something so I quickly heated up a cheese and broccoli pasta the one that comes in a packet. He ate the whole packet bar a handful as he was full then 30 mins later still wants something.
Oh I never knew dried fruit was high in sugar. Do you have any other idea what I can give like dry snacks wise?

 

[AngelUK]

Hm we give Organix Goodies mini gingerbreadmen quite often and also their animal biscuits. Also, for the proper snack time after their nap they get an Organix Goodies Oaty Bar each. None of those Organix goodies have added sugar and are sweetened with grape juice. But I don't think it would be ok with feeding them those every 20 minutes through the day if you know what I mean.