show me your childrens portions!

[kbwebb]

just interested really if the portions i give DD are big or little compared to what everyone else gives

 

[Natasha2605]

I have no actual pictures but your thread reminded me of this article I was discussing with OH last week :

https://www.netmums.com/children/toddler-portion-sizes

I cannot believe that some kids would be happy with such tiny portions, let alone that that is what they are 'meant' to have.

For example, Summer will eat half a cucumber or a whole carrot 'just' for a snack. Maci will easily eat half a packet of grapes or blueberries in a sitting.

And I could imagine their faces if I gave them 1/2 a chocolate digestive biscuit haha!

I'm not much help to what you asked for, sorry. But my kids eat a lot of often, mostly healthy and they love their fruits and veggies.

A typical lunch for my 4 year old would be a ham sandwich, 10 grapes, 2 handfuls of blueberries, a yogurt. Then she'd snack on raisins or crisps or something in the afternoon before dinner.

 

[lau86]

Mine have toddler plates and I just make it look like it would on an adult plate if that makes sense? They eat a lot more than ten pieces of pasta in one serving!! (Just read the article). Eg I'm having a lazy Friday and put a veg pizza on for them, a normal adult one. I imagine they will eat 1/3 of the pizza each
Eta my eldest is thin as a rake, ds2 built differently but no where near overweight. I would be more careful if they were bigger. They eat a balanced diet.

 

[wishuwerehere]

My 2 year old would eat very similar portion sizes to those in Natasha's link. Unless it's a biscuit or fruit! :eyeroll:
My 6 year old will eat not far off an adult portion, but she is so skinny and hyper.

 

[Rainbow82]

My ten month old eats at least the upper amounts in that article. As an example yesterday he ate:
B. One egg scrambled with about half a slice of toast spread with dairy free cheese and about ten blueberries

Snack carrot sticks

L. Six bean chilli (3 tbsp), rice( 2 tbsp) a whole pear and approx 50ml dairy free yoghurt.

Snack. Green beans

Dinner. A whole sausage, five tbsp mash, carrots and pepper sticks. Followed by two mango sticks dipped in dairy free yoghurt.
He also has six oz of milk early morning and late night.

Today he was at nursery and ate about the same for breakfast and dinner but more substantial snacks and a second portion of fish pie for lunch!

He is only 25th percentile fir weight and just above 50th for height. I can't imagine him being happy with 1/4 sausage, 1tbsp mash and two carrot sticks! When teething he eats about half of his usual amount and loses weight pretty quickly.

 

[.Mrs.B.]

Interesting thread. Mine really vary with how much they eat, so I often end up giving a large portion 'just incase' and then it goes to waste. They eat so much when it's one of their favourite foods but more often than not they just have a couple of spoons of dinner, so probably the same as what's shown in the link. They would eat about 10 sausages though if I let them.
They seem to eat loads of breakfast, my DD is nearly 2 and eats 2 weetabix plus half a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast.

 

[wishuwerehere]

Mrs b i find if i offer a very small portion and the option of seconds my kids tend to eat more than if i put a big portion on to start, and it means i can save the leftovers if they aren't eating much

 

[kbwebb]

Thanks for the link
I think that i do give big portions, like others i worry about her finishing and still being hungry, she rarely finishes her plate so probably eats the reccomended amounts really. although tonight i did gve a smaller portion and she finished her plate and said she was full. although i do find some things on the list she would definatly eat more of, for example it says one yogurt but she can eat four at times (she gets one at a time and keeps asking for another)

 

[smileyfaces]

I think the portions on the link seem tiny? I defo give more than that. Should probably cut down a bit...

 

[Banshee]

I think my boys probably eat about those portions sizes in the article. We use small plates and they rarely finish a meal. I figure they can always ask for more if they're hungry.

 

[jodilee6]

Just looked at that article, if i gave DS1 portions that size he'd give his plate back and ask for more!

Today he's has..

B- 1x weetabix & his handful of Frosties
S- jam sandwich (1x slice bread) & 1/2 glass milk
L- beans on toast (1x slice bread, 1/2 tin beans)
D- chicken roast - 2x roast potatoes (average size uncooked potato) 2x broccoli florets, about 1x average carrot cut into batons, 2x slices chicken breast
P- 1x Lindt chocolate & handful raspberries
Cup of milk at bedtime

I'd say that's about an average days worth of food, tho it's usually fruit for a snack but haven't been shopping yet hence the jam sandwich!

 

[AngelofTroy]

My 3yo eats an enormous breakfast as soon as he wakes up every day! He can easily eat 2 wheatabix, with bran flakes and fruit on top, and ask for and polish off a slice of toast and peanut butter and a glass if milk straight after! That's probably ridiculous but he's so hungry at that time. He's usually still ready for a healthy snack (fruit either dried or fresh) by time we leave the house about 8.30am!

He eats less as the day goes on but definitely more fruit than the article suggests (I don't limit fruit and veg). I am careful about bread, cheese and things like cake as I know he'd eat more than he should of those things if he had the chance. But overall I think he eats more than the article suggests.

 

[minties]

I think my kids ate as daintily as that article suggested when they were 8-12 months old, certainly a lot more than that these days!

Sophie has a small breakfast and some days none at all until we've walked Thomas to school, but if I offered her half a slice of bread and 4 chips in a meal she would think I was bananas. She eats a much wider variety than Thomas and I'm happy they both eat a good amount.

 

[Natasha2605]

Watching Maci eat her lunch reminded me of this thread again. This morning for breakfast she had a pancake with butter, an apple, some strawberries and a yogurt. For snack in nursery she said she had crackers. Then for lunch she's just ate a dairylea dunker, a muiller strawberry yogurt, 6 blackberries, handful or blueberries, 6 raspberries and some prawn cocktail crisps.

She would definitely think I was starving her if I offered her as little as those portions suggest

 

[KatieB]

Actually, I would say Louis often eats a similar amount shown in the link. It doesn't seem enough to me in all honesty. He eats a bit more pasta than shown, if we're lucky! More than 4 chips definitely. Alex eats better than Louis does but is going through a picky phase. Both are very active so I wonder how they get by on so little sometimes.

Neither are fussed over breakfast and I wish they would eat a decent breakfast but I can't force them.

Louis is very slender but he comes and goes with his eating, although he never eats much in one sitting. Alex had a small wholemeal chicken sandwich, a few grapes and strawberry yoghurt for lunch today. I know he had milk and a pear at nursery this morning.

 

[MindUtopia]

Personally, I take the approach of offering as much as she wants of anything healthy. We don't normally eat anything I wouldn't want her eating lots of in our house if she was still hungry. But yes, I would say we use toddler sized plates and proportionally I add the same as what we would put on our own plates. And then if she wants more she can have more. The only thing I limit would be things that would be a treat, like if we had cake for someone's birthday, or ice cream, or chocolate, but that doesn't happen often.

A typical meal would be pasta with some sort of vegetable based sauce with cheese and broccoli. I'd probably offer about 1/2-3/4 cup pasta topped with sauce and grated cheese and then maybe 2 big broccoli florets. Then for pudding she might have a bowl of grapes (again maybe 3/4 of a cup) or a pear.

Tonight we're having spanakopita (greek spinach pie) with roasted sweet potato chips and pickeled beetroot. She'll probably have a piece of spanakopita that is about the size of a deck of cards, 3-4 sweet potato chips, and 1-2 pickled beetroot. If she wanted more, I'd offer her more of any of that if I had it as it's mostly veg anyway. And then she'll probably have a bowl of blueberries (maybe about 3/4 cup) as I have some leftover from lunch yesterday that I need to get rid of.

 

[Cjayne]

I give portions that are way too big, but tell DS's that they don't have to finish it. I've started to realise though that if I offer less, they ask for more.. instead of tonnes being wasted.

DS1 has 2 weetabix, or 1 weetabix and 1 toast. Maybe 2 crumpets (only eats the middles) but that's the most of all he eats all day. Lunch he might eat some grapes and some cheese.. that's it. Dinner, he eats about 1/3 of a small childrens plate, it's awful! Probably why he's 28lbs at 4.

DS2 is 11 months. He eats 2 whole toast for breakfast, and raisins. Or similar. e will not stop eating until I stop giving it to him! Probably why he's 23lbs at less than 1 haha. x

 

[Abz1982]

I have no actual pictures but your thread reminded me of this article I was discussing with OH last week :

https://www.netmums.com/children/toddler-portion-sizes

I cannot believe that some kids would be happy with such tiny portions, let alone that that is what they are 'meant' to have.

For example, Summer will eat half a cucumber or a whole carrot 'just' for a snack. Maci will easily eat half a packet of grapes or blueberries in a sitting.

And I could imagine their faces if I gave them 1/2 a chocolate digestive biscuit haha!

I'm not much help to what you asked for, sorry. But my kids eat a lot of often, mostly healthy and they love their fruits and veggies.

A typical lunch for my 4 year old would be a ham sandwich, 10 grapes, 2 handfuls of blueberries, a yogurt. Then she'd snack on raisins or crisps or something in the afternoon before dinner.

The portion sizes on that site are what my DS eats. He eats hardly anything but puts on weight just looking at food! He is rarely hungry but full of energy.