Do you think your toddler overeats but can’t figure out the basis of your concerns? Let me help you. Toddler eating patterns swing a lot from refusing food to being insatiable. So, being a parent it’s not unusual to be concerned about your child’s relationship with food.
Toddlers are usually big eaters owing to their greater activity and agility. However, besides hunger, some other factors can also initiate a toddler overeating behavior. Research has shown a positive correlation between toddler overeating and emotional regulation.
Why does my toddler eat so much? Is it owing to hunger or are you missing something? Don’t worry. Your all questions will be answered in this article. We will thoroughly discuss toddler overeating symptoms, the possible underlying causes, potential health risks, and some effective tactics to handle it. Let’s start!
Why do toddler overeat?
Hunger and nutrition are the right reasons to eat. But that isn’t the case always. Overeating is a multifactored problem rather than a mere food problem. Here are some reasons that can make your toddler always feel hungry;
- Excessive Hunger owing to greater physical activity
- Growth spurts
- Boredom
- Food variety(they often like junk and party foods high in calories)
- Emotions like frustration or distress
The toddler’s overeating symptoms
The toddler phase is a period of growth, development, increased metabolism, and physical activity. So, a change in eating habits is quite usual during this time. But, you shouldn’t shrug off your shoulders if your child shows the following apparent signs of overeating;
1. She grazes all the time
Children usually need food every 3 to 4 hours as their potion size is small and they can’t take large intermeal intervals. However, if your toddler is constantly eating snacks or cookies all the time no matter whether she is hungry or not, it’s a very obvious sign that she is overeating.
2. She craves for junk food
One reason your baby ate too much may be her extra craving for junk food. As junk food is poor in satiety and nutrients and high in calories, it’s very likely for the children to intake calories beyond need.
3. She is gaining weight
Many parents ignore the difference between being healthy and overweight. If your toddler is gaining weight without any change in length, probably it’s time to revise her eating schedule.
4. Eating is her coping mechanism
Emotional feeding is a common overeating behavior among toddlers. If your child sees the food as the only way to get through boredom, distress, or frustration, it’s a matter of concern.
5. Her stomach aches frequently
Discomfort after eating is one of the toddler’s overeating symptoms. This is because a toddler’s gut is growing with time and can’t digest large portions of food.
6. She plays while sitting in one place
Overeating makes the toddlers lethargic and sluggish. If your toddler doesn’t like moving around, it might be a sign that her belly remains too full to play.
Health risks of toddler overeating
A child’s balanced relationship with food is a primary determinant of their overall health, growth, and development. So, excessive eating in childhood can sometimes lead to serious outcomes;
Short-term effects
- Digestive issues: Overeating often results in bloating or gas in the stomach. This can cause stomach aches.
- Behavioral changes: Children often get irritated when something is going wrong with their health. This will manifest as reduced playtime.
- Sleep disturbances: Nausea and belly ache caused by overeating won’t let your toddler sleep peacefully. She will be hard to put asleep and can wake up with crying fits at night.
Long-term health risks
- Obesity: Prolonged overeating in childhood leads to obesity among children as their eating signals are upregulated.
- Adverse cardiometabolic profile: Research has shown that persistent overeating and obesity in childhood results in problems like hyperlipidemia or hypercholesterolemia in adolescence.
Tips to control toddler overeating symptoms
Toddler dining is a challenging task like many other parenting challenges. The way you train her hunger centers in childhood will have a lifelong impact on her eating habits. Here are some effective tips to prevent your child from overeating;
1. Train her taste buds to healthy meals
This is the first step to prevent toddler overeating while providing him with sufficient nutrients. Healthy foods like grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products are nutrient-dense. This way they will feel full after eating fewer calories. So, explore some healthy dinner and lunch ideas.
2. Avoid unnecessary snacking
Unhealthy snacks being high calorie diets are a big obstacle in the way of a toddler’s balanced eating. Try to introduce fruits and salad as snacks.
3. Schedule the mealtimes
This is a great way to prevent toddler overeating symptoms. Three meals and two snacks ( one between breakfast and lunch and the second one between lunch and dinner) are sufficient for your toddler. Moreover, potion control can also be helpful in this regard. Use smaller plates with variety of food and limit refills.
4. Don’t give her a chocolate to prevent tantrums
Emotional feeding is directly related to overeating. Parents usually use this tactic to distract their toddlers. But, in the long run, your child starts to perceive eating as a comfort mechanism. So, manage her tantrums in other ways like hugging, naps, etc.
5. Be a good role model
Children do what they see. To bring a balance to your toddler’s dining, your eating habits should be well-disciplined too. If your child is exposed to eating episodes after every couple of hours, she is likely to overeat. So, good parenting demands you to be wise in your meal choices and mealtimes.
6. Instill physical activity in your toddler’s life
Encourage active sports and exercise. This way even if they eat more, they will be able to burn the extra calories.
7. Encourage self-feeding
Spoon feeding is also another reason behind toddler overeating symptoms. This makes them eat even when they are not hungry. Also, it is important to keep the screens away to prevent overfeeding toddlers.
8. Seek expert opinion
If you are unable to manage your toddler excessive eating behaviour by the aforementioned tacts, it’s better to visit a pediatrician to rule out any underlying disorder.
The bottom line
Toddlers are unpredictable eaters. Their appetite varies a lot owing to their variabler growth rate. Being a good mother, you need to monitor their eating behaviour vigilently to avoid any sort of overeating or undereating. It’s not about being a food police, simple and mindful moves can do wonders.
Healthy childhood eating behavior enables toddlers to recognize their hunger signals and make lifetime healthy eating habits. Save your child from the lifetime distress!