Toddlers & Milk

[Van007]

My 22 month old boy weights about 16kg's (not sure of his height). Up to a few months ago he ate really well (balanced diet of fruit, veggies and meat). He still loves his fruit but has started to not eat as much. He will during the course of a day have a few spoons of breakfast (normally cereal with milk), snack during the morning on jogurt. Have lunch of a about 3 bites of what ever is served, snack in the afternoon on fruit and maybe some peanuts and raisons. Supper will be another 3 spoonfuls of what ever we are eating. He has however started upping his milk intake and insists on having more milk than food. I give him a multi vitamin every morning, he is healthy. He does however not sleep very well and wakes up every morning at about 3h00 and just can't settle in a again. My concern is can the bigger milk intake is influencing his eating habits and minimizing the iron intake for my understanding is also that a shortage in iron intake might cause interupted sleeping patterns. He is a very busy little boy and I am worried that he is not getting enough in to sustain his busy little life.

[Renee Radenberg]

Your son is normal for his age. At 2 years old, some children start to become picky with their foods. If he likes pedisure, then use that instead of milk if appetite declines for extra nutrients. Mealtime need to be enjoyable for your child and for you. If you are concerned he will not eat other foods when he has the pedisure, then give him 4ozs during the meal and 4ozs at the end or only give it between meals. He will be getting less pedisure and may eat more regular foods. The way to gauge he is consuming the proper nutrients is that he continues to gain weight and grows. I hope this helped you. Thank you.