Insatiable Appetite In Toddler

[tigerlily6200]

I am a celiac and have noticed a troubling behavior in my 2 year old. She is constantly eating. She finishes eating, then will turn around and want more. Could this be a sign of celiac?

[kareng]

I suppose....

But.... If she is active and growing, maybe she just needs more food then you are giving her? Maybe a different balance of foods - fiber, fats, proteins?

My 2 boys always ate differently from each other. The one that was 3 years younger always ate more than the older one starting at about 18 months. I would have an 18 month old eating more than the 4 1/2 year old. But the younger one would eat more veggies and fruit - not as filling as the large amounts of milk and PB & cheese the older one ate. They also would go through times when they would eat a ton. Then a week or so later - they were outgrowing their shoes or the pants were too short.

It can be a sign of other problems, too. But I wouldn't jump to those just yet.

[tigerlily6200]

I started keeping a food journal and the foods she wants the most are grains. My husband and kids still eat whole grains. It's mostly healthy. Perhaps I could add more protein. I'm just really at a loss.

 

It's really starting to concern me.

[kareng]

I started keeping a food journal and the foods she wants the most are grains. My husband and kids still eat whole grains. It's mostly healthy. Perhaps I could add more protein. I'm just really at a loss.

 

It's really starting to concern me.

She wants more cereal or crackers? Or bread? Those are fun foods. Maybe that's all it is?

[seejenrun]

Maybe schedule a visit to her pediatrician. See if she is normal on the height/weight charts. It very well could be a growth spurt as kareng suggested.

[StephanieL]

Kids eat. A lot. I wouldn't be looking for trouble where there doesn't seem to be any.  Mine asks for more while still chewing the last bite of the last thing she ate. 

[beth01]

That is how I knew growth spurts were hitting my kids, they ate all the time when they weren't sleeping.  It would last weeks to months and then we would be shopping for everything because nothing fit.

 

Would you worry if you weren't a celiac?

[tigerlily6200]

I'm not sure if I'd worry if I wasn't a celiac. It very well could be just a growth spurt or that she's different than my other two children. I have two others that barely eat anything.

 

Maybe I'm just overreacting. I did make an appointment just to chat with the pediatrician next week. I really don't want to go into appointment and say something off the wall where the pediatrician dismisses me all together. Make sense? I guess I was just wondering if other parents had seen this in their kids and it turned out to go away on a gluten-free diet and was possibly bc of not absorbing nutrients etc.

 

Maybe over the weekend I'll just introduce more protein at the start of her day and go from there.

 

Thanks everyone.

[africanqueen99]

Like Stephanie, my kids will often ask about the next meal while we are currently eating.  They're a little food obsessed!

 

I'm not sure if this is your only child, but that whole toddler/pre-school crowd *loves* carbs.  I've seen kids turn into little piranhas around Goldfish!