Caloric Intake for Preschooler

I've started talking with my daughter about why we eat. Sometimes she says she wants something to eat and I'll ask her if she wants to eat because she's hungry or because she just wants to eat. If she just wants to eat, we find something engaging to do away from the dining table. So far, it's worked every time. She's on the lean side but we're trying to set healthy eating habits.

Calories are only part of the equation. I think that's why it's not really talked about. I agree with Amber's comments about sodium in most foods. We really need to learn to read labels and understand the balance of carbs, proteins, fats at different ages for proper development, the impact of sodium and sugars vs. fiber, etc.

The reason you can't really say that a child needs "1500" calories/day is that everyone's metabolisms are so different. It's the same for adults. The average adult should get ~2000 calories/day, but there are so many variables. We all know people who can literally eat anything, have had multiple kids, and will never be bigger than a size 2 while the rest of us rely on spandex to make most of our clothes fit.

Metabolic issues are really poorly understood by scientists and physicians. There are so many influences from activity levels to hormones, diet, etc.

Here's what the American Academy of Pediatrics says on their parenting website, HealthyChildren.org, by doing a simple search on calories. You can also look by age to see what "Feeding and Nutrition" recommendations they have:
http://www.healthychildren.org/english/search/pages/resul...

You have some good answer here. I will just add that you need to enforce some rules like where and when to eat. We eat at the same time, 3 times per day and on the table. We have "family fun night" when we eat pizza in the leaving room watching a movie. There is "no food in the car" rule and guess what, my car is clean and smells good. I hope I was helpful. Good luck!

I, personally, think monitoring a preschooler's calorie intake is setting a bad example. I think a better route to go would be to just always offer healthy options and eat good yourself to set a precedence for your child. I know we don't want our kids to be unhealthy, but I don't think keeping track of calories at that age is necessary. Just make sure your child stays active, eats healthy and she should be just fine. If you did choose to monitor her calories, what would you tell her if she's reached her daily calorie limit and she still wanted a snack? Then she'd spend the rest of her life counting calories and being a slave to the scale and calorie number. I think she'll have enough of having to do that once she's an adult, a 5 year old should not have to worry about that. As far as eating food when she knows it is there, just say it's not snack time yet and don't give it to her. Also, if you are concerned about her weight, I wouldn't be offering a snack pack--maybe some fruit or a yogurt instead. Good luck!

The salt in frozen foods is even scarier! Same with Spagehettio's and canned foods, the salt is outrageous. However, if you think about meals for adults I try to stay within 300-400 calories per meal, and try to do the same for the kids. I think it's fine once in a while to have those foods, but like you said, only in moderation as they are not nutritionally healthy for the most part. I also pack snacks for my kids and let them know that we are saving them for wherever we are going and that they are not allowed to have them until we get there. I would make sure before you leave, she eats a good meal, and then won't be hungry and thinking about food the whole time. I think everything is fine in moderation and if she eats relatively healthy most of the time and gets her exercise, there is no reason to even really worry about calories at her age.

I was wondering that myself because my daughter tends to be a grazer and I worry about her getting enough... I checked the gerber website and it said toddlers need about 1000 calories ( I however think thats quite a bit for a younger toddler) BUT since I am assuming your toddler is older than mine you should check the website because they offer meal time ideas that you could at least get some sort of an idea.....

Also, I don't think that a frozen dinner once in awhile is bad even if its 450 calories if she is eating it... You have to do what works for you, or in this case grammy. Obviously a prepared meal is better. Maybe you could take means that are in the babyfood isle that are complete meals made for "toddlers/preschoolers" to grammys that way you know what she is eating is healthy. I don't really know if this helps, but I thought I would share! Good Luck!!

I think it's more important to consider the quality of the food/calories rather than quantity. There is a big difference between eating 450 calories worth of candy and soda and 450 calories of processed frozen meals and 450 calories worth of fresh, whole foods. I think the Dr. Sears book probably has caloric guidelines for children. Also Dr. Sears really likes smoothies for kids. I've been making myself nutritional smoothies in the mornings because I don't have time to get all that health stuff packed into a compact meal in other ways, and it's been great. It was hard to get in the habit at first, but now it's just automatic. But, basically I believe the basic guideline for average women is 1500/day. You can scale that down for your kids, but then add in a bit because they have higher metabolism and are growing.

We try to stick with the last option as much as possible, which surprisingly does not really take that much time to prepare (pop some chicken in the oven, rice in the cooker, steam some veggies), we resort to the middle option, like mac-n-cheese or just pasta with sauce and peas when we don't have the other on hand (or 50 minutes for the chicken to bake), and we do not have any candy or soda.

If you just have healthy foods around, you won't have to worry about the calories. I think cheese is great because it's filling, doesn't hurt their teeth, and is nutritious. Personally I have a chocolate weakness, but I strictly keep it in the closet- at work! So my son never sees it.

Best wishes!

If this starts being a problem I would take her to the doctor. Not to scare you and probably isn't her problem but just so you are aware that there is a disease out there (saw it on Mystery Diagnosis) where a child will eat and eat and hide it from people and gain weight and they never seem full. They are in fact starving and no amount of food can satisfy them. I can't remember what the diagnosis was but the disease can be controlled.

This is NOT to say your child has this but definitely watch, be aware, and take her to the doctor if this starts to become a problem with her eating and eating and never seeming full.

You also might go on the internet and scope behavior out.

Again, it also may be a phase she is going through. I would also see if something is out on the internet that tells you the number of calories that a child her age should have.

Again, this is NOT to scare you but just be aware. This is a rare problem so probably not an issue but just to be aware.

N.