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Home › Expert Q&A › Fitness and Diet › My daughter does not have a long enough attention span to sit still at a meal and fill up. How do I get her to eat enough during the day so that she doesn't eat in the middle of the night and is she getting enough nutrients from the combination of adult food and three bottles of Isomil a day?

Expert Q&A

 

By Sanna James Delmonico
Registered Dietician

I am the mother of a very lively 2-year-old. My daughter does not have a long enough attention span to sit still at a meal and fill up. She seems to eat enough only to satisfy her immediate hunger pang and once that's gone, she stops eating. The problem is that she seems to complete her food needs in the middle of the night. She is still having a bottle of Isomil before she goes to sleep and then another one usually around 1 a.m. and then again around 5 or 6 a.m. Some nights she may skip the bottle before she goes to sleep and once in a while, she skips the 1 a.m. bottle -- but not on a regular basis. My questions are: (1) how do I get her to eat enough during the day so that she doesn't eat in the middle of the night and (2) is she getting enough nutrients from the combination of adult food and three bottles of Isomil a day?

Many 2-year-olds are busy people and have a hard time sitting down to eat. You can create an environment that will help her eat well during the day. Start by serving three nutritious meals and two snacks at pretty regular times each day. Have your daughter come to the table and sit down for every meal or snack, this helps her focus on the food and eat better. Don't let her eat in front of the TV or while she plays. Eat with her whenever possible. Kids will stay longer at the table when they have company. Once she is at the table, let her eat as much (or as little) as she wants. But let her know that food is served at these meal and snack times and not in between. Avoid giving food handouts at other times. Many 2-year-olds also need a bedtime snack, and it sounds like your daughter might!

On your question of is she getting enough nutrients, it is difficult for me to say without assessing her diet in detail. Generally a healthy, growing child will eat plenty. The parent's crucial job to shop for and cook nutritious food and the child's job to decide how much to eat. I am curious as to why she is still drinking Isomil. At age 2, she can drink cow's milk or fortified soy milk.

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