Hi All, I was just wondering if your toddlers had a round pot belly? my son is almost 15mths old he has a varied diet but does get chocolate or a bit of cake or chips etc regular he eats a lot and still has about 3-4 bottles of formula a day (toddler formula and has water throughout the day as well, he wont drink cows milk hates the taste) he does have veggies and fruit every day so hes not really unhealthy, my son is almost running (walking from 10mths) he is tall and about 13kgs he is not a mega chubby kid more of a solid build but just has a pot belly. His dad raised the concern about his belly to me and wants to limit his junk intake to help this but i believe its just normal for a kid his age to have a belly like this, his dad and I both have a sweet tooth and his dad loves his junk food, i did point out that if dad wants to limit our sons junk intake that he will have to lead by example lol but it just got me wondering if everyone else' toddlers had the Buddha belly
10 Replies
Is there a reason he's still on that many bottles of formula a day? And by formula, do you mean stage 2 or stage 3? I'd have a chat to your MHN about ways to decrease the amount of bottles or start adding more water into them and weaning him off.
It doesn't sound like there's a problem at all, my son isn't even a year old yet and 12kg with a big pot belly :) it all disappears eventually!
I don’t think a 15 month old needs junk food. Save it for parties when he’s older, there will be plenty of opportunities!
I would start by reducing the bottles. Sounds like he is eating just fine. So his need for formula isnt really requid. He doesnt need to have any milk , as long as he eats cheese or yoghurt to get his calcium requirements. Id probably reduce junk food intake. He may end up refusing the goods for as the sugar addiction takes hold. Ive never had the buddah belly toddler. Have seen many and not all are from bad diets(work in healthcare.)
My bubs is 17 months 12.5kgs and extremely active (everyone comments on it, even ransoms at the shop!!). He has a pot belly so I think that's normal. I would though be concerned about junk food if it's excessive. Also I would reduce formula intake. As long as he is having other stuff with calcium and lots of water than all should be fine.
At 15 months he shouldn't really be drinking that much milk (cows milk or formula) so I'd try and cut back a bit. I think you're right in saying you need to lead by example though, now would be a great time for you both to reevaluate your relationships with food and your overall lifestyle.
A round belly in toddlers is normal but I don't think it would hurt to be more conscious of what he's eating, more so just so it sets him up for good lifelong eating habits!
At 15 months he shouldn't really be drinking that much milk (cows milk or formula) so I'd try and cut back a bit. I think you're right in saying you need to lead by example though, now would be a great time for you both to reevaluate your relationships with food and your overall lifestyle.
A round belly in toddlers is normal but I don't think it would hurt to be more conscious of what he's eating, more so just so it sets him up for good lifelong eating habits!
A small belly like from bloating needing to poop I think is fine but it shouldn't be really big and shouldn't last. Everytime I've seen a child with a pot belly it was from eating bad foods but it can also be from a health condition. If you don't think your child eats bad enough to have such a belly I would get her checked by a paediatrian. bloated belly isn't necceraily from eating alot of bad foods it's just because shes still technecally a baby her body can't handle all the oil and processed foods. You might find a improvement quite fast if you completely cut out junk. if it doesn't seek a doctors help and get her check for health conditions. she shouldn't be drinking over 600mls of milk. doesn't matter if she doesn't like milk cut out formula and stick with water. she can have cheese and yogurt instead
My little girl had hers until about 4, do t stress we’re all a different shape x
I’m sure your son is completely normal. Lots of toddlers have that gorgeous tummy. However, my daughter was one of those kids that had a pot belly and I would always mention it to friends who said it was normal. It wasn’t until she was 3 years old and I took her to a doctor (who wasn’t our regular gp) she commented how pale my daughter was to which I replied was normal. To cut a long story short the doctor wanted to test her for coeliacs disease, the blood tests came back positive so she underwent a endoscopy which confirmed she had coeliacs. We immediately put her on a gluten free diet and within months her belly disappeared.
My son was 2, pot belly and pale. Tested for coeliacs but he had a liver tumour 😱
All good now