# Is my toddler eating too many bananas? (x-posted in Nutrition)



## liliaceae (May 31, 2007)

My 22 month old eats about 3 or 4 bananas a day, and they make up the bulk of his diet. It's the only food he'll eat a large quantity of. In a typical day, he'll eat: 3 or 4 bananas, 1 scrambled egg, 1 piece of buttered toast, 1 yogurt, 1 jar of pureed vegetable, 1 jar of pureed fruit, and a little bit of whatever we're having for dinner (usually chicken of some sort).

Do you think this diet is balanced enough? Are too many bananas bad for you?

ETA: He also nurses once a day, if that makes a difference.


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## MommaMoo (Nov 16, 2005)

Well, my DS used to eat a banana or two per day, and now he's off of them. He had a blood test to see what foods he has intolerances to, and bananas turned out to be a bad one for him. I was surprised, but his naturopath said that bananas are a common food for kids to have difficulty with. Just my







:


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## BusyBeeMom (May 15, 2005)

I would not allow my kids to eat that much of a specific fruit. I prefer less sugar, and more fats/proteins/fiber. I don't know where the "too much" line is exactly...

My kids are fruit junkies and would eat nothing else if they had it their way. They are 1.5 & 3.5. They basically eat whatever I'm eating for meals, and then can have 1/2 to 1 piece of fruit after meals as "dessert." For snacks, I usually offer something like olives or cheese or nuts, but sometimes I'll split a piece of fruit between them.


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

Does he poop? If so, and it's soft still and regular, then I wouldn't stress over it too much. Keep offering him other fruits of course, though. 3-4 bananas sounds excessive for an adult, much less a toddler, but my toddler eats 2 peanut butter and honey sandwiches some days so there you have it.









No way could she eat more than 1/2 a banana a day though. It stops her up way too bad otherwise.


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## liliaceae (May 31, 2007)

Actually it's weird but bananas don't constipate him at all. Don't know why. And the thing is, he won't eat any other fruit--not a single one--unless it's pureed. The only vegetable he'll sometimes eat is broccoli, although he will eat pureed veggies. I guess I could try to substitute more baby food for a couple of the bananas.


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## sweetpeppers (Dec 19, 2007)

lol, I eat 10-12 bananas per day, they are actually one of the most perfect foods for humans there is. let him eat as many bananas as he wants


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## BusyBeeMom (May 15, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sweetpeppers* 
lol, I eat 10-12 bananas per day











Wow! Do you eat much else??? That's got to make up the majority of your calories/food intake!

They are yummy...


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## cpop (May 3, 2006)

I don't know about your kid, but my kids tend to get fixated on a food and they will eat mainly that food for like a month and then switch to something else. I bet he'll get over the bananas pretty soon. But you could get him checked out for food intollerance since they sometimes crave a food they are intollerant to.


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## sweetpeppers (Dec 19, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BusyBeeMom* 









Wow! Do you eat much else??? That's got to make up the majority of your calories/food intake!

They are yummy...

I do eat other things, but I pretty much only eat fruits and vegetables and nuts, and bananas are the cheapest in that category. They are like my staple food instead of grains or beans or something. I mix them up in smoothies mostly, but I like to eat them like a monkey as well.














: They are amazingly good for you though.


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## Qestia (Sep 26, 2005)

My son's been through banana phases too, I think it lasted pretty long, like from 18-24 months. I would keep offering other foods, but not sweat it.


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## ernalala (Mar 30, 2008)

Funny, my now almost 2,5yo has been craving for bananas, and eating them,
for many months too







:




























! He eats 1 to two bananas daily and if I would let him he would eat (many) more of them. He wants to eat them 'like a monkey', if I cut them up or mash them in food (thsat way you could invisibly limit banana intake if you want) he will eat that when I offer him, but if he SEES me cutting or mashing bananas he gets really mad







: at me for not leaving them whole, the way he likes it LOL. When we don't have bananas at home (well since his craving them that hardly happens







) he really really is upset and keeps on asking for bananas. It is apparently his favourite food. And he does eat a lot of other foods, too: fruit, dried fruits, crazy about nuts too, bread, cheese, yoghurt and just about anything he can get his hands on







. He's a through the day snacker







:. And eating well at the table. We've been hiding some of our foods because he would spill too often or have a bite of too many single fruits . We left dried fruits and nuts accessible so it's fun for him and not too much trouble for us (always cleaning his mess up). Fridge door got a lock. Bananas will be hidden when he already had too many or keeps on asking for more. I really think he should eat the other foods we offer in reasonable amounts .
If bananas are large I prefer to give him only 1 daily, if they're more moderatly sized he can have two. Only he doesn't see the logic in this, yet.
His stools are very good, and too be honest, verrry mashy (or shall I say messy?) and verrry frequent but he seems ok to me. Would an intolerance to the food not give him bothersome symptoms?

Ironically, our eldest had always problems with stools that are too hard, sometimes severe constipation, and infrequent bowel movements, so his banana intake is really limited, luckily he doesn't crave them and understands why he cannot eat them as much as his little brother.


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## AutumnMama (Jan 2, 2004)

That's so funny...bananas have never constipated my DC. Quite the opposite effect actually!

My youngest DS has been craving both bananas and avocados lately. I think he must be going through a growth spurt.

I do try to limit the bananas to about 2 a day though.


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## CameronsMama (Apr 2, 2007)

DS has always loved bananas, and he eats at least one a day, often 2. He asks more often than that, but I usually don't give him more than 2 a day. I guess it would't really hurt to have more than that sometimes, but 3 or 4 seems like a lot for everyday. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, bananas are good for him, and he'll probably grow out of the bananaobsession eventually.


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## lindsayjean (Jun 17, 2006)

I personally wouldn't stress about it- just maybe offer him some other things- but a banana is better than... a piece of cake! My DD goes in spurts where she's obsessed with one kind of food. I just keep trying to offer her different things... which sometimes she refuses, but I think I read some place that it take like 8 (or some high number) amount of times offering something for a kids to truly decide to like/detest it.


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