Toddlers generally do a pretty good job of regulating their own food intake. They tend to stop when they are no longer hungry, although they are particularly vulnerable to candies and goodies. You can best monitor your child’s weight through the use of a growth chart.

A growth chart will tell you how your toddler is physically developing. It will track not only your child’s weight, but his measurements as well. During your regular well child visits to your pediatrician or health care provider, your child’s measurements will be recorded and you will be able to find out where your child falls in comparison to other children - their growth percentile.

If your toddler is gaining weight in a way that outpaces the way that she is growing in height, you might want to watch his eating and activity patterns. While variations are common, especially among toddlers, rapid weight gain can be indicative of another problem. A dramatic increase is of much more concern than a child who falls into the higher percentiles. It is more important that your toddler is growing at a steady pace, than if he is larger (or smaller) than other toddlers his age.

If your child falls in a high percentile, usually above 90 or 95 percent, your health care provider may consider your toddler to be overweight. If this is the case, the health care provider will likely want to keep an eye on your toddler to make sure that he isn’t on his way to being obese. Your health care provider might talk to you about your toddler’s diet, and try to rule out conditions such as problems with the thyroid that can contribute to the toddler’s weight.

Small toddlers often grow up to be healthy or even overweight adults, and even larger heavier toddlers can wind up being beanpoles. Again, the consistent growth pattern is much more important that the actual weight of your toddler.

Posted in Baby and Toddler

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