How many eggs for a toddler?

[SuzyLee]

DS is a very poor sleeper, and part of it is that he gets hungry in the middle of the night.

One of the only high protein foods he will eat is eggs. How many eggs would you say is too many for a 25lb. toddler? He will eat 2 whole eggs before bed sometimes. It seems like a lot for that little of a person to eat 14 eggs a week.

But, he won't eat meat, nuts go right through him still whole, he won't touch beans with a 10 foot pole... you get the idea.

We do buy local organic free range eggs if that matters.

[mommariffic]

I'm not sure, my daughter LOVES eggs

We just got chickens a bit ago, so I'm looking forward to saving money because those damn free range/organic/cage free/whatever else eggs are burning a hole in my bank account.

I try to limit her egg intake [straight eggs] to 1-3 mornings a week. Yesterday we had them for lunch at the diner, but otherwise they are a breakfast thing.

[Pinky Tuscadero]

I don't think you can eat too many eggs, esp if they're good pastured ones. FWIW, my 3 yr old will occasionally eat 6 eggs in a sitting. I don't limit eggs, I encourage them!

[Llyra]

I don't think I'd set a limit on them. I would, however, continue to offer small amounts of other high-fat, high-protein foods, too, (what about ground turkey with tomato sauce? My LOs love that.) and offer other stuff with the eggs, like fruit or veggies or whatever. But if LO, given the choices, chooses to indulge in eggs, I'd let him have however many he wants. My DD2 has been known to eat seven eggs in one sitting; my mom says I was the same at that age. If his appetite is guiding him to eggs, I wouldn't set a limit at all.

[user_name]

our 3-yr old is limited on his protein sources too, so we happily give him 3 eggs at a time about 3 or 4 times a week (more than that and i'm concerned he'll grow tired of eating them & we'll be out one more food until he's in the mood for them again (it happened when he was a little over 2).)

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by SuzyLee

DS is a very poor sleeper, and part of it is that he gets hungry in the middle of the night.

What's the other part?

[linz2491]

eggs are great for los! they need the fat for brain development and vitamin absorbtion. Encourage him to eat them.

[MayBaby2007]

DD would eat eggs every morning if I let her. I have limited it to Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (it works with my work schedule). I cook 2 eggs at a time and she usually eats every last bite.

I read an article recently that said eating eggs every day can lead to problems in adulthood (diabetes, obesity, etc). But I just did a google search to find that article...and all I can find is positive "let your kids eat all the eggs they want" articles. So....maybe I'll switch to giving eggs every day.

I take a small amount of avacado and mash it into her scrambled eggs. She doesn't know the difference I need to experiment and see what else I can get away with. Most foods are evil and icky...unless she doesn't see them

[SuzyLee]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

What's the other part?

Wouldn't I like to know.

He has never slept more than 3-4 hours at a stretch, and frequently is up every hour. Around 3-4 am he will tell us he is hungry. Other than that, beats me.

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

Just bumping this to see if anyone had any further thoughts on kids and egg consumption. I worry because one egg has like 70% of an adult's recommended maximum cholesterol and my kid will happily eat two eggs every day of the week... Do we need to worry about our toddler's cholesterol levels?!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by CrunchyMamaToBe

Just bumping this to see if anyone had any further thoughts on kids and egg consumption. I worry because one egg has like 70% of an adult's recommended maximum cholesterol and my kid will happily eat two eggs every day of the week... Do we need to worry about our toddler's cholesterol levels?!

I'd really recommend researching the cholesterol myth. Cholesterol is necessary for the proper functioning of your body, and the myth that eating foods that contain cholesterol is bad for you has long since been debunked.

[mama1803]

The cholestrol myth

I second the suggestion to research the cholestrol myth.

I just finished reading Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck and it has really challenged some of my ideas of what healthy eating really means. She specifically discusses cholestrol and eggs and why both are good for you.:

[MoonStarFalling]

We have fully free ranged eggs so I don't limit egg intake. Young ones need the fat and cholesterol for brain development. DD has ate 1 egg a day since she started solids and the other day ate 3 hard boiled eggs in a row!

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by mama1803

I second the suggestion to research the cholestrol myth.

I just finished reading Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck and it has really challenged some of my ideas of what healthy eating really means. She specifically discusses cholestrol and eggs and why both are good for you.:

That's a fantastic book. I've been eating a lot of eggs (like a dozen or so a week) and my cholesterol is lower than it has ever been (175; used to be 220).

Sometimes night waking is due to food intolerances.

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by SuzyLee

Wouldn't I like to know.

He has never slept more than 3-4 hours at a stretch, and frequently is up every hour. Around 3-4 am he will tell us he is hungry. Other than that, beats me.

We dealt with a similar problem with DS and although it's not quite cleared up yet, it's improved greatly. Turns out he's sensitive to cow dairy (raw) and gluten. Gluten wasn't shocking (since so many people have problems with it) but I thought I was doing really well with raw cow dairy. Turns out he needs raw goat. Within about two days of pulling those things out of his diet, his sleep patterns improved dramatically. I heart our naturopath who made the diagnosis.

[ashleyhaugh]

my ds is about the sam size and weight as yours (10-1-07, 24.5 lbs) we dont have eggs everyday, but he loves them.... he can easily eat 3 at a sitting, and once he ate 4 (when he was about 14 months old!!) i dont limit them, i just get sick of eating eggs everyday, lol