How To Help Your Toddler Gain Weight

Is your toddler not gaining weight as expected? Whether they’re eating well but still not gaining weight or you’re concerned about their limited diet and picky eating, there are ways to support a healthy and adequate diet and weight gain. This article will explore telltale signs of poor weight gain, common reasons this can occur, what normal growth looks like in toddlerhood, and how to help your toddler gain weight in a safe, sustainable way.

How Do I Know If My Child Isn’t Gaining Enough Weight?

Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters, so it can be hard to gauge if they’re gaining weight appropriately. In their first year of life, your baby should triple their birth weight, but it’s normal for their growth and appetite to slow after age 1.¹ However, you can use growth charts and ask your child’s pediatrician to help track whether your toddler is gaining weight at a healthy rate. The rate matters much more than the actual percentile. A pediatrician will compare your toddler’s growth with standardized growth curves — and, more importantly, their own growth trends — to ensure they’re developing properly. If your toddler consistently falls below their expected growth percentile, it may be time to look at what’s causing the weight stagnation.^2,3

The Signs of Poor Weight Gain

Signs that your toddler may not be gaining enough weight include:^4,5,6

• Lack of energy or fatigue
• Extreme fussiness, discontentment, or disinterest in their surroundings
• Slower than average growth in height and head circumference, which can be a longer-term marker of inadequate dietary intake
• Becoming sick extremely often
• Lack of development of cognitive skills, such as rolling over or crawling
• Severely restricted diet
• Excessive and frequent vomiting or diarrhea

It’s also essential to consider your child’s full picture of health, not simply their height or weight alone. Here are some other factors your pediatrician may consider if your child’s growth is stalling:³

• Milestones: Is your child meeting their developmental milestones regardless of their smaller stature?
• Health issues: Are there other health concerns or genetic conditions that could be contributing to or resulting from your child’s growth?
• Size of biological parents and any siblings: Genetically, smaller parents are more likely to make children of similar size.
• Prematurity: Was your child born early? Most pediatricians use your baby’s adjusted age through 2 years when considering size and milestones.

What Is Normal Growth?

Before panicking about your toddler’s weight or lack of weight gain, it’s important to understand what normal toddler growth looks like. Children come in all sizes and grow at different rates. While growth “spurts” are less common in toddlers than infants, some may still experience periods of rapid growth and periods of stagnation. Most toddlers gain weight steadily, and the typical weight gain for toddlers in the first few years is around 5 pounds per year. However, this rate can fluctuate based on their individual genetics, appetite, and overall health.^7,16,17

Tracking your child’s growth over time (weeks to months) is more important than worrying about day-to-day fluctuations.¹⁷ Be sure to consult with your pediatrician to get personalized advice.

Why Is My Child Not Gaining Enough Weight?

After accounting for their individualized growth curve, if you and your child’s pediatrician still believe they aren’t gaining enough weight, there are several reasons why this might be the case. It’s likely they may not be eating enough, as insufficient intake is the cause of poor weight gain in about 90% of cases.⁸ If your toddler is a picky eater or only eats small portions due to stress, food availability, or other causes, this could lead to insufficient calorie intake, which may contribute to a lack of weight gain.^5,8

If your toddler is eating but still isn’t gaining weight, some of the factors below may be at play:

• Food allergies or sensitivities: Some children have food allergies or intolerances to things like dairy or gluten. This could lead to limited food options or nutrient malabsorption and diminished weight gain.^5,8
• Constipation: Constipation is common in toddlerhood as children learn to control their bowels and start toilet training. This condition can decrease their appetite, which can lead to weight loss and malnutrition.⁹
• Health conditions: Conditions like thyroid issues or genetic, cardiac, metabolic, or gastrointestinal disorders can also impact your toddler’s weight gain.^5,8
• Genetics: Remember that family history can help predict a child’s size. A small stature may just be what’s coded in their DNA!¹⁰

How To Help Your Toddler Gain Weight

When your toddler isn’t gaining weight but is eating, you may need to focus on giving them high-calorie foods that are also nutritious. Here are several healthy ways to help your toddler gain weight:

1. Increase Caloric Density

Try to choose foods that are both calorie-dense and nutritious. High-fat foods for toddlers can provide extra calories without requiring your child to eat large portions. These include things like avocados, cheese, full-fat yogurt, and nut butters. You can also add sources of simple carbohydrates or sugar (like maple syrup or honey for children over 1 year, granola, dried fruit, and chocolate chips) to increase their calorie intake without forcing massive meals.^8,11,12

2. Incorporate Healthy Fats for Toddlers

Fats are crucial for growth and brain development in toddlers. Healthy fats from sources like olive oil, coconut oil, butter, and nut butters can add necessary calories and help your toddler gain weight. Try drizzling olive oil on vegetables or adding peanut butter to fruits or crackers!¹²

3. Offer Frequent Meals

Toddlers can be erratic eaters. Offering smaller meals and snacks throughout the day ensures they’re getting more calories. Consider adding fat- and protein-rich snacks (such as hummus or cheese sticks) between main meals. Aim for three meals and two to three snacks per day. But think of snacks as “mini meals,” containing a mix of carbohydrates, fat, and protein to help your toddler gain weight.¹²

4. Give Them Smoothies and Shakes

If your toddler is struggling with food intake, try blending smoothies with full-fat yogurt, fruit, oats, and even a spoonful of nut butter or seeds for added calories. Sometimes, your doctor may also recommend a special high-calorie formula or supplement shake to promote weight gain. Even so, it’s important not to let your child fill up on drinks, even high-calorie ones, so they’ll still be hungry for food at mealtimes.^8,11,12

Foods To Help Your Toddler Gain More Weight

The following foods are excellent choices for supporting weight gain in a healthy way:^11,12

• Avocados: Packed with healthy fats, fiber, and essential vitamins, avocados are a perfect addition to any toddler’s diet. Consider mashing avocado with tomatoes and onions to make guacamole. You can spread this on sandwiches or use it as a dip. You can also add avocados to smoothies to make them creamier!
• Cheese and full-fat dairy: Offer cheese slices, cottage cheese, or full-fat yogurt to ensure your toddler is getting enough calories.
• Nuts and nut butters: Almond butter, peanut butter, and cashew butter are calorie-dense and full of healthy fats. You can spread them on toast or crackers or add them to smoothies.
• Eggs: Rich in protein and healthy fats, eggs are easy to prepare in many ways, from scrambled to hard-boiled.
• Oils and fats: Adding healthy high-fat foods and oils (like olive, coconut, or avocado oil) to dishes can boost toddlers’ calorie content. Drizzle extra olive oil on your child’s vegetables, add a layer of butter underneath the jam on toast, or serve a nut butter and full-fat yogurt dip with their fruit. A bonus is that fats are essential for brain growth and development in the first couple years of life!
• Carbohydrates: If you’re trying to promote weight gain in your toddler, now may not be the time to skimp on treats. Feel free to indulge them a bit with starches like waffles, bagels, pasta, and French fries! However, stick to whole grain when possible. And pair these foods with a fat and a protein, such as a whole-grain bagel topped with cream cheese or French toast with peanut butter. Try not to fill them up on sweets with less nutritional value, like candy.

Other Tips To Help Toddlers Eat Well and Grow

Aside from offering high-calorie and calorically dense foods, there are other strategies that can help support your toddler’s growth, particularly if your child doesn’t eat much:^1,12

1. Make Their Meals Fun

Toddlers are more likely to eat when the meal is fun and engaging.¹⁴ Try making meals visually appealing with colorful fruits and veggies and creative shapes. For instance, a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter can turn a boring PB&J sandwich into a delicious-looking treat! Additionally, eat meals together as a family when possible so they can see you eating as well. They may start looking forward to mealtime as both a time to eat and a time to socialize!

2. Have Them Consume Food Before Drinks

Liquids like water or milk may fill up your child’s stomach but can have fewer calories or make them feel full.¹⁸ Offering high-calorie foods before liquids can help ensure your child fills up on food that will help them gain weight and grow.

3. Minimize Distractions

Toddlers get distracted easily, especially during mealtime. So, keep screens (like phones or TVs) off while your family is eating. This can encourage a calm and focused eating environment.

4. Encourage Self-Feeding

Many toddlers enjoy feeding themselves. You can offer finger foods like fruit slices, soft vegetables, or scrambled eggs to make eating more enjoyable. Consider getting them involved in food preparations as well. When they take ownership of the menu and of feeding themselves, this may provide autonomy and excitement around eating.

5. Allow Choices

Bring your toddler to the grocery store when you can, and let them pick out a new snack, fun-shaped pasta, or fruit or veggie to try. Then, have them help “cut” the vegetables or other foods they chose with a child-safe knife so they’re involved in the process. Letting them make small choices can make it more likely for them to eat the food you give them.

6. Avoid Pressuring Them

Gaining weight can take time, so it’s important to be patient with your child. Try not to force them to eat larger portions. This can create a negative relationship with food and dampen their body’s ability to sense fullness. If you have a strong-willed child, pressuring them to eat might only make them fight back harder.^15,19,20

When To Talk to Your Doctor About Your Toddler Not Gaining Weight

If you have concerns about your toddler’s weight, it’s never a bad idea to see a doctor. But if your toddler isn’t gaining weight but is eating well, or if you have concerns about their growth and development, it’s essential to speak with their pediatrician. A doctor can assess your toddler’s growth patterns over time, provide additional monitoring of their size, conduct tests for food sensitivities or health conditions (if necessary), investigate other potential causes of slow weight gain, and give nutrition advice tailored to your child’s unique needs. They may even refer you to a feeding specialist if they deem it necessary to have another member of the team help your toddler.

Here are some signs that it’s time to consult a doctor:¹³

• A noticeable drop in weight or size based on how they feel in your arms, how their clothes fit them, or an at-home scale
• A persistent or unexplained lack of appetite
• Vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain with eating
• Signs of malnutrition, such as fatigue, irritability, or delayed milestones
• Signs of dehydration, including peeing three or fewer times per day or crying without tears
• Signs of food allergy, such as vomiting, rash, difficulty breathing, and coughing

The Bottom Line

Identifying issues with toddler growth and differentiating between regular picky eating and growth spurts can be challenging for parents. You should always feel comfortable consulting your child’s healthcare provider about your toddler’s growth and development. If insufficient weight gain turns out to be an issue for your toddler, you can take a multifaceted approach to getting them back on their curve. With the right foods and portions, lots of patience, and medical guidance, you can learn how to help your toddler gain weight and grow at the best pace for their body!