How many meals a day do your kids eat

[HaudYerWheeshtBawbag]

My kids are very active, sporting activities each day/some days 2 activities and mostly they are high intensity activities .

Family have my children abroad, its a very hot country, they are still doing lots of activities, pool most days, water parks, jeep safari's, bike rides, boat trips with water activities etc...

Now DC have always had...

Breakfast - cereal of either weetabix, or shreddies, with some sort of fruit (banana, mixed berries etc... (weekends theybhave brioche bread and spread, plus scrambled egg. (Dc2 has allergies so is ingredients may differ)

Snack will be fruit, hummus with veg sticks, boiled eggs on pitta bread, yogurt, homemade oatcakes etc..

lunch with be for ds1 it's always tuna and sweet corn sandwich, and a bag of crisps. Ds2 is some sort of rice flake dish with whatever veg we have in and sometimes meat/fish

Dinner can be anywhere from fajitas, fish pie, chickpea burgers, lentil dish, fish dish etc...

Snack 9/10 hot chocolate and some form of homemade baked food (last week it was banana cake)

Supper is always toast.

The portions aren't massive, they are both fit, healthy and exceptionally active, and not over weight, they both have drinks throughout the day.

On Saturdays they have treat day, and they can get whatever treat they want.

Now family members have told us our children are greedy... because they have drank a carton of 1L juice and it was nearly gone in the evening and apparently they eat too much...

Ds1 (under 12) has facetimed crying to say they have been shouted at for drinking too miuch and that he's for a headache... I should add ds1 has a motablism disorder, so does need substance more regularly.

Do they over eat?

[LottieDoubtie]

If they are active and a healthy weight (as measured objectively not by a loving parents eye) then no they don't overeat.

It sounds like they eat more than average though. It's not very nice of people to be shouting at them for overeating on holiday though! I thought most people eat more than normal on holiday...

What is the issue money or morals? If it's money then can you offer some to cover their 'keep'? If it's morals that trickier...

[formerbabe]

Breakfast, lunch, dinner...then supper just before bed.

On a Sunday we sometimes have a big Sunday lunch at about 2/3pm so then it might be breakfast, lunch...then a lighter meal in the evening.

Various snacks depending on what they want or how hungry they are.

[Nousernameforme]

Breakfast lunch dinner usually a snack about 3 ish to tide them over till dinner occasionally a 10 am snack if they were up super early

[Nousernameforme]

Breakfast lunch dinner usually a snack about 3 ish to tide them over till dinner occasionally a 10 am snack if they were up super early

[Pizzaexpressreview]

That sounds less than mine eat!!

[creamcheesechampion]

If they are genuinely healthy weights then no they don't overeat.

I remember often being made to feel like this when going to stay with family members. DB and I both have very fast metabolisms and when we were younger at home we could easily get through three hearty meals and probably about six big snacks! When going to stay with our cousins and aunties who were bigger built with slower metabolisms and tended to have very rigid meal structures (breakfast, lunch and dinner with no snacks except perhaps a biscuit) we were always absolutely starving. When I got to about 12 I started packing cereal bars and crisps in my suitcase when we went to stay!

[Out2pasture]

sounds right for physically active and growing kids.
The person commenting is probably pennypinching.

[CurrentlyNothing]

Mine do a lot of sport but just have three meals a day (7am, 1pm and 7pm ish). They do usually have seconds for dinner and big portions but never puddings. After school they can have fruit as a snack but other than that we don't do snacks. I am not sure why! I guess they have never asked and I have never offered.

We also only have water to drink. Or milk if they want it but they rarely do.

[fleshmarketclose]

Dd 14 eats breakfast and dinner, she never wants lunch and she doesn't snack. She has always eaten very little and has the appetite of a mouse. We had Sunday lunch today so she didn't eat breakfast because she wouldn't be hungry if she did. She ate a small roast and refused pudding as too full. She might have pudding as her second meal of the day later or she might not. She's small and slim but not underweight by any stretch of the imagination.

[RedSandYellowSand]

Today: Breakfast 1. Breakfast 2. Snack. Lunch. Dinner (it's nearly 7 here).

Normally the snack comes between lunch and dinner, but it all got twisted up, and they got offered cake and fruit at 12 by a friend. The 6 yr old will be in bed within an hour. The 8 yr old may have a piece of fruit before bed in the next 2 hrs.

I'd raise an eyebrow at the litre of OJ, but not the rest. But mainly because it doesn't get consumed that fast in this house.

[CupCakes00]

Mine hardly eat and are very active.

I often comment that they survive on fresh air. But I think they just eat what they need.

I think a lot of DC are over fed these days, which is why we have an obesity crises in the UK. It makes me laugh when people say that child size portions arnt big enough for their DC.

[LockedOutOfMN]

We live abroad where it's warm or hot during the daytime all year. On school days, ours (6 and 9) have breakfast at 7.45am of milk, fruit and then a banana or toast or porridge or occasionally a boiled egg.

DD who is 6 has something like an apple or some grapes or raisins for her breaktime snack (10.45). DS who is 9 doesn't have a snack.

For lunch at 13.30(DD) or 13.45 (D.S.) they have a bowl of soup, lentils, chickpeas, beans or rice, then a piece of meat or fish or eggs with salad (also vegetables 1-2 days a week and very occasionally chips). Portions are reasonable but not huge. They can have bread with it if they wish. For dessert they have apple, pear, orange, melon or watermelon slices and on Fridays there's a option of yoghurt.

After school at 16.30/17.00 they have a snack which is one or two of the following: banana (usually shared between them), dried fruit and nuts, hummus with carrot sticks or bread sticks, fresh fruit. If they have a playdate then toast with Nutella might be offered as well or a mini pastry or ice-cream if summer.

For dinner at about 20.45 we all eat quite lightly as we have our main meal at lunch. We tend to have chicken or fish with veg or salad. The kids would share a chicken breast between them or equivalent portion of protein.

Then they go to bed quite soon after.

[ClashCityRocker]

If they're fit and healthy and not overwieght they're not over-eating.

Do your family have similar aged kids? I only ask because I was surprised at how much kids can put away the first few times I spent a whole day with them.

The litre of OJ I can sort of see why it raised eyebrows - my parents still see fruit juice as a starter or a small glass at breakfast kind of thing rather than a go to drink,which I don't think is an unusual view, although I don't necessarily agree - as a kid we probably got through two litres in a week at most.

Really bad to shout at the kids though.

[LockedOutOfMN]

OP, not taking into account your DS' health issues, I think the children have drunk too much orange juice, a whole carton in a day between two is a lot. However, the adult looking after them should have offered them an alternative rather than shouting at them after they did it, e.g. by saying, "the juice is just for breakfast."

Your son's headache is probably from the heat (which may have meant he couldn't sleep properly, another cause of headaches) as well as the sunlight and possibly not drinking enough water, as well as generally being away from home in a place where everything - air, water, food, climate, people - is different.

I would speak to the adult in charge of them and say to make it clear to the children what they can and can't eat so they don't transgress any more house rules. And maybe drop something in about reminding them please to drink water regularly in the heat / stay out of the sun at the hottest part of the day.

[2anddone]

Dd 8 and ds 11
Breakfast either one slice toast, cereal, pancake or waffle with fruit on a weekend a brioche for a treat.
Lunch 2 mini wraps with chicken and salad, followed by fruit, small stack of pringles and maybe a flapjack.
Dinner what ever I am cooking (today is sausages and they will have 2 sausages, 3 new potatoes, carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding, followed by a cake we made this afternoon.
When we go out to eat they still order off of the children's menus (though hardly any of their friends do anymore) and they are both healthy and neither under or over weight. They are allowed to snack they just don't as what I give them at meals sustains them to their next one.

[early30smum]

During the school term, mine (8 and nearly 5) have:

Breakfast: usually the younger one has cereal, fruit and toast with butter and marmite, the older one has toast with butter and marmite. Water or semi skimmed milk to drink.

Snack: piece of fruit at school and water

School lunch: quite small portions of generally healthy school lunches. Neither like the dessert offered so don't have dessert, the youngest will have fruit instead, as does the oldest sometimes.

After school snacks: fruit or dried fruit or crackers and cheese, sometimes a biscuit or other small treat

Dinner: homemade hot meal mostly, things like spaghetti bolognese, fish pie, salmon and veg, steak and veg, sausages and mash with veg etc. Ocasionally not a Cooke tea, wraps or sandwiches etc. Also if they're not that hungry maybe an omelette or eggs on toast etc. Milk or water to drink. Followed by fruit (always) and then something small from the cupboard or freezer, like a fun size choc bar or mini ice cream or a yogurt. Not always though!

Evening before bed: little one has a banana or rice cake sometimes. Older one will snack if I let her as she claims to be hungry, but I try to limit it, even though she is a healthy weight and very active she does sometimes snack out of habit I think.

Only ever water or milk to drink, v ocassionally a hot choc in winter.

[early30smum]

Different story in the holidays though!

[Eolian]

Breakfast lunch and dinner, plus one smallish snack in the afternoon (usually a biscuit or piece of fruit). Mostly water to drink, occasionally fresh juice.

[Cherrytart6]

What are their percentiles? Height and weight? Then I'll tell you if they overeat

[HaudYerWheeshtBawbag]

It wasn't orange juice... (tried to change some details as who knows is out there ) it was mango iced tea... they had a glass at breakfast, and family member got them a glass at lunch, and then they had a glass of there evening meal...

Definitely not seeing it through a parents eye, as both are under consultant care.

It's not a money issue family members are well off and we have also given money for there care.

I think it's a moral issue, dh and I have recently come to stern words over money with these family members.

[HaudYerWheeshtBawbag]

Ds2 is in the 99%centile has been since birth, and has stayed on the same line... his height is however that of a 11-12 year old and he's just turned 8.

Ds1 is on the 50 th centile, he's smaller than the rest of his class mates, but again like his brother he's always been on this line.

[LockedOutOfMN]

Iced tea is sugary and half a litre a day is definitely too much. I'm surprised they were served it for breakfast. However, if they were served it by the adults caring for them, the same adults can't be angry when it gets drunk! Seems like maybe they hadn't realised how much two boys would consume. No excuse for them shouting at the boys.

[Threenme]

Mine can sometimes have breakfast dinner tea supper, if they are out all day playing with their friends on the green in front of the house it can be just breakfast and tea as they all literally go from house to house perusing for snacks ALL day! It's fine you just have to make sure you have about 11 of everything in for when it's your turn for them to come!

[Threenme]

I don't think your kids are eating wrong or too much op. mine get what they want when they want it really same as us, they're active, eat fruit and veg are t over weight. I just can't get worked up about food when there's no problem

[PourquoiPas]

Some people have really weird food and drink rules, especially about fruit juice for some reasons. If your DC are used to drinking anything and the hosting family have a 100ml of fruit juice per person per day rule which they haven't bothered to explain then I can see how it would arise. Ditto some older inactive people who eat a tiny amount, and aren't used to the amount healthy active children can need.

Tell your DC that if they are thirsty they should be drinking water, and explain to your family that your children need to be given more opportunities to drink water (or squash or whatever), especially as they aren't used to the heat.

Re food, it makes me laugh when some people post judges comments like "children don't need to eat more than adult portions" some children need more food than others, and most children will go through phases when they are growing and need more food or need less.

My DC eat breakfast (cereal, eggs or omelette perhaps, fruit, beans on toast), lunch at school which is a tiny portion, two snacks at some point such as hummous and breadsticks or banana and a piece of flapjack, then tea with meals like pasta, meat and veg etc.

My DS is 7 and is has a very low body fat. He is very fit and active and is tall with big feet (size 3!!!!) he needs more food than his elfin friend who is a head smaller and does nowhere near as much exercise. As long as he is a healthy weight I'm not going to restrict his food, as long as he is eating a healthy mixture of things not just junk. If I made him eat tiny child portions he would lose weight and he is already at the bottom end of the healthy scale, so surely this would quite clearly be a bad thing???