To get silently annoyed when parents chase their kids with food?

My SIL did this with her eldest, he was quite a sturdy little boy and enjoyed his food, but she used to force snacks like crisps and biscuits into his mouth when he was playing, even if it was only 1 hour after he'd eaten his dinner. It was like she was frightened of him being hungry.

Cant you just feed them the same food? Thats what we do?

I agree there are often a few different factors at play.

For example, food is scarce in some homes and parents can't always afford to offer something else if the kid is hungry and hour or so later.

But ultimately, I trust most parents to do what they feel is right.

I do this with one of mine he’s diabetic and needs whatever carbs I dosed for. My other child I don’t care, long as he tries to eat his dinner.

I have a friend who does this. Her daughter barely eats and is v underweight. Not all children 'eat when they are hungry' there can be lots of other factors at play. I don't agree with trying to get them to eat when they are running around tho, too much of a choking risk for me

I find it strange too, I feel like it must become a habit. I've seen it for years and it's the same at every meal, it's like the kids aren't used to eating without being hassled the whole time to have a bit more! On the flip side I don't do that at all to my DS, he stays at the table while he eats and aside from the occasional encouragement he just gets to decide what he's eating in whatever order and when he's had enough. Surely kids aren't being allowed to listen to their bodies with parents doing that?

My family do this with my nephew. Generally it’s because if they didn’t he’d quite happily not eat all day. He hates eating and will get out of it at all costs.

My friend does this with her kid. Drives me insane.

I mean, my three year old is pretty skinny and I do this. I was also a very underweight kid and so were my brothers - I think it even stunted my height a bit I ate so little. I weighed six stone as an adult for quite a long time.

I don't want my DC to be super underweight (they massively undereat if I leave them to it, I'm talking eating about half of one meal a day and nothing else). So I go round popping food in their mouths when they're not paying attention.

If I had a normal weight or chubby kid I obviously wouldn't bother.

I find it odd, I've seen someone chase their child trying to get them to eat a cookie. I was baffled, I'm trying to keep mine away from the cookies, not force them in. I could kind of understand if it was veg but even then I wouldn't be pushing it at a party.

Sod that. I have an SEN child and they don't get to run around with food. They sit and eat. If they won't sit and eat, they don't eat.

As you say, there could be a particular reason to be concerned about these children's eating habits, who knows. But on the whole I'd let them stop eating when they stop feeling hungry, provided they want to get down and play rather than gorging on sweet stuff. It will lead to a healthier relationship with food.