DS constantly hungry

[overagain]

DS was born ravenous. It's like you can't fill him up. As a baby he fed constantly. He's now almost 3. When he started nursery at 14m they commented on how good his appetite is. He has breakfast (cereal and slice or 2 of toast), lunch and dinner there as well as an afternoon snack. He then has supper when he comes home. We changed nursery and they also commented on his good appetite. At new nursery he has 2 portions of the hot meal before a desert. He also has breakfast and a snack there and I give him a packed lunch- usually protein (a mix of babybel, mini cocktail sausages, scotch egg, roast chicken, chedder cubes) a carb (bread sticks and hummus, pom bears, savoury muffin, pin wheel), veg sticks and a portion of fruit. I follow guidelines on portion control. Today nursery asked me to send more food as he eats it all looks for more. I don't think it helps that he's faster than the others (at eating) do sees them still with food. At weekends he is similar. He's fairly active so not overweight (top end of healthy centile). I just don't know if this is normal?!

Such a large appetite is not very normal I'm afraid. Occasionally a toddler might each that much if they were going through a growing spurt or processing some kind of trauma, but if he's like that all the time, I think there's must be something else.
If children don’t drink enough liquids, they will mistakenly believe they are hungry when all they need is a little extra water.
Despite how much children are eating and how many calories they potentially are consuming, the body needs nutrient rich foods. His body might be craving more nutrients and in turn, he eats more food.
It's not just protein that makes you feel full; you need fat as well. Try giving him full fat milk, but keep an eye on his weight.
There are a few medical conditions that can cause a child to overeat. If you’re concerned you should speak with your doctor. Some children can suffer from malabsorption syndrome which refers to a number of disorders in which the intestine can’t adequately absorb certain nutrients into the bloodstream. It can impede the absorption of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), or both. There is also a rare genetic disorder called Prader Willi syndrome.
Also, make sure he doesn't eat in front of the TV. If children eat while they watch TV, they will not learn how to properly read their own body cues. They will not pay attention to when they are full and they will most likely associate TV with hunger and eat more than they should.

That is an outrageous amount of food to give a small child in a lunchbox. How the hell do you fit it all in for a start? So many different meats all at once! He's going to end up with an eating disorder and terrible health.

Sausages, chicken, cheese and sausage meat in one meal?! Plus all the rest.
? 😳😳

No 3 year old needs what his eating let alone more!

Trouble is because you and nursery give him more food, it’s just habit to him now and the more you give the more he wants.. you need to break that cycle before you end up with an overweight child

@RubyLux OP obviously meant that she would give one protein per day and those were examples of the protein sources it could be 🙄

adoggymama thank you! I thought that was obvious, clearly not!

So, tomorrow's lunch box for example is one pin wheel, 3 mini cocktail sausages, tablespoon of hummus, one bread stick, quarter red pepper, 5 grapes and 6 blueberries.

Ricekrispie22 health visitor told us to switch to semi-skimmed milk when he turned 2 but he doesn't actually drink milk, only has it in cereal. He drinks loads of water (but not a concerning amount), I always give him a drink before serving food too.

He has no health conditions. He had full testing by a paediatrician due to suspected epilepsy but he got a clear bill of health.

The portions I give are based on age appropriate size advice. If he eats that and asks for more he gets more veg before other stuff. Nursery portions I assume are age appropriate. I don't let him graze at weekends.

Forget abiut the advice in portion size.
Dc1 was exactly like this. He ate a lot and as a baby wouod Get into rage if he wasn’t fed quickly enough, so upset/angry that he wouodnt calm down when food was finally offered!
It carried in as a toddler and a child.
He was tall for his age, always was. And wasn’t overweight either.

He is now a very slim teenager who until very recently ate everything in sight. Think a normal adult portion, second helping and three fruits for his evening meal.

If he is tall for his age, he will need more food. If he is active, he will need more food. Whatever he is doing, he clearly needs all that food. Otherwise he wouod be getting very chubby.
The best you can do is to ensure he has fruit and vegs. Let him have full fat milk, there is nothing wrong with it despite the HV advice. But do teach him to stop when he is not hungry anymore. I used to just asked my dcs if they were really hungry or just fancied some dessert/more main course.
I also never forced them to finish anything.

Some children are just eating more than others.

Sounds like my DD tbh. We call her little miss hollow legs. She has always been a big eater but she is very healthy for her age. If he is moving a lot he will need more energy!

Bye I fully disagree with the idea that toddlers just eat like this because they have been taught to do so.
Adults and children yes. They will eat for comfort, becaus ethe food is good etc...
But so with babies and toddlers and this is clearly not the case for your dc. It’s not a child who has ‘learnt’ to eat too much (he would be overweight already if it was the case). It’s a child who has ALWAYS eaten a lot more than his peers.

Fwiw I appreciate that may memeory might be hazy. It’s among time since the toddler days. But what you are listing as his lunch wouodnt have been enough for my 3yo.
It wouod have been enough for dc2 who, at the time, was chronically constipated, was eating very little, so much so that he has no energy at all and stopped putting any weight on from 2 to 3.5yo. Basically he wasn’t healthy....

With the exception of ice cream, he'll turn down food (even biscuits or cake) if he's not hungry, so I'm fairly confident he only eats to his appetite. You can see his ribs and spine, though he still has a bit of a toddler pot belly. We eat as a family around the table for most meals, with the exception of his supper but even then we're sat together at the table.

And as a baby I have no idea how much milk he had as he was breastfed, but he fed frequently! He has always eaten a lot, it's not learnt behaviour.