What do your 8 year olds eat on a typical school day?

[Introvertedmum]

I just want to get a sense of what’s normal. ds is very picky and generally a poor eater and is one of the smallest in his class.

My dd is 8 and has

Breakfast...croissant and yoghurt, glass of milk.

Lunch...packed lunch...usually ham/tuna sandwich, crudites and a small treat (mini cake, biscuit bar etc)

Snack after school...biscuit and drink for example.

Dinner...she has a smallish portion of pasta/chicken/rice/veg whatever it is....followed by a pudding...usually a scoop of ice cream.

Then something else just before bed, often breadsticks or a piece of cheese or yoghurt.

She refuses to eat any fruit (praying its a phase) but will eat vegetables.

DS7 a bit younger than yours. Yesterday he had a bowl of 2 weetabix, milk and banana. At school he had beef stew, potato gratin and broccoli and lemon and ginger sponge with custard (according to the menu, he usually just eats the whole hot meal unless it's chilli con carne in which case he does the salad bar and gets cold ham, cucumber, tomato, cheese and a roll). Afternoon snack of banana bread and an orange. Dinner was courgette, tomato and carrot pasta - an Annabel Karmel toddler recipe that they still love! He had a snow day today and was gutted to miss fish and chips day in the canteen.

He is eating like a horse right now but he goes through phases of eating like a bird. I try not to get too worked up about it as he's not wasting away and although he tries it on sometimes for control reasons, he really isn't that picky. He'll eat again when he's hungry and as long as I don't have crap for him to fill up on, he'll eat the healthy stuff. I also have a policy of not cooking multiple meals, if a meal is properly tried and disliked they can have toast and an egg. If a meal is not even tried then it will be brought out again later if they complain they are hungry. He has only gone to bed once with no dinner because he wouldn't taste something but wolfed his breakfast the next morning.

Today dd (7)

Pear and a cereal bar for breakfast
Fisher fingers, chips & cake for school dinners
Piece of fruit at playtime
Melon fruit salad
Lamb stew and bread (2 helpings as it's her favourite)
The rest of the melon fruit salad

Porridge or weetabix for breakfast.
School dinner, at home would be soup, bread, cold meat, fruit etc.
Tea is baked potato, eggs, leftover cottage pie, pasta, whatever is handy from what I’ve cooked the night before for me and DH.

DD usually has a bagel for breakfast, orange juice and Rice Krispies, eats most of her school hot meal, quavers and fruit when she gets back.
Evening meals are less successful, today was chicken wraps (peppers, cucumber, sweetcorn) and she only ate the wrap and veggies. Yesterday was lamb chops, roast potatoes and broccoli and she didn't touch the lamb.

Dd2 is only just 9, on a typical school day she has

Small bowl of cereal (with or without milk, depends on her mood) and a very milky cup of tea.

Sometimes an apple to walk to school with

Tuck at break (cereal bar/biscuits/fruit type things)

Pack up of... sandwich2 slices with ham as filling, cut into whatever biscuit cutter shape she picks; fromage frais, raisins, home made bun or similar, mini cheddars or crisps. Sometimes cocktail sausages, sausage rolls or popcorn, more often not. She doesn't often deviate from the basics.

Piece of fruit or another small bowl of cereal when she gets in.

Tea - pie, chips and veg tonight. Small packet of malteasers for a treat; we don't tend to eat sweets or chocolate through the week.

She's very picky & perfectly happy to eat the same things every day if I'd let her.

Breakfast: slice of toast or crumpet or bowl of supermarket own brand readybrek
Snack at school: cereal bar
Packed lunch: pasta salad with tuna and peas in mayonnaise, pot of fruit, biscuit
Dinner: smaller portion of whatever we are having e.g pasta, risotto, chilli, curry (vegetarian), pudding of fruit or yoghurt

Ds - nearly 8

Breakfast - small bowl cereal, no milk but has a glass milk on side

Lunch - wrap with ham and peppers, yoghurt, cake, 4 cocktail sausages, sliced cucumber and a small pot of sliced strawberries and grapes

Tea - this evening he had turkey emojis and rice

Usually he has something like fish, mash and vegetables.

Snacks - yoghurt or a cookie as a treat, or a satsuma

One flask of very dilute squash at school
At home he only drinks milk.

Breakfast- Bowl of cereal or yogurt and toast or croissant.
Lunch- ham sandwich, pot of veg and two biscuits.
After school snack- small baguette, piece of fruit and nuts.
Dinner- piece of salmon, broccoli and carrots.
Pudding- custard and fruit.

He eats much more than me.

My DD is 7.5.

She has fruit salad (usually 6 cut grapes, half a satsuma and 2 large strawberries) and a piece of toast / Aldi individual brioche / one Weetabix for breakfast.
Snack at school is usually an apple or banana.
School dinner - I'm told she eats it all most days.
A snack after school - typically either an inch or so of angel/lemon/madeira cake, 2 crackers with 2 slices of cheese or a crumpet.
Evening meal is sometimes 3 nuggets with about 20 chips and 2 tbsp peas and sweetcorn, or a slotted-spoon sized serving of chilli with 2 tbsp or so of rice. If she has sandwiches it's 2 slices of bread, half a bag of crisps, 6-8 veg sticks and a matchbox sized piece or cheese/4 cocktail sausages. Usually a frube for pudding.

She is very active and muscular and I think 60th centile for BMI. Obviously I don't weigh out her food like this and she does eat more variety but wanted to give an idea of portion size.

DS is seven. Breakfast is usually a two-egg omelette wrapped in a tortilla. He has a bear yoyo at snack time. Hot school lunch and cooked dinner (average portions). Small strawberry milkshake and veg sticks before bed.

Thanks for the feedback.
How big are the dinner portions? Ds usually eats about half an adult portion at dinner time.

DS is 7 and also very picky and slim. I constantly worry he isn't eating enough, especially protein .
Anyway today he had:
2 small bowls rice crispies & full cream milk, cup of orange juice.

Oaty bar as a snack.

Tuna mayo sandwich, cheese string, lemon cake, watermelon

2 cookies after school, plus milk

Lamb stew (he ate one tiny piece of lamb) , rice , rocket , cucumber, sugar snap peas ( he will not eat any cooked veg so has salad with every meal)

Strawberry yoghurt

This was probably a good day by his standards.

DD is 8.5
Breakfast (at breakfast club) toast and cereal
Dinner: dairylea dunker, yoghurt, tomatoes, crisps, biscuit, cheese string
Tea, sausage, mash peas and gravy, strawberries and an ice cream

Today Ds1(8) has had:

2 crumpets with peanut butter
Glass of milk

Banana
School milk

School dinner - fish and chips
Refused pudding (jelly - loathes it)

Garlic chicken, mash, veg for tea
Small chocolate chip cupcake

That's about average. He has a good appetite but a medium/small range of foods he will eat. Friday is a good day usually because he gets both a nice lunch and a family tea. On activity nights dinner will be pizza or quick pasta and if lunch was something rice or highly flavoured he might not eat so well.

Ds has recently graduated from half to 2/3 or 3/4 adult portions.

DS is 9

Today -

Cereal with whole milk -1/2 bowl

Yoghurt raisins

1 chicken Pitta bread, grapes, yoghurt

Crisps and an orange

Chilli and rice - very small portion, could fit on a side plate.

Ice lolly

I would describe him as a very healthy weight for his build and height.

Dd(7) would have a rice bowl of porridge or muesli (stanadard Ikea rice bowl).

She would have a side plate for supper - I’d guess one serving spoon (the big, cooking sort) of cottage pie usually, two if she’s hungry. Two ladles of soup. One slice of toast and two boiled eggs.

My youngest is 7 and a very picky eater. I thought he didn't eat a lot, but reading this, it seems he has a good appetite!
Today he's had:
Breakfast - a bowl of porridge. Lunch - banana and honey sandwich, packet of crisps, apple and flapjack. Tea - small (one portion) pizza, loads of beans, rhubarb pie and cream for pudding. Plus a hot chocolate before tea!

B - bowl of cereal, toast and peanut butter or a scrambled egg and toast.

L - packed lunch (eg a ham salad wrap, chunk of cucumber, flapjack and grapes) or a school hot dinner and pudding.

D - whatever we’re having (he can eat as much as me but we do try to limit his portion size) plus yoghurt / rice pudding or similar.

Usually a piece of fruit in the evening and a snack after school - crackers, fruit, sometimes a biscuit or fruit bar.

He’s got a gigantic appetite though and eats pretty much everything so probably not great for comparison.

Banana (when he gets up),
At 7: bowl of cereal/2 slices cheese on toast, less than half a handful dried fruit/nut mix, glass of milk.
Break time - half an apple, two biscuits, bottle of water.
Lunch - 3/4 adult portion cooked meal, water
After school snack - biscuit or piece of fruit, water/fruit tea
Tea - plate of salad, 3-4 slices bread cheese/cold meat/egg sandwiches, yoghurt, fruit, water

Mine are 6.5 but tall and could easily pass for 8.
Today was...
Breakfast: homemade pancakes (no sugar) with raspberries, strawberries and honey on top. Slices of mango. Glass of milk.

School snack was a piece of fruit.
School dinner was fish and chips with peas and a yoghurt with pear slices.
After school they had 2 rice cakes with cheese, can, humous and a hot chocolate.

Dinner was cottage pie with mixed vegetables and a small chocolate mousse for pudding.

Before bed they had a glass of milk and a banana.

They always eat loads.

DS is 8.5

He goes in for breakfast with the boarders at his Prep so has hotel style breakfast every day (cooked options, porridge, fruit etc). Pretty sure he eats solidly for 40mins.

Cooked lunch at school, so another big meal. I know he has daily seconds.

After school he has a small bowl of cereal or a toasted bagel and whatever fruit he wants.

He eats absolutely shed loads, however he does around 8hrs a week of sports in school and a further 5hrs a week of swim training on top out of school. He is ALWAYS hungry.

My kids eat the same at 10 as at 8, maybe slightly larger dinner portion.

Breakfast. Porridge, approx 3 serving spoons. Or bowl of cereal. Or one slice toast and smoothie.

Lunch. School dinner or 2 slices of bread (sandwich), crisps and apple (and variations on that theme).

Snack. Cereal bar or crackers and cheese or 3 chocolate digestive

Dinner. 3 serving spoons spaghetti, 2 serving spoon bolognaise, 1 serving spoon peas or 3 fish fingers, 2 spoons mash, 2 spoons baked beans.

Mine is 7.

Brekkie - A "main" such as porridge, weetabix, slice of toast, crumpet or croissant, and two small from age frais and some fruit - usually a Berry of some kind plus a kids multi vitamin.

Lunch - School dinner (hoorah ;))

Snack after school - A piece of fruit (usually chopped apple or pear) or some veg (cucumber or carrot sticks) alongside a biscuit or Crisps or crackers stc.

Tea - A portion of whatever the rest of us are having eg shepherd's pie, curry, pasta, roast etc. Sometimes has a pudding eg yoghurt, fruit, cake, ice cream.

On sports training days tea is something quick instead. Either a sandwich picky tea or something toast or fish fingers with veg and chips. They also get a supper on sports training days - usually porridge or toast.

Always juice to drink, won't drink water. Occasionally has milk or hot choc.