How to fill up a fussy 7yo boy?

[demotedreally]

My DS is now always hungry in the evenings. Quite often we have an annoying back and forth where he doesn't eat too much tea but then starts saying he is hungry right up to bedtime.

He usually has things like - fruit, glass milk, bread or sandwich, bowl cereal occasionally. Yesterday he was happy because I made rice pudding, which worked a treat.

Is this a thing? He has normally cereal / toast for brekkie, sandwich for lunch (maybe two), some fruit at lunch or afternoon snack, a cake or 2 biscuits and then his evening meal. I'd rather he ate his evening me and got full, as it is the most nutritious but he normally picks away at it.

Is a "supper" the thing to do? His older sisters don't need this and I don't want them to start it.

Why is he refusing his dinner? I think I’d be loathe to let him get into a habit of leaving his dinner and then eating before bedtime. I’d rather make him a meal of things he will eat and fill him up at a normal meal time.
One of mine is also a fussy eater, it is a massive pain.

Perhaps he's too tired to eat at tea time. When he's at home can you offer him his cooked meal at lunch time and the sandwich or toast for tea?

I do this for my DS quite often. Tell DH to get a canteen lunch and we all have something small at dinner and DH and I can always eat after the kids are in bed if we want to.

It's not forever and actually it's healthier.

Stop doing the food/snacks after tea when he's not eaten a proper dinner.
also agree with other posters that he may be overtired so maybe do an earlier tea or a bigger lunch and a snacky or small dinner?

What timings are we talking about? Is it possible to serve the evening meal a bit later?

My 7 year old is the same. She just can’t fit that much in at one time so I can’t really force more into her at dinner time, and she’s too hungry to wait for a later dinner. So I factor in time for a snack before bed time, and she’ll have leftovers or healthy things like carrot sticks etc. I wouldn’t offer her anything junky so she’s not deliberately avoiding eating dinner so she can have treats later on.

Thanks for suggestions. A bigger meal at lunchtime is generally not possible as he goes to school, and doesn't always eat a hot lunch.
He reckons he would eat pizza and junk food, but there are more people to cater for and that doesn't really work.

A healthy later snack is what I am angling for really.

Tea is at 6 ish usually, after club. They give something substantial at club, I don't know how much he eats Bed for him is 1945 for 2015

Unless im missing can't you just give him his leftovers from dinner ? It sounds like he's managed to get into the habit of having something " nice " before bed?

DC have always had supper until they were older. Usually rice pudding, toast, yogurt etc.

It sounds like you’re making it a boy/girl thing? Apologies if I’m misreading. The calorie requirement for a 7 year old boy is identical to a girl.

the solution is to keep the dinner and offer to reheat when he is hungry. I wouldn’t be getting in the habit of offering alternatives.

I'd take the cake/biscuits out in the afternoon to encourage eating more of the main meal.
It all sounds very carb heavy.
What about a boiled egg, yoghurt, cheese if he needs a snack?

I’d just re-offer the dinner if he’s hungry later, and no alternative.

I would be reoffering dinner if that's not being eaten; he's hungry because of that, not because he's still hungry, as it were.

If he eats dinner and is hungry after that then I would offer him something light but not sweet. Cheese or pate and crackers, a sliced apple, hummus and breadsticks, etc.

To clarify, is he underweight, or just feels hungry before bed. Because if he needs more food medically, then it's a very different scenario.

DD eats a very limited range of food. We ensure that meals are food she can eat - otherwise she'll starve herself (we've tested this), which doesn't help her or us. She's currently a healthy weight as all her meals (at home at least) are nutritionally balanced with age appropriate quantites.

Thanks for further comments. I'm not sure if he is underweight but he is all skin and bones. The girls are pre teen and much more padded and do not require more food, nor do they ask for it, but no doubt they would want something yummy.

I do reoffer his evening meal, but once he has given it a good go I won't force seconds on him ashe hasn't liked it.

He does sometimes eat enough supper, pudding, 3 pieces of bread, a yogurt an apple a glass of milk and is still hungry. He doesn't overeat as he will abruptly stop and say he is full. He is like a baby just tanking in the milk to get to sleep.

Or the hungry caterpillar.

Boiled egg might be good. He does love scrambled.

I think it is carb heavy, this is my concern I guess.

My 9 yr old does this.
if she’s left lots of dinner it goes under a cover and she eats that when she’s hungry.
if she’s eaten most of her dinner it’s fruit, bread or full fat yogurt.