Too excited to eat

[anareen]

DD (7) told me she only eats a little of her lunch at school because she is too excited and wants to go and play. This broke my heart. DD is very good about being self aware or simply things that will be beneficial for her. Ex. We talk about how she feels after a shower vs before, how certain foods keep her full longer than others etc etc. She is in activities outside of school where she gets interaction with other children. My thought is speaking to the teacher? Any other thoughts on how to navigate this?

Am I missing something here?? I think it's lovely she's excited to play with her friends!!

I think most kids do this they're just not self aware enough to realise why. I'd want to check that midday assistants are encouraging them all to eat as much as possible

Why does it break your heart?! I'm not sure it's a big a deal as you're making it

Maybe your sandwiches need to be more exciting?!
No child of that age will sit and savour their lunch, she sounds fun, totally normal to want to play

Pretty normal. It was a thing 30 years ago when I was in primary school. Children would rather play with their friends than eating. Unless she is underweight I wouldn’t be concerned.

What have I just read?!

Send her in with something quick to eat that she really likes and give her a good breakfast and dinner!

My DC would have a bite of sandwich , a drive type yogurt and a drink all through primary school. Never any more.

They would eat their fruit snack on the way home.

Best advice is fuel up in the mornings and let her eat whatever she needs when she gets home.

Breakfasts could be eggs and toast/ pancakes with toppings/ weetabix with toppings etc

Snack immediately after school like a sandwich and fruit

Evening meal

They definitely have a 'school appetite' and a 'home appetite' in my experience!

Oh, of course ! I am just concerned that she is only eating small amounts of food because she is wanting to go play.

Frube not drive

I think teaching kids to eat when they're hungry, not just because it's the scheduled time to eat, is a great thing. I'd be delighted, personally. I never push DD to finish her meals or worry about what she leaves in her lunchbox etc – so long as she's not underweight, leave her to it.

I'm sure if she's hungry she will eat more. I'd not stress over it.

This makes me feel a bit better. Thank you!

We definitely fuel up in the mornings and I bring her a banana, cheese stick and some nuts, sometimes yogurt for the ride home and let her pick what she wants and then we have a balanced dinner ☺️

Like this idea! Thank you!

Presumably you sent her to school with breakfast in her belly. She is simply regulating her eating. If she is a healthy weight and no other underlying health conditions that need regular food intake then she is displaying normal behaviour and learning self regulation around food.

Lots of kids do this, it's very common and unless she is really skinny or there is something specific that means this is an issue for her its not something I'd worry about. One of my DC does this, but he eats more at dinner if he's skipped lunch. Often he'll just have eaten a single piece of fruit between breakfast and afternoon tea which we have right after school and he runs all over the place during school, doesn't slow him down at all.

Why would that break your heart? It's weird on here today with this and the glasses post.

I love this point of view! Thank you so much for this!

We eat balanced meals and as clean as possible! She is very knowledgeable about nutrition 🙂

My kids did this too. They don’t have a condition like diabetes so were fine waiting until home time to eat.

Right through school, from her first day until her last day, I would meet DD in the car with food and water. Always. In the early years, I would meet her at the classroom door with food.

Food is always better than a hungry kid and it would also give her brain a few minutes to reset. Any friends I brought home from school would also get food.

Thanks to a Mumsnet tip.

They all do it according to my DD, they eat just enough to not be hungry, as quickly as possible so they can be out of the dinner hall and playing with friends.

I just do her a big breakfast now to make sure she has enough energy to get her through.

Are you very concerned about food yourself?
Does it occupy a lot of your thoughts?

"We talk about how she feels after a shower vs before, how certain foods keep her full longer than others etc etc."

She's only 7 years of age.

Why do you need to know how she feels before a shower and after - is it to encourage her have a shower with 'feeling' clean?

It's too much information and it's linking food to you and your feelings and opinions.

I don't being very knowledgeable about nutrition is necessarily a good thing for a 7yr old - because they can start overthinking Good food Vs Bad food.

"I would meet her at the classroom door with food."

I've always found this bizarre. My friend has constant snacks to hand and for one of her kids this has become problematic. She doesn't eat meals anymore, just constant snacks that have become more junk like and salty as she gets older.

Unless she's underweight or anemic (or has underlying medical issues), then what she's doing is absolutely fine. Far better she's playing than eating when she doesn't want to

I don’t know why I bother packing a lunch for my 9 year old. most of it stays uneaten as she’s in a rush to get outside and play. At this point her lunchbox is mainly for show. A few bites and she’s done.

Unless a child is underweight, and also not eating at home, I’m not bothered. It’s normal. Why sit and eat a sandwich when you could be having fun with your friends.

This is the second thread in active where a parent is “heart broken” over something fairly insignificant.

As an aside- there’s no need to promote the nonsense label of “clean” eating to a child.