Has anyone else had their 6 year old go through a growth spurt?

[mumofoneAlonebutokay]

Dd is almost 6 (with autism)

She's so hungry! Up until now, she'd survive on a meat diet, like a cavegirl🤭

Now she's more interested in carbs (amazing) but also wants lots more food! Still can't get her to eat whole veggies, currently i blend them into her curries

She's slender but I do worry about obesity as I was an obese child - that's me putting my trauma on to her though, got to stop that.

Has anyone experienced an increase in hunger at this age?

I think it is quite normal. It always used to be quite obvious when my DC was having a growth spurt. He was not a big eater a lot of the time, but would suddenly start eating everything he could get hold of for a while. I think DC are very good at self regulating if you let them decide how much to eat.

I have an under eating 6yo son (fortified milk diet) who is like this sometimes, except he also has not stopped having growth spurts yet. Size 1 shoes, tall dad's side. He's up to my shoulders already.

For diet limited kids, I find the bottomless hunger times excellent for trying to add in a new healthy food. New fruit or veg, whatever you can, focusing on healthy habits instead of weight.

Yes absolutely, I've tried potatoes various ways as she wouldn't eat them previously, not much luck really other than chips

And she's got a tangerine and chips for lunch 😭 seeing what i can get away with

Edit, he's tall! Is his diet mostly milk? Our kids live according to their own rules, ive been advised to try milk with dd but she won't go near the stuff x

Yeah this is what's happened, just so random 😅

Agree, that's just me worrying - she'll stop eating when she's full, unlike her mother 🙈

@mumofoneAlonebutokay Not anymore, it was mostly milk until 2 then crept up a bit with safe foods. He was a cmpa baby so it's barista oat milk with paediasure, the cmpa is mostly gone now but he still won't touch cow milk.

Are you sure she’s not just eating a more normal amount for her age? In my experience, kids that age are bottomless pits and can eat more than adults without it affecting their weight. If she stops eating when full I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

Yeah, my 6 year old DD's appetite varies with growth spurts. It'll feel like she's eating more than me for a couple of weeks, then suddenly she'll settled back down again. She's just shot out of her last lot of clothes after a hungry spell. She also gets aching knees when she's had a growth spurt, which I remember getting when I was a kid too.

What is she eating in a day? I suspect it’s probably quite typical and you are simply comparing it to a time before when it was different.

Kids can eat an enormous amount and as long as it’s healthy (ish) will not put on excessive weight. I’m always a bit 😳 when people say their dc have beans on toast at afterschool club at 4:30pm and then are pretty much good for the night. 😂 Mine could eat beans on toast after school, then some crackers, an apple and a banana, and then we have a proper home cooked hot dinner every night plus they might have a yoghurt or bowl of grapes after, in addition to breakfast and a hot school dinner/pudding. Both mine are slender, but they can eat.

As long as it’s relatively healthy, just feed her. I’d see it as an opportunity to possibly sneak in some new foods on occasion.

So she used to have a sausage roll breakfast
4 x sausages for lunch 🤭, which she wouldn't finish, she'd maybe have 2

6 x chicken nuggets for snack after school

A bowl of rice and curry/pasta/2 x packs of instant noodles which she wouldn't finish for dinner

Now she will finish the bowl of dinner and still be hungry so I'll have to make more nuggets about 2 hours after dinner. Plus, she's finishing her snack quicker

---

So the new meal plan after Easter will be

Sausage roll for breakfast
4 x posh sausages (she no longer likes the cheap stuff, apparently), a donut, a yogurt and a packet of crisps for lunch

Chicken nuggets after school, maybe a double portion

Then a bigger bowl of rice/pasta/noodles, and hour later than usual

I'm also hoping to introduce some grilled meat for her to try and alongside that some grilled veggies

😬

surely you don't expect a 6yr old to finish 2 packs of instant noodles?? Would you eat that much as an adult?
i know you said you hide veg in curry but she's got barely any fibre in her diet which would help to keep her full for longer. Could you try adding fruit and veg to other foods through the day?

This is what the dietitian said on friday re the fibre. I forgot to mention her eating increases to her 🤦‍♀️

Okay that's fair, i made two as she'd always finish one and I didn't want to have to make extra food before bed

But now she's finishing two and is still hungry! 😄

I said to the dietitian that I will give her oatmeal at breakfast, mixed with frozen raspberries, which i think is a more filling breakfast

But there were times where she wasnt eating, so switched to the sausage rolls as they can travel in the car with her

maybe try baking something like a breakfast flapjack if she eats on the go?
oatmeal and berries would definitely be an improvement!