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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

What food shall I give skinny ds1(7) who is always hungry ?

37 replies

Oblomov · 22/06/2011 13:22

Following on from Orms thread really. I have the opposite problem.
Rds1(7) really quite skinny. And is permanently hungry. I took him to the doctor and jokingly asked if he had worms, but that kid eats and eats and is eating us out of house and home.
As a diabetic my whole life, I feel I have a 'reasonable' grasp of nutrition.
It has been suggested that it is actually tiredness and/or hunger.
So i try to get him to bed early and he drinks lots of water anyway. I stuff him with bananas, try to get protein in him for long term, cheese, youghurts, I do cheese and cracker towers with crackers, ham and cheese.
I give puddings, crisps and chocolate, with muffins, croisants, biscuits. fruit and bread. and ....
Bloody 'ell, I can't even think of anything else to feed the boy. He has 3 huge meals a day.
For breakfast , a huge bowl of cereal. Plus 2 or 3 slices or toast. then a hour later he wants a banana, and a packer of crisps. I do him some cheese and crackers and a youghurt. And some strawberreis and grapes. It goes on and on and on.
I don't know what to do !!
Its costing me a packet !! And this is a long term thing, not just growth spurt !
Any suggestions ?

OP posts:

Lotkinsgonecurly · 22/06/2011 14:09

ds is always hungry and refuses to drink milk as I think he'd find that quite filling and satisfying as a drink. How about a yogurt drink? Filling and nutritious.

Original poster

Oblomov · 22/06/2011 14:16

sorry mrs kravitz, I don't understand your question.
He eats alot. is always hungry. And I would say no to him if I thought it was tiredness/thirst/boredom, or if he was overweight. But he is infact not quite underweight, but very slim. so I do keep feeding him. But he eats such a lot. its hard to keep up. and I run out of foodstuffs to give him. I think, I can't give him ..... becasue he's already had thta today/yesterday/ Its so tyring and expensive.

OP posts:

MrsKravitz · 22/06/2011 14:20

I understand you are trying to find foods to satisfy him. You just need to be mindful that he is getting enough for growth and development and he isnt being filled up with high fibre foods etc. I dont think you are. I was just wondering as you said "skinny" so I thought underweight :)

JemimaMop · 22/06/2011 14:21

My 3 eat like horses. They are 5, 7 and almost 9. On a school day they have breakfast at home (usually porridge and fruit) then a second breakfast at school breakfast club (cereal and/or toast). They then have school dinner, often with seconds. They have a snack of fruit at breaktime and another snack at after school club (something like breadsticks, cheese and fruit). They then come home and eat another cooked meal.

If I ate as much as they did, especially the two eldest, I woudl be the size of a house. As it is they are all skinny and between the 9th and 25th centiles for weight. They are pretty active though, they walk or cycle to and from school and play a lot of sport, so they must just work it off.

rainbowtoenails · 22/06/2011 14:38

Why are you the one doing all the work of preparing all these snacks? My 7yo has his meals made for him but snacks and drinks he gets himself. You must be exhausted! Could it be some way of getting atten5ion from you?

alfiesmadmother · 22/06/2011 14:46

I feel your pain!!! I have 4 and the 3 boys are all like this. What helps me is:

pancakes!!!!
milk!!!!
ritz crackers!!!
wholemeal toast and jam!!!

and thinking this is absolitely normal. Though I don't eat much so I find it hard to accept sometimes that they need so much.

I love to look at them and notice how much they've grown and think at least the food is working.

PigletJohn · 22/06/2011 14:50

Gruel.

And if he ask for more, hit him with the ladle.

AllTheYoungDoods · 22/06/2011 15:14

No idea if this is appropriate (I know nada about spectrum/sensory issues etc), but what if you got him to help prepare food?
A fruit ice lolly has virtually no calories, but it's quite fun to make them. LIkewise little cakes etc. That way he's spending time around food rather than troughing it!

PigletJohn · 22/06/2011 16:31

if he's eating a lot and is very skinny, he is presumably running about and buring it off? Boys do tend to be energetic (not the ones who sit in front of a TV or PC all day. obv.) and that is no bad thing.

you say you took him to the GP, did the doc have anything to say? Hopefully it is not a digestion problem?

If it's the cost you are thinking of, plenty of wholemeal bread, marmalade sandwiches, fruit which you say he eats, milk shakes if he doesn't like milk, need not be v expensive. The high-carbs will burn away very fast though.

PigletJohn · 22/06/2011 16:33

burning it off I mean

worraliberty · 22/06/2011 16:39

I agree with rainbow he should be getting his own drinks and snacks.

Actually it might cut down on a bit of the hunger if he has to get them himself

dizzyblonde · 22/06/2011 16:45

My 17 DS is the same. Really skinny and eats constantly. He's on study leave for A levels at the moment and I constantly have an empty fridge. We get through about six pints of milk a day. He has three good meals a day and then bananas, toast and peanut butter, flapjacks and anything else he can get his hands on. He does , however, revise by walking around the house. It's like living with one of those lions that paces up and down it's cage all day. I suppose he's burning it off.

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