To think it isn't normal to eat like this?

[2MumsAreBetterThan1]

Had a relative over for tea today aalong with her 9 year old daughter.

Served quite a large tea for a child as overcooked so at 6pm she ate (the 9 year old) a whole chicken breast, 6 boiled potatoes,.2 Yorkshire puddings and a large scoop each of cabbage, green beans, carrots and peas. She ate it all along with 2 slices of bread.

At 6.40 gave her pudding, just her as adults were too full to eat it , she ate all that and asked for more. Her plate was repeatedly filled with cheesecake until she had polished off a full cake designed to serve 6 .

By 7.30 she was complaining of hunger so her mum gave her a full pack of crackers (the big pack of Jacobs ones) all of which she ate.

At 8.15ish the adults were having a drink so got some nibbles out. doritoes, dips, mixed nuts, crisps and some cheese and crackers. She helped herself to these as well .

They left at 9pm by which point she was again complaining of hunger and her mum said I'll make you toast when we get in.

Needless to say she is overweight, now my daughter is a faddy eater so hard to compare but surely that's an excessive amount of food for a child?

No health issues, mum said she's always loved her food. Seemed to me like she was eating out of boredom a few times.

Not an armchair diagnosis?

So londone is a qualified paed with a speciality in genetics who has assessed the child in a medical setting then.....

There must have been something on the crackers, isn't it impossible to eat a full packet of dry crackers even washed down with lots of water?

I'm sure I watched something about it.

Just out of interest was the fizzy drink a sugar free one? Sweeteners like aspartame increase appetite so instead of filling her up it might have made her hungry (not that it's an excuse for being allowed to eat that much!)

You haven't come back to say if you're going to do anything about this... but maybe if they come over again, you could make a point of saying "no you've had enough" (and repeat) as maybe it would point out to the mum that it's not normal?

Thanks again everlong. No princess, I'm not a doctor and as already said, I don't know these people. Do you?

Neither am I ignorant or hysterical. You're the one getting worked up over what was a suggestion amongst other suggestions made on here.

where do you get 16 cal from.Everything i can find indicates around 2000 calories for average activity.

1600 kcal not 16

I have just give it a quick google and it indicates 1600-1800 for non active nine year old girls, upto 2200 for extremely active 9 year old girls.

If you have a zebra in your house, and you hear hooves, you think, zebra. I think this is probably a horse...

What limitedperiodonly said: In OP's case I would have continued to offer because the child was my guest and feeding guests is my idea of good manners. I would have expected the mother to intervene for the sake of her child's health and the reason I just gave, but if she didn't I wouldn't decide to police it for her and certainly I wouldn't canvass opinions on the internet about their manners and weight.

That's what I call bad manners. If I caught someone doing that I'd give them a piece of my mind and never set foot in their house again.

Sometimes reading MN is like dipping into a petty Edwardian etiquette guide.

Although I'd disagree slightly on the etiquette; no etiquette evidenced here. It's like one of those awful, embarrassing scenarios of people 'egging on' awkward behaviour so that they can have a good old gossip about it... it seems to make some people feel better if they can anonymously pull up someone's behaviour.

Could have all been so easily avoid... "Can I have more cheesecake?". "No, I'm sorry darling, the rest is for later/tomorrow/everybody else." Too easy?

My 9yo DSS sometimes eats like this- as in he had a big dinner (homemade Cornish pasties, boiled spuds, cabbage, sprouts and carrots at his Grans for tea tonight at 6) then came home for 7.30 and had a few crisps, slices of chorizo and a slice of bread with us, then an apple, kit kat and milk before bed at 9.

But hes been at football (1hr) and drama (2.30hrs) today, as well as a 6 mile bike ride, and only had a small pasta salad and banana for lunch. He's very tall and thin.

I'd be MORTIFIED if he ate a full cake like that, especially if it was intended for guests.

Very odd.

Is the kid fat?

OP says child is "overweight" which probably means "fat".

Why the fuck did uyo give her all that cheesecake? Totally baffled.

Catching up on posts.

A) the potatoes were small boiled potatoes, meal was a fairly normal size i would say. More than my kids eat but they are younger.

B) Yes it was an adult evening but babysitter backed out last minute so yes she was most likely bored, although i did put a DVD on for her.

C) I did not allow her to eat the whole cheesecake, her mum gave her the second slice (said here have mine) and she ate the rest while we were all chatting. It's only when i asked what people thought of the cake we realised she had ate it all.

D) i didn't stop her eating as she isn't my child and it isn't up to me, I wouldnt want to step on any toes.

E) No her parents are not overweight, nor her older sister.

F) Yes i am doing something about it, have been researching thyroid issues and diabetes so can talk to her mum.

Re. The crackers, these were nibbled on while watching TV. Her mum had broughtthem along. I don't think it's strange to eat them dry, my children have done it on many occasions just not a whole pack.

I really think she was eating out of boredom, i will openly about she was a bit ignored as the adults were playing cards, drinking etc.

Oh and the child is overweight, certainly not obese. She is also very tall, broad shoulders etc. so is quite solidly built anyway.

I have no idea if the drink was sugar free, mum brought it herself.

Definately PW have worked with a child suffering from this disability and there is many more signs and symptoms. From what i read on thyroid issues i doubt that's it also.

They are coming over again tomorrow, not for a meal just to play after school so will see what happens / speak to mum.

I have known this child since birth, absolutely adore her and have never noticed this before. Mum didn't act shocked so made me think it was normal for her but mum may not have noticed as wasn't paying much attention.

That should say definately NOT PW, hard typing on phone sorry.

I haven't read the whole thread- I apologise as i know this can be irritating if it's already been discussed. Wanted to say that a friend's dd had a disorder where the message that the stomach sends out saying 'I'm full' simply doesn't get sent, or isn't interpreted by the brain. So they never feel full. And always feel hungry.

This little girl had an obsession with food. And I mean obsession. It was very uncomfortable in social situations as she would literally polish off anything within reach.

Her mum had a daily battle of hiding and saying no to food- her dd was slightly overweight but not hugely obese- thanks to the relentless hard work her mum put in managing her diet.

I witnessed once at a party, a large family sized bag of crisps was left on the floor- this little girl scoffed the lot in about 45 seconds. The entire bag. I am not exaggerating. Afterwards she was still hungry. I have also witnessed her eating an entire plate of about 20
party sandwiches at a childs birthday...

She had tests for thyroid problems, psychiatric assessments, all sorts of interventions and there was nothing wrong with her physically or emotionally. A very healthy and happy girl - so that's how they came to her diagnosis. Can't remember what it's called- it does have a name.

Anyway, she's still rather keen on food but the obsessiveness of it all is getting better and she does seem to recognise when she's full now.

Btw it wasn't PW... Something different..

You are taking about prader willi syndrome. It's not that. Pader willi has loads more symptoms including facial characteristics none of which she has.

Whoops cross posted. Going to goggle never heard of any such disorder other than PW.

"Mum didn't act shocked so made me think it was normal for her but mum may not have noticed as wasn't paying much attention."

Hmmm. Perhaps the nub of the problem?

Well came over again today with the little one, bit the bullet and spoke to mum. She hadn't noticed and so called the child over to speak to her about it ...... AND........

SHE WAS FEEDING THE FUCKING DOG!!

I can't believe I have been worried sick, wondering what could be wrong, umming and arring over speaking to her mum, scared of offending them and the answer was so simple.

No wonder we didn't notice her finish off the cheesecake, saw the first 2 pieces she ate but then it was suddenly all gone and no-one seemed to have had any.

On another note, can't believe my cheesecake was fed to the bloody dog :(

I should have realised, she asked about giving some biscuits to the dog and I told her no because he has been fed already, so she decided to sneak some extra food to him.

Her mum gave her a bit of a telling off for the waste of food, plus cheesecake, crackers etc. really isn't good for the dog.

No wonder she was hungry though, it seems most of what she had to eat wasn't eaten by her.

Oh my gosh! Well, it's good news in terms of being less worrying for the girl herself, but I quite understand why you are pissed off!