Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

162 replies

2MumsAreBetterThan1 · 08/09/2012 02:13

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.

OP posts:
margerykemp · 10/09/2012 20:01

oh well I suppose that is a happy outcome

Bobyan · 10/09/2012 20:24

I'm assuming the poor mutt didn't have the 2 litres of fizzy drink though did it?

Original poster
2MumsAreBetterThan1 · 10/09/2012 20:36

No Bobyan

We worked out that she had eaten most of her tea, 2 pieces of cheesecake, a few crackers and her drink.

Dog had leftovers of her tea, 4 pieces of cheesecake, the whole pack of crackers minus one or two and some peanuts later on.

Surprised he hasn't got tummy ache, the dog that is.

OP posts:
MrsTerrysChocolateOrange · 10/09/2012 20:38

It's a miracle he is still alive, the poor dog. She may need a bit of a lesson in not feeding animals random crap. What if it had been a packet of chocolate?

DoMeDon · 10/09/2012 20:44

So glad her mum had a go at her Hmm

She sounds an unhappy child and needs her eating issues addressed.

DowntonOut · 10/09/2012 20:46

Never mind chocolate, the dog was given peanuts.

Did she not got told off on the night for taking all the cheesecake when no one was looking? Would have thought this would all have been discovered then.

Bet the dog's looking forward to her next visit!

diddl · 11/09/2012 08:23

The poor dog!

Was it not ill?

Why on earth did she think that that was an ok thing to do?

And how come no one noticed?

limitedperiodonly · 11/09/2012 08:30

So it's a 9-year-old's fault for thinking she was being nice to the dog now?

If you care so much about the girl and the dog why were you not keeping an eye on them every now and then?

Thumbwitch · 11/09/2012 08:35

Well yes, limited - she was told not to feed the dog so she did anyway. That is entirely her fault.

Downton - just interested - do dogs have issues with peanuts? I know about the theobromine issue in chocolate, but haven't heard anything about peanuts.

diddl · 11/09/2012 08:41

"No wonder she was hungry though, "

Eh?

I thought that she still had a decent meal, 2 pieces of cheesecake & some crackers!

LurkingAndLearningLovesOrange · 11/09/2012 08:43

Seriously, limited? Hmm

2Mums I hope your dog is okay! :( My dog would actually have had to go to the vet if a child did that to her.

Did the mum really bring home of the point of how wrong what she did to the dog was/wasting food/spoiling cake for everyone else/lying etc??

It was probably innocent but needs to be stamped out pretty quickly.

With the weight thing...Could it be as 'simple' as mum has trouble saying no to DD?

limitedperiodonly · 11/09/2012 08:50

She's nine. By the sounds of it she was left to her own devices by the adults and made friends with the dog who wolfed down the food gratefully as dogs tend to do.

I can think of far worse things for a bored child to do while not being supervised.

Unless OP is going to come back and say the child was engaged in stimulating conversation all evening. I guess she might.

At the same age at a party where all the adults were drinking and chatting I fed the cat because I was lonely and liked cats. Whiskas in case anyone's worried.

LurkingAndLearningLovesOrange · 11/09/2012 08:54

If nothing else, she deprived everyone else of cake that OP made and lied about it.

I don't even want to think what my mum woulda done to me...Shock

Thumbwitch · 11/09/2012 08:59

Nine is plenty old enough to understand "No, don't feed the dog, it's already been fed". Boredom isn't an excuse for disobedience. She could have patted the dog without feeding it.

limitedperiodonly · 11/09/2012 09:01

Yes, seriously, lurking. Hmm

I don't think it's great for her to feed the dog after being asked not to but she didn't poke it in the eye.

She's nine and thought she was was being nice and wasn't being watched or included.

Otherwise how could it have happened?

Maybe she created a diversion and shoved a funnel in its mouth and forcefed it like a foie gras goose while everyone was looking elsewhere.

I suppose anything's possible on this thread.

LurkingAndLearningLovesOrange · 11/09/2012 09:08

Ignoring the feeding the dog part, she deprived every other guest of cake after she herself had two slices. She's not 5. She knew that was very wrong and I hope she got in serious trouble for that.

DowntonOut · 11/09/2012 12:20

thumbwitch. I guess it's a bit like humans, you just don't know how the dog will react to nuts. Some can be allergic. It's one of the foods I was always taught was a risk with dogs, and I worked quite closely with a wide range of breeds as a teenager in the early 90s. Of course there's a greater focus on chocolate, grapes and onions these days.

Thumbwitch · 11/09/2012 12:25

Oh thanks Downton, I truly didn't know that! Shock Didn't know about the grapes and onions either, what's up with them?

DoMeDon · 11/09/2012 12:27

OP says she ate her cake, asked for more and her plate was replenished. The child is not to blame for the adults feeding her and ignoring her. I feel sorry for her.

DowntonOut · 11/09/2012 12:43

Onions are garlic are something to do with sulphur and I think grapes and raisins can cause kidney problems. Let me see if I can find a link.

Vet blog: blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100032752/dont-feed-your-animals-barbed-wire-and-other-tips-to-avoid-problems-with-pets/

Thumbwitch · 11/09/2012 12:56

Ooo that's a really interesting article, thanks Downton! Although I did have a small smirk at the end comment to labrador owners... Grin
Might be worth posting that in the kennel board, there might be some dog owners who don't know some of those (I don't have a dog, was just interested in the toxicology)

DowntonOut · 11/09/2012 13:02

It raised a smile here too, given Labs are the breed is was raised with (some would say among Grin). I might have a look and see what's been done in the Dog House already.

MarysBeard · 11/09/2012 13:14

My 7 year old has been known to eat a full roast dinner, dessert and then want supper as well with similar timings to the above. She is bang in the middle of the healthy weight range though now she usually eats more than me!

I was the same at her age though - I could eat an adult sized starter, main & dessert in the pub, no problem. Expensive child.

diddl · 11/09/2012 13:34

Back to the OP-where does this come from then?-

"Her plate was repeatedly filled with cheesecake until she had polished off a full cake designed to serve 6"

Who was repeatedly filling her plate??!!

grobagsforever · 11/09/2012 14:01

Good point Diddl.