Wtf do kids eat this much?

[Esmeismyhero]

Ds is 5 and 3 months (I don't know if that is relevant)

He goes to school, he does karate one day a week and the weekend he is usually running around out etc. After school he watches his iPad, does homework, runs around the house, plays toys etc.

He is very slim but very tall for his age. Lately he has been eating me out of house and home.

Today for example he ate

A bowl of cherrios
An apple
A school dinner
1/2 punnet of grapes
5 strawberries
2 x chicken dinosaurs
Beans

He is apparently still hungry????

Hasn't he had enough? Or Aibu?

He will have milk before bed and I'll ask dh to give him a carrot if he is still hungry while I'm at work tonight. He likes eating whole carrots on his own, I keep finding the carrot stalks hidden :/

My 5 year old DD probably eats twice that.

Breakfast - fruit, porridge, boiled egg
Lunch - school dinner, fruit snack at school
After school snack - piece of cheese, an oatcake, handful of cherry tomatoes (all those things)
Then dinner - something like fish pie or spaghetti bolognaise, couple of different veggies and usually pudding (fruit and Greek yoghurt most days).

Esme you've had lots of replies but just though I'd add my bit.

Firstly, and loads of people have said it, the main this that stood out to me was the lack of carbs with the evening meal. I'd have put some jacket potato/mash/even waffles with that.

I think you've had some horrible replies. It's sooo hard. My ds is 7 and constantly says he's hungry. He's tall and slim (perfect bmi), but he has a sweet tooth and likes to graze. On one hand you want to make sure they're eating enough, on the other there's an obesity crisis.

Imo our perception of weight has become skewed. There is also junk food everywhere these days. Portion sizes are too big and we're obsessed with snacking and 'sides' and puddings.

I'd love my ds to eat a bowl of porridge and berries but he won't eat it, so my compromise is weetabix, cornflakes, toast, eggs on the weekend. Ds would have you think he's starved, he does come home from school hungry, but he'd spoil his tea if I let him, also sometimes he's just bored/wants a sweet.

You're not starving or neglecting your ds, for all you know half of the people making nasty comments might have overweight children.

You could definitely include some more filling high fat/calorie foods and carbs with meals.

I'd look at the NHS website there's a lot of ideas and correct carb/protein/veg ratios.

Oh sorry to go on Esme, when I said I was relieved earlier, I meant relieved for your feelings .. I didn't want you to feel attacked :)

I'm looking forward to your little boy having his extra carbs and fat lol - he'll probably complain that you're over feeding him!

pyjama my 9 yr old ds can be like yours, in that if I give him snacks, he doesn't always eat his dinner, so he has to be a bit hungry! Hope your ds likes his tea Esme

Don't worry, I don't think you're neglecting your child :) I do however think some added carbs to his meals will do a better job in filling him up and providing a growing lad with enough energy and calories. Things like potatoes, rice, pasta, cous cous, bread etc. (Not a criticism, just trying to help.. I only have a baby, but I already know this parenting lark is a minefield!)

As someone else said, porridge might be better for breakfast, or even weetabix or something like that. Cheerios are very high in sugar and coming down from a sugar high can leave people feeling hungrier.

Also maybe slightly heavier fruit would help e.g. banana or avocado alongside the grapes/apple.

My Ds is 7 and eats less than that. I'm not neglecting him, but he does have eating issues. Our Dr has him in two drinks of whole milk a day which has definitely helped increase his weight and he now has 4 smaller meals to help him eat more.
Sometimes it's hard to know what is the right amount. It doesn't mean a child is neglected.

Hiya, what an interesting thread. Can I please ask those who do why they give their children more food before bed if they've had dinner? It's something I've been thinking of doing as my siblings and I always had a supper but I thought the current guidelines was not to as it's not good to be digesting food while trying to get to sleep, plus they don't need the energy. Thanks

My DD1 has snacks when she comes home from nursery and also a bedtime snacks of Apple, carrot and cheese as we read her stories in bed. Carrot and cheese are good for your teeth, apparently, so that's why we feel it's ok for her to have those after she's brushed her teeth. Dentist recently declared her teeth to be excellent, too.

Snack after nursery is because she's hungry. Bedtime one is mostly a ritual.

They might not need the energy but they probably need the calories! School and nursery involve a lot of brain work, and the brain consumes a lot of calories.

I give my ds extra food after dinner and before bed if he's hungry. The only thing he will ever be offered then is plain bread and butter, and he must speak up about being hungry before his bedtime stories. I don't give it as a matter of course, only if he asks. Occasionally if we have something for dinner he's not keen on and he doesn't eat much of it but has made a decent effort so I will then give him bread and butter before he goes up to make sure he's had enough.

He is pretty good at self regulating. I make sure he has solid snacks at 10.30 (if at home) and 3.30 then I don't give in to any whining before dinner, except I might give bits of carrots, beans, peppers if I'm chopping them for dinner anyway.

Having just been measured at school, he is smack in the middle of the healthy weight band. He walks half a mile to school and back every day, plays outside while there, sometimes has park or bike ride when he comes home too now the evenings are lighter, so I think we have the balance right at the moment. He was a chubby looking toddler a year ago but has put it all into his height this year.

I work in a infant school. Your not feeding your child enough. He needs a balanced diet, his learning and development will be affected by malnutrition

So because you work in an infant school does that make you a nutritionist?

Tame, if DD has dinner with us between 5-6 then she won't have a snack. But at nursery they have a cold tea at 4-4.30, with the hot dinner at 12ish. So by about 6.30 DD definitely needs something else to eat, and normally has Ready Brek, Weetabix etc.

cutter your child's learning will be affected by your bad grammar. HTH

cutter ah! So are you a child nutritionist? Didn't realise that schools had dedicated nutrionists full time.

OP, I'm sorry for what I said. I wasn't fed as a child and are constantly cooking and baking for my kids. I let my feelings from when I was little be projected on to your thread when I felt your little boy was more hungry than he needed to be. Sorry .

Well done op

My ds is the same age as yours and I feel the pressing need to share his "food diary" from yesterday to add some balance to this thread. For the record he is short and slim and muscular.

Morning:
1 slice of white toast with scrambled egg
1 packet of crisps
1 kelloggs chocolate squares thing (why are they called squares when they're rectangular?)
4 or 5 mini eggs
Another packet of crisps
Loads of hot chocolate
A few jelly babies

Lunch: Didn't really happen

Afternoon:
Hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows
Half a chocolate brownie
Some chips
A few sips of Oasis (a flavoured "juice" thing)
Another packet of crisps
A couple more mini eggs
A kit kat

Supper:
6 fish fingers with ketchup

Obviously this wasn't a normal day - a lot of it was spent up a mountain in a blizzard!

well, this thread has been a good learning tool for me- especially the bit about how many calories a child should be eating. I am reviewing what I do too. :)

To answer tameonefirst as to why we give food at bedtime.

For us there are 2 reasons:

1. We eat our evening meal quite early due to DH shifts ~ 5pm. I think it would be a long time until breakfast at 7:30am without food.
2. My dd is a type 1 diabetic so generally requires a small snack to keep her sugars up over night.

I'm glad this thread has turned around and is now more supportive .

I give DD food at bedtime because she gets really hungry then. I've asked advice from the nutritionist (had to go because she recently started GF diet so they wanted to make sure she's getting everything she needs) and she said if she is really hungry then let her eat. I keep planning on getting the bread she doesn't like and making that the evening option so she won't be asking just because she fancies a snack.