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 :/

Think the starving accusation is a little over the top.

But op (if you return) bread and pasta are good carbohydrates that'll fill up a child.

On these threads you always get poster telling how much their dc eat, and listing huge amounts and the claim truely is that their child is skinny. In all honesty it seems doubtful (especially having met some I real life)

But you DS really isn't eat huge amount certainly not to 'out of house and home levels'

There is no way anyone can argue that what OP has listed is enough for a five year old; what's worrying is that she sees it as 'eating a lot.'

You're being ridiculous.

For many five year olds that will be more than enough.

For many five year olds it won't be enough.

For many five year olds it will depend on how they feel on the day.

for comparison my dd (5)

1 boiled egg and toast soldiers

ham sandwich (once slice of bread cut in half)
small handful of crisps
3 slices of cucumber
3 pepper stick
alpro yogurt
pear

small bowl of stew
veg
and sone peaches (canned)

starved?

Yes, and she thinks it's 'eating a lot' but I'm not getting into a stupid argument Worra. It's not enough food. Nor is it particularly nutritious.

As a one off a couple of times a week its FINE. But the point is, the mum thinks it's loads and loads and her child is hoovering everything in sight when like I say, it's tiny meals and a bit of fruit.

On these threads you always get poster telling how much their dc eat, and listing huge amounts and the claim truely is that their child is skinny. In all honesty it seems doubtful (especially having met some I real life)

Often the kids are only little though - infant school ages.

Lots of kids seem to get fat in Junior school, when they're around 9+ years old. Some grow out of it but some just continue to get fatter.

AIBU to really enjoy reading all these food diaries?
I realise they are all just snapshots but really interesting to see the variation.

Of course the OP is not 'starving' her child, but equally I don't see how what she is posting about how much he eats would warrant and 'WTF do children eat so much". That is not 'so much'. It is rather on the limited side.

IME (4 boys ranging from 6yo - eats only beige - to 13yo - eats whole loaves of bread and then asks where dinner is and 2 in-between) appetite is a very variable thing, just as fidgetiness or interest in reading or amount of sleep needed etc.
No need to get too het up about.

If a child is hungry, or even just has an appetite, they should be fed - with food, rather than what is considered a snack. If they want a snack because it's tasty to have some chocolate or crips or whatever, fine too.
If a child eats not that much, but is well and active, then there is no need to 'encourage' them to eat more.

I think there has been a shift in perception what a 'healthy' weight for a child can be. I see perfectly healthy 'skinny' childen with worried parents who think they are underweight. They are not - they are just built like whippets. Not a bad thing, much, much better than being overweight.

My big eater is a whippet by the way, the beige eater looks quite average, and I also have a pudgy one who is just coming round to the concept of stopping eating when he is full . DS3 has an average appetite, eats the most fruit by far of all of them and is a skinny minny. All different, same parents, same meals, same food in fridge/larder etc.

The OP won't be back, will she?

It's the way of mumsnet now it seems. Ridiculous hysteria. The kids saying he's still hungry. Yes, it doesn't read as a massive amount of food but I'm assuming that up until now he was fine with it. He's just growing.

For all you harping on about 'neglect' and 'malnutrition' the kid isn't rifling through fucking bins. Think about your bloody words and the damage they could do to someone.

None of my DCs are big breakfast eaters, a bowl of cereal is enough for them.

If the OP is judging the school dinners by the pics on the menu, or hasn't actually seen one then chances are she doesn't realise how small they are.

As for dinner then yes some potato or pasta would have been good - but how do we know her DS isn't a little and often eater? Maybe she thinks she's doing the right thing with the fruit?

Maybe you should unhoik your judgey pants.

Your Don is eating a lot of fruit but that's not enough to sustain him.

I'll agree with others that he's not getting enough protein, carbs or dairy.

I'd give him toast with his cereal or even a banana sandwich instead of the cereal.

He needs a snack after school and for dinner he needs carbs, protein and fibre.

If you think he's eating too much then I'd suggest you have food issues. This is too little for a growing child.

I'd say that's not a whole lot of filling stuff, it's fruit, a bowl of cereal, lunch and small dinner. Fruit is healthy but sugary and not filling.

My almost 4 yr old boy today has eaten:

2 weetabix
a pear
sausage roll
half a mango
4 breadsticks
hummous
a pack of mini cheddars
a banana
2 jaffa cakes
2.5 slices of pizza (picked the cheese off)
5 cubes of cheese (don't ask why it can't go on the pizza, he's 3!)
2 slices of garlic bread
Possibly a yoghurt for pudding but we haven't had it yet.

He's eat more if I gave it to him as well, he's asked for a hummous sandwich and melon and 'snacks' which he hasn't had as it was too close to a meal time.
Not a particualrly healthy day but not the worst either.

Of course she won't be back. She has people accusing hereof abusing her child.

I have twin six year olds and they do eat quite a lot more than that OP

Let's hope the OP's DS does not grow to 6ft 1 with size 12 feet by the age of just 14. Then she will really know what being eaten out of house and home feels like

Although at the rate she's feeding him, I doubt he'll get to that size.

A kid nicking carrots to eat in secret - PLEASE feed him, the poor chap .

No wonder he is slim.

Christ my DC would chew on the doors if that was his daily intake. Great that there's plenty of fruit but school dinner portions are based on a child the size of a cabbage patch kid. I would give something more substantial with that dinner. Toast/crumpets/hot cross bun if he wants a snack.

Hopefully she's away making him something proper for his dinner.

That doesn't sound like a lot of food to me. DS is just short of 13 months and today he has had,

Breakfast: 1 1/2 weetabix made with 4oz milk and a handful of blueberries.

Lunch: egg sandwich (made with one egg and one slice of wholemeal bread) cucumber sticks and 4 olives. Plain natural yoghurt for desert.

Dinner: steamed salmon, peas, Brussel sprouts and sweet potato. Desert was a handful of raspberries and a slice of pineapple.

He also has around 18 oz of milk (first thing, an hour after lunch and an hour before bed). He's quite tall for his age but slim and like most babies his age, very active!

OP I hope you are reading if not replying.

You are neglecting his most basic need- food.

This isn't enough. I don't know anyone who would serve chicken dinosaurs with just beans and to only give him a carrot if he is still hungry?

I really hope this thread helps you see this isn't normal and it needs to change.

Perhaps she gives him a smaller amount at dinner because he has had a cooked lunch? We don't know how much of his school dinner he eats. My children have both been fine having school dinners and then a sandwich for tea, or sardines on toast. OP I would just add a carb for tea maybe. If you didn't give him fruit you would have everyone saying he's not getting enough vitamins.

Have to admit some of these toddlers eat better than I do. But still I don't think that would fill up your average 5 year old.

The fact is, it probably isn't enough food for this boy. He is hungry, hiding carrots and his mum thinks he is eating loads and is shocked by it.

It doesn't look great does it?

One of mine doesn't eat much but she isn't hungry after a meal and I don't think what she eats is too much. There is a difference.

She isn't starving him no, but he seems like he needs more.

Some days my DC seem to need more food than others. I see it as them self regulating. They may be growing. They are both slim and if they are telling me they are hungry and have eaten everything I have put in front of them then they get more food.

I remember DD being like the hungry caterpillar one particular day and just eating and eating!! It was a one off, I guess she must have been going through a growth spurt.

What yiu have described in your Post doesn't sound like a huge amount of food OP.

The OP is not starving or neglecting her child, just because she's not feeding him a banquet every day

But the op said he was hungry...If he was full up on that amount of food then that would be different, but if he is saying he is hungry then it's clearly not sufficient.

Jesus wept, what is it with this rash of mothers lately who have no idea how to feed their children? How could ANYONE think this is enough food? No carbs, no protein - it's bordering on starving him, the poor kid.

He likes eating whole carrots on his own, I keep finding the carrot stalks hidden

To be fair, that might mean he stuffs them down the back of the sofa as he can't be arsed to put them in the bin. I used to find discarded toast crusts in my kid's toy boxes. Lazy little gits.

We don't know really and won't unless the OP comes back.

Although I wouldn't blame her if she didn't.