To ask if you think 6 fish fingers is too many for a 3 year old boy to have for dinner?

[BasinHaircut]

along with half a 400g run of baked beans and chips.

Need to settle an arguement.

Cheers

Children's BMI is interpreted differently from adult's BMI. See here: www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_bmi/about_childrens_bmi.html

I do not have an eating disorder. Everyone in this house gets to eat exactly as much as they would like to eat.

Greenfield- it's not about BMI. Your child is average height but 9kg below average weight for her age.

so I haven't read every post but my sister's kids are big for their ages and really active healthy, strong and in no way fat .I'd say slim ....she has 4 ...the two youngest (4 and 6)would easily eat 6 fish fingers but my sister buys the larger fingers as they end up eating less coating..her thought was depends on the child ...her youngest is in clothes for 7 year old children... his best friend same age is in clothes for 3 to 4. He'd only eat 1 or two fingers. she says its not an exact science....kids are diffrent so are fish fingers...She does not think six is bad as long as it's not a regular thing.... ......she also makes her own sometimes ...

Yes, she is. There are a range of body types in the world. I am very slim and so is her father. We are both average height. It makes perfect sense that she should be very slim and an average height too. Honestly, she is perfectly healthy. I cannot force her to eat food that she doesn't want just to make her fatter. She eats a fairly normal amount of a healthy diet with occasional treats - cakes, puddings, crisps etc. She is not having her diet restricted!

If a healthy, average height nine year old actually weighs three stone in real life I am prepared to attempt to eat six fish fingers.

Greenifer 3 stone is only 19kg!
My 5yo is fairly thin and tall for his age, and weighs 19kg. He is on the 15th centile.

If he weighed that amount in 4 years I would be very very worried.

I can only hope you have mismeasured in some way.

I've just weighed her and she is in fact nearly 21kg. Please stop worrying needlessly. She has seen a doctor fairly recently (for something else) and is absolutely fine. I am quite sure a doctor would be able to spot someone who was dangerously thin.

21 is still only 2 more than 19. I think you are a bit blase about this. It is significantly under the average weight of her peers who are her height.

Greenifer,

Your daughter's underweight at 21kg according to the NHS calculator for her age. 23kg would put her just inside the healthy weight.

Gosh that is quite slim. DS is skinny and weighs about 25/26kg (I forget exact numbers). He has just turned 8 and is 132cm tall.

Everyone is different fgs! Bmi calculations are a guide at best!

oblada, her daughter is entirely off the scale! If she was off the top end, I don't think anyone would doubt she was worryingly overweight.

So, what do you think I should do about it exactly? Forcefeed her?

If my 2.5 yo was hungry I'd give him six fish fingers if he wanted.

Wouldn't expect him to want that much for every meal but occasionally it wouldn't worry me.

I always give mine ad much main course as they like. They are both slim and very active.

Take her to the Dr to make sure there's not a medical problem and ask for advice? I bet that's the advice you'd be giving if someone was posting about their child being off the top of the weight chart. Adding a glass of full fat milk a day seems to be a pretty standard suggestion.

Yes, I'd take her to the gp. Get her tested for coeliac, as that can cause weight issues. I'm sure there's other possible underlying causes too. And hopefully get a referral to a dietician for advice & supplements.

She has been to the doctor many times, as children do, with various ailments, none serious. Not one doctor has suggested there is a problem with her weight, not even when she has been weighed and measured there. The only comment I have ever had about her weight from a doctor is 'it's clear to see she takes after you'.

I've already said that she eats a normal quantity of a varied and healthy diet which is definitely not lacking in calories (as does everyone else in this house and we are all considerably slimmer than average for our heights and ages).

3 fish fingers is about 150kcal so not a great deal but 6 is a lot for a 3 year old. Then again my nephew used to eat 6 fish fingers at that age, though he definitely would not have had 400g of baked beans with it.

I think 6 fish fingers is Ok but with maybe 1-2 tablsp of baked beans and a few chips.

Do most children go to the doctor many times?

My DD has... several acute illnesses (off the top of my head, ear infection, thrush, severe diarrhoea that turned out to be food poisoning), a couple of time I have checked out odd things that I've noticed, plus a couple of minor injuries! And she's only 3! That adds up to a visit every couple of months.

Yes, mine seem to manage at least 2 appointments a year.

Gosh! You obviously aren't giving them enough fish fingers! [frin]

even!

Haha, mine doesn't like fish fingers and goes to the Dr less than once a year, most recently for a verruca! I think it was about 18 months before that, for a chest infection. I'd have thought that was about usual for a healthy child.