To serve this portion size to my children (pic inc)

[Blondeandinept]

My son is on the 75 centile for height , 20 for weight. My daughter is 50 for height, 25 for weight.
As a family we are very very slim (in 5'7 and weigh just under 8 stone). We're very fit, gym, sport etc

My mil saw this and was appalled. Said it was way way too much. My children would be peckish an hour later if they didn't have this kind of lunch (it's the weekend, hence all the breaded items!).

My son is 6, my daughter 3.5

Both the OP's and Amalfis sound fine. Shock horror, different people have different metabolic rates... who'd have thunk?

The milk is the only bit that makes Amalfi's amounts sound more, but when I think about it mine were still BF a lot at that age including for each nap, before bed, first thing etc and that stuff is calorific as fuck so probably not much difference. It sounds much like we fed/feed ours tbh, and they're very strong and lithe. They don't go to school though, so barely get a chance to be sedentary.

hoddtastic some children just need more food than others! That's surely hardly beyond the realms of imagination?!

need/want/are given? If there were no issue with what kids were fed then we wouldn't have such obesity rates.

I linked to a study earlier, about the blindness of parents/grandparents to their own kids weight. Proper research, borne out, on this thread (and many others)

Looks fine to me OP.

I have to agree with a PP though who said... never ceases to amaze me how many kids on here eat adult portions etc. So, for example, if you feed a 4 year old an entire chicken supreme... when they're 11 will you be making them 2?

we're storing up issues for the future.

I don't get it either. I know the small children who eat adult sized portions are always 'skinny', 'slim', 'thin' etc.

But for how long if they're eating so much in one sitting, from such an early age?

Surely as they grow into adulthood, there's only one way for their portion sizes to go and that's up.

Define adult sized portion though. As we see on here, everyone has a vastly differing idea.

For an average roast here kids would have one, maybe two slices of meat (small), a roast potato, a few broccoli spears/heads, equivalent of half to 3/4 of a carrot, spoon of peas and one of sweet corn, a Yorkshire and gravy. Same as many adults I guess.

witsender I don't think you could call that an adult portion, especially with just one roast potato. Even my elderly Dad eats more than that.

There have been many threads on Mumsnet about Sunday roasts for example, and from memory the general amount was between 6 and 8 roasties.

I'm always surprised by how little some people eat on here, which could explain a few things. Looks downwards

"how long if they're eating so much in one sitting, from such an early age?"

Um, you know how metabolism works? If children eat too much relative to how much they expend in energy, they will get fat. If they eat too little, they will get thinner. If a child is thin, IT IS NOT EATING TOO MUCH (though obviously the food may not be healthy, that's another question). You can't restrict their food intake on the basis that they might get fat 20 years down the line! Sorry to shout, but isn't that just basic common sense? Healthy eating habits, certainly a great idea. But telling your skinny child that they can't have a second helping of chicken stew and rice because it doesn't fit your preconceived idea of appropriate portion size? Absolutely fucking bonkers, sorry.

hoddtastic if you're suggesting that that my children are overweight but I don't know it, you're barking up the wrong tree! Eldest DD is 50th centile height and 25th centile weight, the other two are similar in build and size, so I imagine similar centiles. Knowing that, you're still seriously suggesting I should restrict their intake of food even though they are a healthy weight? Talk about setting up food issues for the future!

I'm always surprised by how little some people eat on here, which could explain a few things

I'm usually surprised by how much some people eat...

I simply could not afford to house some of these MN kids. I'd be selling organs within a week. If my kids ate that much and still wore trousers 3 ages smaller than they are which were still falling down I'd think I'd be hitting the Dr's...

I would struggle to eat that much mozzarella, tbh.

But apart from that - it looks fine.

You probably don't have my waistline Giles

need/want/are given? If there were no issue with what kids were fed then we wouldn't have such obesity rates.

In my case DD is given what she is supposed to have according to the Health Minister guidelines, as set out by qualified and respected professionals in the child nutrition field. The menu was given by DDs pediatrician, a specialist who has been her doctor from the moment she was born as he was in the operating room with me seeing the low weight and many problems she had. Doctors are happy. Specialists are happy. DD is happy. I'm happy.

I linked to a study earlier, about the blindness of parents/grandparents to their own kids weight. Proper research, borne out, on this thread (and many others)

I know you mean well but you don't know my DD, or anyone elses DD on the thread (I assume). You can't make broad sweeping statements on what you think is right, based on ... I'm sorry.....I don't know with which qualifications and authority you speak.......

Are you kidding wits I've gained four stone just reading

I can't even lol at a cake without my trousers feeling tight and I'm pretty sure my ample arse can be seen from space...

Look

What amazes me is how hard people find it to grasp that different people have vastly different food requirements! Just because somebody's child eats more than yours and is still thin doesn't mean there is something medically wrong with them, fgs. I might as well say the same about your kids eating what mine would think were minuscule amounts!

My DH is 6 foot tall and weighs 66 kg, so pretty skeletal. He eats more food than you could possibly imagine and doesn't put on any weight. That's just the way he is. It happens. He's just a lucky sod.

I ate more as a kid then I do now but mainly as a teenager. Used to have 2 bowls of cereal and fruit and 3 pieces of toast. School dinner, snack after school, two helpings of whatever was for tea and probably more food before bed
Tbf I did grow from being a tiny prem to 5ft 10 so I needed it
Remember being SO hungry and my dad asking if I had worms or just hollow legs

All I can say is that your MIL must have a very small appetite! I have learnt over the years,that the majority of people (and in particular,older women) base everyone's appetites and portion sizes on their own. Hence my exMIL serving my exH one small pork chop,3 small boiled potatoes and a tablespoon of veg,when he was in an extremely manual job and wondering why he was complaining he was still hungry after! So no,YANBU. I think the portion sizes are fine.

zoe, many kids are overfed from the time they're weaned. That much is obvious from lots of threads on MN.

"My 1 year old has 3 weetabix for breakfast" etc and then a string of replies about babies of all ages, eating shit tons.

You're talking about 'if a child is thin', yet despite what many Mumsnetters would have us believe, there is a massive childhood obesity problem in the UK.

Kids don't need to be eating adult sized portions in one sitting, especially since most adult sized portions have grown huge over the last few years.

My DD goes through phases of eating loads and eating not much at all. We just feed her until she is full, though once her main meal is gone its only salads and stuff afterwards if she is still hungry, unless we have some left. I know someone who will cook another meal for their child if they are hungry after the first, fuck that. She has always been below the 25th centile on her chart thing for weight.

DS eats exactly the same thing as she does..sometimes less as he does not ask for more often at all, maybe twice in his 2 years. He is exactly on the 50 line.

Some kids are just different. I don't see anything wrong with what Amalfis toddler is fed at all. If they are normal weight and such, they are getting the right amount. Cutting food would make them underweight, and why? To save them the chance of putting on weight in 20 years? Really? It doesn't quite work like that...

Also I don't know if its my area or not, but I rarely see overweight kids at all here where it seems from posts/stories there are loads everywhere.... But I suspect its less to do with 'normal' food and more to do with takeaways, fizzy pop and junk.

I'm always shocked reading about small children having adult portions on here

Not sure that rusks are really very Mediterranean though are they? I would worry too if they become 'a little bit chubby' as so hard to shift in later life.

OP lunch looks fine too me if carbs with tea or dinner.

Agree with Worra.

Far too many overweight kids because people are in denial about portion sizes.

"Kids don't need to be eating adult sized portions in one sitting"

But sometimes they do!!! Honestly, I'm not sure what you are expecting that I should do. One DD of mine as I've said is on the 25th weight centile, 50th height. She's 8. If she eats less calories than she does currently she will lose weight - that's just basic physics. She's just had more spaghetti than me for dinner. So what do I do? Let her go hungry and therefore lose weight? I can't compute it, sorry!

Too much? No way!! If anything I think it's a small portion. My kids are also v slim esp my DS who is 12, about 5foot 3 and 6 stone. DD is 14, and the same height as you, but a stone lighter. I try and give DS high protein foods as he is mega-thin, he's been tested for coeliac and malabsorption but is fine health-wise. He eats a lot of the food he likes.

Scrolled down the thread and one thing caught my eye...

Worra, 6 to 8 roast potatoes with the average MN roast dinner?! Really? That seems like loads to me. What else is on the plate? There wouldn't be much room for other food with 8 roast potatoes!

I have 1 or 2 and with a couple of roast parsnips, meat, a Yorkshire pud, carrots, and a couple of variations of green veg, my plate is full. There isn't the room for a pile of potatoes . Are people using massive plates or not bothering with other veg or what?