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

If your children are happy and healthy on this, you're doing fine. You have the carbs in the breadcrumbs, a range of vegetables and protein. What more can a kid want. I'm sure they'd let you know if it was too little and wouldn't eat it all if you put too much on their plate. The most important thing is not to make a fuss over food and not to force them to eat and they will self-regulate.

No comment on the content, but my 4 year old couldn't eat all of that. Maybe half. She's a normal weight.

All kids are different. My ds (aged 8) fluctuates between barely eating a thing and eating an adult portion, depending on his daily activities.
If your children aren't saying they are hungry and they're eating until they are full (ie not being told they have to eat everything on the plate) and they are not underweight/overweight then your mil can keep her nose out.
I draw the line when you've got obese kids eating and eating and eating and parents let them. That is a portion issue!

It's not about portion sizes - it's about letting your kids tune in to what their bodies need. Sure - looks fine to serve them this. If they say they are still hungry, give them seconds or some fruit... I work in paediatric health btw.

Where are the carbs? It looks about right. Fruit salad sounds very healthy for dessert. Wish mine would eat that!

Initial thought was wow is that it but then saw she actually thought they had too much 😮 I'd say that looks about right, -probably same as I feed my two year old..

I read somewhere years ago that if you're serving breaded dishes - fish fingers, breaded chicken etc then you shouldn;t add more carbs - the breading is actually plenty of carbs for an average meal.

For example fish fingers at 21% carbs.

Sounds like your family are well aware of health issues and are doing just fine - if kids are OK weight-wise and health-wise I wouldn't worry, and if they are exercising, doing sports etc it's hardly surprising they have decent appetites...feed them what they need and ignore unhelpful comments from friends or family - you know your kids best :)

Doesn't seem much. Where's the carbs- potatoes, bread, rice, pasta?

The bread is all around the chicken and mozzarella sticks MsJudgemental

My 6 year old would still be hungry, but it would be enough for my four year old. You know your children's appetites best, as long as they are healthy and a healthy weight,and not hungry after then I would say it's fine.

For example fish fingers at 21% carbs

That's good to know, shall cut out the chips on our Monday night breaded fish fillets and chips (we don't get home until nearly bedtime on Mondays so I really can't be arsed to cook on those days!)

Ignore everyone's comments.. Some are quite negative. You know what your children eat.
You can check portion sizes etc on this fab resource .
www.infantandtoddlerforum.org
They have a section called little people's plates and show normal range of portion sizes
There is also an online tracker if you wish to log a days eating to see how it matches up nutritionally.
I think your meal looks fab by the way.
Also it's better to start off with less on the plate then children feel in control and can ask for more.

To be honest Natski I do compensate by serving a strachy veg with fish fingers like baked beans but I don;t serve chips with them even though they are yummy

I don't really like oven chips so I just cook them because I feel they're "needed" with fish fillets. DD doesn't really like them either (only chips from burger places) so they won't be missed.

Looks fineish for a lunch to me. That would be enough for ds2 (age 6).

Ds1 (8) would probably have a slice or two of bread and butter and a yoghurt to round it off. But that would only be fine for him as a lunch, if he was having a cooked dinner later.

Some of the comments on this thread are absurd - 'My three year old would eat both plates'. Your three year old is going to be obese by five if that's true.

Nothing wrong with those portions at all! SheIBU

My 2 year old eats more absolutely fine at least there eating!

I don't really like oven chips so I just cook them because I feel they're "needed" with fish fillets

We don't really eat chips at home - our chip substitute is noodles. People who see our combinations think it's weird but fish fingers/breaded fish/sausages (anything that typically 'goes' with chips) goes with a side of noodles here and the dc love it!

My kids are unpredictable (3 and 6), but in a predictable way. I'd expect one of them to eat all the veg, and the other to eat all the meat, and for them both to decide that one of the things isn't edible at all (I'd expect the mozzarella sticks on that plate).

Looks fine though - bit much on a day when they're not hungry, and not enough on a day when they're famished.

She'd freak if she saw what my DC's of the same age eat. This was my 3 year olds lunch... Well what fit on that plate, there was also a bowl of grapes, and a pack of Pom bears, that's 3 cheesy crackers and 2 oatcakes on the plate. She then had a raw carrot after. She picked it all her self. Actually impressed me that a 3 year old was able to choose a balanced meal better than most adults.

Looks great and healthy but woukd as cards to this definitely. My ds and dd would have half a baked potato or some rice on top of this

I think all children are different my 2 DS at 9 and 6 would still be hungry after this, but my 3 year old probably wouldn't be able to eat a lot of if

All kids are different and as long as they are normal weight then it looks fine.

For what it's worth my nearly 7 yr old DS would prob only eat 1/2 of that at the most but he lives on thin air unless he's having a growth spurt. That's the only time he will ask for food and it a day or 2 and then back to minimal food.

Looks fine similar to school portion size but maybe some rice or potato too?