To ask what your school age child eats?

[Mangomohito]

I'm ordering in terms of the timings of meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, pudding (every day?). Snacks, what do they have after school.

Are they a healthy weight? Do you tend to have sweet foods in the house?

Please be honest, my 8 year old has always been very sugar obsessed. If he hasn't got access to sugary treats he turns to other foods I try to steer him towards healthier foods.

It might help me to get an insight into others how I could maybe tweak things a bit.

Btw the reason I'm asking this rather than saying what we eat and asking for opinions is because whenever I've done that either on here, or with family and friends, I end up getting massively differing opinions and get totally confused.

It might help to get an insight into what others do.

I have three primary age DC. They are all a healthy weight.

Breakfast - cereal or toast
Lunch - school lunch
Supper - something like pasta / jacket potato / chicken and rice etc. Some evenings we're rushing out to an activity and it's more of a sandwich-based meal.

After school snack - we go to the shop once a week and they can choose whatever they like (sweets, choc, ice cream in summer). Otherwise they choose something at home. In the cupboards, I buy one packet of biscuits, one six-pack of crisps and one pack of little cakes for the three of them (and me and DH) to share each week. When it's gone, it's gone! They also have things like toast, fruit and cereal bars as snacks.

Btw mine are all very active.

Ds is 7, but also autistic and has a pretty restricted diet. He is underweight

Breakfast two slices of wholemeal toast with a thin layer of jam

Dinner school dinner but 9 times out of 10 that will be tuna jacket

After school he may have a kit Kat

Tea - he is offered the home cooked meal I make but will often end up with pasta salad instead

My ds is 4. He has porridge and fruit for breakfast, school dinner, then when he gets home he has a toasted muffin or crumpet, then dinner of sandwhich, yoghurt, fruit. He doesn't want a cooked dinner if he's had one at school.
He often has a banana and milk before bed.

He's healthy weight - a bit on the skinny side, as he's always on the go!

My 12 yo daughter:

Breakfast: oats (with butter & sugar)
Or a slice of toast
Cup of tea

School canteen: slice of pizza & a cookie or sausage roll or pasta
Bottle of water

After school snack: crackers & cheese, hot chocolate

Dinner: meat & two veg type meal

Late night snack: bowl of cereal or toast or banana & yoghurt or strawberries and Nutella

She may have a chocolate or packet of crisps a couple of times a week

She is very tall and very thin, much thinner than her peers (this makes her unhappy) and she is trying to increase her food intake as she wants to put on a bit of weight. I think she's gone so skinny because she got very tall very quickly recently and I'm hoping it will rectify itself.

Breakfast: cereal, yogurt, fruit, water to drink.
Snack at school: fruit, toast, water or squash.
Lunch: school lunch changes everyday but it's a main and a pudding plus fruit juice.
After school snack: chocolate bar or biscuit.
Dinner: could be anything, last night it was roast chicken and all the trimmings, night before it was chicken fajitas and beef tacos with salad, sometimes it's pasta, once a week maybe a pizza. Pudding, last night a chocolate Cheesecake, some nights it's a jubbly lolly or fruit and custard.

My 8yo is basically unfillable. He grew more than a centimetre in the two weeks after Christmas and hasn't stopped yet. Around 50th centile for weight, and 75-91st for height.

Breakfast is a rush but cereal or toast would be typical. If we have time (ha ha) then beans on toast. He doesn't eat eggs or porridge, or drink milk, any of which I would consider more appropriate but hey ho.

School lunch or weekend home lunch usually 12-12.30pm ish unless there's an activity clash. If he's had sport then he'll have had a snack like those breakfast biscuits or cereal bar.

As soon as he comes out of school he's "completely starving". He can happily have what I would consider to be a full packed lunch (eg sandwich, fruit, chocolate biscuit bar) at 3.30 and still be hungry for his full tea. I've been working on giving him "real" food including rather than biscuits/fruit snacks at this time.

Tea is around 5.30. He'll eat a portion similar to mine, and then want several portions of toast/cereal/fruit.

We are VERY relaxed towards sugary foods compared to most people, I think. We always have them in the house and he could have a Kit Kat or equivalent every day if he wanted to. That's in addition to his spending some of his pocket money on Maoam stash for the week. But he does have to ask before he grabs a snack, and appears to be just as happy with a savoury sandwich (favourite is cheese, ham, lettuce and tomato) as with a chocolate bar.

We've been working on the DCs' definition of "hungry" (I also have a 5 and a 3) so that if they claim to be "hungry" but not for nutritious food I know they like - see aforementioned sandwich, or green apples, or salad tomatoes - then we have a little sarcastic conversation about what "hungry" means, and then "yes you can have a chocolate biscuit but then that's it".

DS1 can also sometimes be put off if I think he's probably just grazing, if I say "yes, but in twenty minutes". If he remembers and asks again in twenty minutes, he's probably genuinely hungry and we get the bread knife out yet again

DD1 is 6. Today as an example is/will be...
B - half a bagel and some cherries with an apple juice.
S - fruit.
L - school lunch with pudding.
S - carrotts and tomatoes.
D - salmon, sweet potato and tenderstem broccoli.
This is a typical day and her 2 yr old sister is the same.
I dont buy crisps or biscuits and they only get sweets/chocolate in party bags or for birthdays/christmas. They arent not allowed it i just dont buy it.

Breakfast - slice of toast and fruit or a babybel and fruit

Lunch - school dinner - I have no idea how much they eat or of portion size but I guess very small because they are always staving when i pick them up.

Snack - babybel / fruit yo yo / malt loaf / pack of crisps / mini chorizos - cake from the obligatory cake stall on a friday

Dinner - portion of whatever we had the night before eg lat night was shepherds pie, tonight, chicken pie. Once a week they have a 'picky' tea - hummous, veg sticks, ham, cheese etc.
Dessert - fruit or yogurt

At the weekends lunch could be pizza, soup or sandwiches and crisps after swimming. They go to the sweet shop on saturdays. Sunday we have a roast.

I suspect a large amount of cake / sweets gets consumed when gps do pick up.

5.5yo DTs - both skinny minnies, one technically underweight. They're fairly active, swimming nad ballet once a week, scoot or bike at the park once or twice a week and walk to and from school.

Ds, 5 nearly 6, eats pooey much everything, especially if it contains cheese. At school he generally sticks to jacket spud and cheese/tuna but at home he'll have most things we offer.

⚫Breakfast: cocopops with almond milk
⚫Snack at school: some fruit (anything but banana)
⚫School dinner: jacket spud with either cheese or tuna. He'll usually get cake & custard, fruit or a yoghurt for pudding
⚫after school: he eats at his childminder's so I'm not sure on portion size but it's things like pizza, nuggets, veg, rice, noodles, pasta, cous cous, fish etc. He'll have a pudding of perhaps a bun, a sweet, a rice cake or some yoghurt.
⚫supper time is the same as breakfast.

He's a little bit tall for his age and is on the lower end of a healthy weight range. He is very active in that he never sits still and everything is done at a million miles an hour.

My boys are always so starving when they get home so I'm interested in getting tips on what to give them between walking through the door and tea time, they will have crisps, apples, tomatoes, cucumber etc

My dds are 7 and 9yrs old. Both healthy weight, 9yr old does a bit more sport activities.
Typical day
Breakfast porridge or toast and jam
Snack at school piece of fruit
Lunch school dinner and pudding
After school snack crackers and cheese, fruit, or biscuit.
Dinner, tonight is cottage pie and veg
Supper, toast or cereal.

We have sweets and crisps in the house, but not a lot. Dd2 loves crisps so I monitor how many she has had. She would happily eat two bags at a time if allowed.
They have a tuck shop at school on wed and fri and can take money to buy things. It started off quite healthy but more sweet and sugary items are now available. I don't see the point in it to be honest, I'm happier sending them with a piece of fruit.

I have 3- 6,8,10.

Breakfast- cereal and/or bagel with jam/Nutella or chocolate chip brioche

Lunch: 1 has school meal, 2 have sandwiches, cereal bar, fruit, baked crisps

Snack- was choc biscuit or cake but Now trying roll/wrap and jam/Nutella as they were starving and eating too many snacks before dinner.

Dinner- pasta/pizza/ meat and potatoes. Trying to have choc or cake now instead of earlier- seems to be working as they are eating more dinner and less crap. And fruit/rarely yoghurt if small bit or no choc- my kids Christmas or Easter chocolate goes on forever!

Sometimes they eat fruit/crackers before bed. Daughter has a raw carrot obsession.

Fizzy drinks very very rare, usually have water/fruit juice/low sugar squash.

My kids are all vary from slim to skinny. They do a fair bit of activity and don't eat huge amounts of anything by choice, including sweets/chocolate- they don't gorge! I think all kids get sugar obsessed. I think it's fine to have in moderation...in my experience adults who've been told no sweets as kids tend to be the ones that can eat an entire bag of haribo in one sitting...whereas people like my sister and I who probably ate too much of them as kids really aren't bothered!

Pinot honestly I am finding a protein-rich sandwich (eg cold roast chicken or cheese or ham) is helping my hollow-legs DS hugely. Still "starving" but less whingey about it.

The best advice I can give for keeping an eye on kids' weight is to not buy snacks. We simply don't have sweets/crisps/chocolate/cakes in the house unless it is for a birthday tea or Christmas. I will usually let them have a treat once a week or so when we're out and about, but there are no endless crisps and biscuits to eat in the cupboards.

My middle child in particular is ALWAYS hungry, but between meals, it's either a piece of fruit, a bowl of cereal or porridge, or toast. And chopped veg - he can eat a whole bag of carrots if I let him...

DD1(7yrs) DD2(6yrs)
Today they are having/have had
Breakfast - Cereal
Morning snack - Fruit or veg at school
Lunch - School lunch
After school snack - Either Yoghurt/Ricecakes/Banana/Cheese & Crackers
Dinner - Pasta & Meatballs

Weekends are pretty much the same but for lunch on Saturday they have what they call "picnic", sandwiches,fruit,yoghurt,cheese,veg sticks. And we have a roast on Sunday.

I dont buy sweet snacks or crisps so if they do have something sweet it is usually something we've baked. They also are only allowed to drink water or milk. Both are well within the healthy weight range for thier ages.

6 yr old
Breakfast bowl cereal or slice of toast with an egg
Lunch school lunch with pud
Dinner tonight he will have a bowl soup, slice bread and a yoghurt

Oh and a very healthy weight

I found this book massively useful re kids and eating.

DD 5y and DS 7y

We always have biscuits in the house. We eat them every day. They get a treat on a Saturday eg a milky bar, smarties, a kinder egg. WE also might do a coffee shop trip after football on Sunday where'd we'd all share a muffin or similar.

Otherwise, we don't do juice (at all or squash or fizz) or sweets; if they get sweets (party bag, granny etc) I just leave them out and let them eat them as they choose. I am generally thinking the sooner they are gone the better.

My kids eat a massive breakfast. Typically

Cornflakes with half weetabix & FF milk
Toast with butter & jam
Boiled egg or frankfurter or sausage
Possibly more toast

They go to school with a packed lunch

Half or full sandwich (depending on what else is in the lunchbox)
Crackers & jam, rice cracker
Fruit
Prunes, salami/cheese/fruit on a stick

• Sometimes a lot of lunch comes back, sometimes it is all gone.

I don't know for sure what they eat at the childminders. She offers dinner and usually 1 treat eg pack of meanies etc.

We offer dinner when they get home. Bolognese, stew, boiled ham etc. DD typically picks at this, DS scoffs it up, sometimes has seconds.

No pudding, but they get a biscuit each after dinner.

Both are healthy weights. DS skinny & delicate looking, DD athletic and strong looking. Both would be 75% + for height. They do swimming every week, I think this has made them quite strong.

5 yr old. Breakfast: porridge or toast. Lunch: sandwich, salad (olives and cucumber), fruit, yogurt. Dinner: ranges from healthy (eg shepherd's pie) to unhealthy (eg potato waffles and beans). Lots of fruit. Occasional sweets during the week, plus always on Fridays. Officially 'very overweight'. Meh.

4 year old DTs
Breakfast is slice of toast or small bowl of cereal with a yoghurt or piece of fruit.
They have a snack (piece if fruit) at school mid morning
Lunch is school dinner (either baked potato, roast dinner, spag bol etc)
Milk in the afternoon
Biscuit when they get home at 3.30pm
Dinner at 5ish would be similar to lunch. Sausage and mash, curry, pasta. All with veg
Pudding if hungry would be yoghurt or jelly or custard.
Glass of milk before bed

Both healthy bmi. One is 75% height and weight and the other is 50%

DD is 8 and in the 25th percentile weight wise (always has been). She is INCREDIBLY active (currently been monitored for possible ADHD) so burns a lot of calories.

Breakfast: porridge with honey or a couple of crossiants and some fruit.

Lunch - school lunch which is usually a jacket potato with tuna and salad, fish and chips, baguette, more fruit etc.

Dinner - usually whatever I've made for us all; pasta (of various forms), casseroles, fish etc. She's pretty good with veg, some she won't eat mind you. She doesn't have huge portions.

She grazes on muesli bars (still loves the organix ones!), more fruit, a biscuit or 2, toast, the occasional cheese toastie, breadsticks and hummus, fruit yoyos and yoghurt coated fruit flakes (sugary I know).

I have a child that hates chocolate, hardly eats sweets and adores fruit though - unusual, I know.

Thanks.

Ok well here's us. Ds is 8.

Breakfast is cereal/toast. I tend to avoid sugary cereals so it's weetabix, porridge or toast. Wholemeal bread for toast. He has eggs and toast on weekends. I try to encourage him to have a banana on his cereal to bulk it up but he won't.
Lunch is a school meal and pudding
Dinner is roasts, pasta, chilli, curry, stir fry, pizza, lasagne, casseroles. Almost always homemade, he has same portion as me.

Pudding is a yoghurt and/or fruit and we have a nice pudding (cake and custard) once a week.

After school snack is toast/crumpet and an apple.

We eat out roughly once a month and have always and have the occasional chip shop tea or takeaway.

All probably doesn't sound too bad, problem is if there are any sugary snacks around ds becomes impossible.

For example, we went to a wedding once and he was sat on a child's table. However only one other child turned up so it was ds and a toddler. By the time I realised he'd eaten 7 jam tarts in one sitting as well as jam sandwiches.

When we have visitors we get some biscuits and we will tell him he can have two or three biscuits. Usually he ends up getting given a little chocolate too so he has his 3 biscuits and chocolate. He then keeps asking for more biscuits, if we say no more he keeps begging and will even grab handfuls and shove them all in his mouth.

Meals out are ruined because he will not stop going on about pudding. Sometimes we have one but other times we don't, but even if we tell ds not today he goes on and on repeating himself, he wants pudding, it's not fair, he's chosen what he wants, we are horrible. He will even try to order one and we have to say no.

Meeting with friends I might bring a few sweets to share out. Whereas the other kids will take one or two ds will just keep on and not even playing because he's fixated on the sweets.

Out with soft grandparents in one day he's consumed a slush puppy, a corneto, a mars bar and a giant cookie.

These are just a few examples. He's a healthy weight bmi 38th centile, he's tall and slim so people tell me not to worry, but he's only slim because I reign it in.

We just can't have things in because of his behaviour. We've tried being relaxed towards things but it doesn't work. He'd never just have one or two things.

If I say one a day he'll go and collect all the things he's going to have for the week, or he will keep trying to negotiate more sweets by saying he'll have two today and none tomorrow and it just gives me a headache.

I've tried following advice of giving him more filling foods such as eggs for breakfast or filling snacks, it doesn't work.

I can manage it at home by simply not buying any junk food but it's impossible when out or with other people.