To wonder if my 4yo wants too much food?

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DS1 is 4 and has recently started demanding lots of food.

Yesterday is a good example.

He had:

Alphabites cereal for breakfast, soup and toast and hot chocolate at playschool for snack (he didn't eat the soup), his packed lunch (half a cheese sandwich, banana, grapes and a fromage frais) then I picked him up and he immediately demanded an apple - fine, I got him one when we were home along with a couple of choccy buttons - and once he ate it he immediately demanded tea. At 3pm!!! Tea was sausages and sweet potato mash and frozen veggies. He didn't eat the frozen veggies but scoffed his sausage and mash and when DS2 didn't touch his mash he climbed over the table to eat it!

He's quite tall for his age and very slim - you see every rib and back muscle IYSWIM, but he's food obsessed - if I go to the kitchen "are you cooking tea? Are there treats? I want I want I want". He will literally polish off breakfast and start asking when I'm making lunch! Piss off, I've not had my coffee yet you little terror!

When I say no I often get floods of tears and I've had to work on his politeness as well - marching into granny's and bellowing "do you have grapes or not?!?!" obvs isn't on.

My only mum friend to ask about this has the opposite problem - a seriously restrictive eater who eats like a bird and is tiny for her age and looks at me like I'm mad when I say DS1 wants to eat all day.

So is he asking for too much food? I feel like he gets loads!

Sorry, but if he is very slim and wanting more food, he obviously needs more. That doesn't seem like a whole lot to me anyway. I would add in snacks of cheese, cooked chicken/other meat, hummus and veggies that sort of thing. Food with a bit more fat and protein.

Why are you so restrictive?

Also, cereal is just empty calories. It will not keep them full. He would be better on something like peanut butter on wholemeal toast, or eggy bread, egg and soldiers, that sort of thing.

Doesn’t sound loads to me either. I’d increase his portion size- a whole sandwich for example would be a start.

Encourage him to stop eating when full and see how he gets on.

Perhaps he's going through a growth spurt and is just feeling more hungry right now.

I'd have a bowl of healthy things he's allowed to eat from when he's hungry, such as fruit, so that he's never starving - but as he's a sensible weight I wouldn't be worrying that much

Try giving him more protein based snacks like boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, ham or chicken.
Cereal is just sugar so he will be probably experiencing sugar spikes then lows.
He's also probably going through a growth spurt.

No protein to speak of until lunch time. No wonder he's climbing over the table for extra rations. Get protein into him first thing, as someone else said; eggs, nuts, meat, good quality yogurts, cheeses. It's vital especially when he's growing.

I think my 2 and a half year old eats more than that tbh He's a right little grubber, and like his dad it doesn't seem to bloody go anywhere!

It could be a growth spurt if he doesn't normally ask for so much. I'd try and give him more protein and good fats, to keep him fuller for longer rather than lots of snacks. But if he's still eating full meals with no problem (a full sandwich rather than half for example) then I'd dish out snacks too. Banana and peanut butter is my sons favourite snack.

There’s a whole lot of sugar in his diet (lots of hidden stuff, I know you’re trying your best, I’m not criticising you). Try a protein heavy breakfast, eggs, French toast, or porridge. Sugar creates the craving cycle

I don't understand what you're questionning to be honest. He's very slim and is asking for an appropriate amount of perfectly healthy food to satisfy his hunger.

DS2 is not long turned 5 and 95th centile height and weight. He eats the following:

Breakfast:
Weetabix with some Cheerios and Rice Krispies on top with soya milk

Snack at school:
Hummus & breadsticks
Salami

Lunch at school:
Half a sandwich on wholemeal bread - usually ham or chicken
Apple

Dinner at afterschool:
All meals come with mixed veg, and usually things like lasagne, shepherd's pie, pasta bake.

Snack at aferschool:
Sandwiches or beans on toast

Dinner (at home):
Portion of whatever we're having - e.g stew, casserole

He also will ask to snack on rice cakes, raisins, Goodie bars, as well as being a real lover of sweets and chocolate!

DS2 is tall for his age, and in spite of being 95th centile weight, I can see his ribs and spine. He is really active though - loves soccer and tag rugby. Because of food intolerances he gets his weight and height checked regularly, and he's always been this build,.

What you've described your LO eating, definitely wouldn't be enough for mine.

My 4 year old would easily eat twice that, and probably more. He would have 2-3 (small) bowls of cereal with milk and an apple for breakfast, a snack mid morning (crackers, more fruit or a couple of plain biscuits), a whole round of sandwiches with cheese/ham, possibly even two rounds, plus carrot sticks and a satsuma, another snack mid afternoon. Then for tea 25g dry weight of pasta with spag bol, or three chicken nuggets plus oven chips and half a carrot cooked and 3-4 small broccoli florets. Then a small (petit follis sized) pot of custard.

He would be RAGING hangry and completely unbearable if he could only eat what your 4 year old has.

To add: DS is small and slight but has recently been diagnosed with coeliac disease so he is possibly making up for lost time. But still.

He wants more food because he is hungry. What you described isn't much food at all. I agree with pp that he needs a more substantial, protein based breakfast. Why don't you give him a whole cheese sandwich for lunch?

My DD is not quite 2 and probably eats that, or more! I don't think it sounds like too much at all, if he's hungry he's hungry.

DD has small breakfast at home, breakfast at nursery plus morning fruit snack, hot lunch (eg veggie risotto) usually with pudding, afternoon snacks, tea at nursery (eg sandwiches), then snacks at home - some of our tea or breadsticks and hummus etc

My 4 year old son eats way more than that. For breakfast alone he has two bowls of honey and yogurt, a bowl of Cheerios and then maybe something else. Sounds like your poor boy is very hungry. They move and grow so much at this age. Unless it is empty calories (biscuits etc) I don’t really say no to food.

That really doesn’t sound like much! He didn’t eat his soup so that snack was some toast.

My DS is the same height as some year 1 children and he’s only 3. He has to have a bowl of porridge and a banana in the morning or he gets hungry after an hour. He eats fruit in school and lunch in school, when he gets home he has carrots and hummus or boiled egg and cucumber, he eats the same as us for dinner and honestly depending what it is he will eat more than me.
I found he eats more when bored, don’t we all? The best routine for him is big balanced meals and snacks little and often. Don’t worry! He’s not overweight, he probably does need the food!

Very slim child hungry and asking for food - feed him!
I don’t understand why you don’t take your cues from him.

Well yes, my 4 yo is the same and it drives me mad. She's a normal weight, but is on the heavier end of that (my older daughter is on the lighter end of the scale so I don't think it's necessarily my parenting). But she eats more than your DS! I'd expect a child to be asking for more than that tbh.

If he's not whining for crap and happily eating 'proper' food then I would take the hint that he's hungry.

I would try and get some porridge into him first thing or eggs as suggested and up his lunch to a whole sandwich with protein filling. My 2 year old dd is given a whole sandwich. She doesn't always eat it but I'd rather offer it for the days when is dissappears at break neck speed!

Bananas are an excellent 'filling' snack as are milkshakes. Blend up your own fruity ones if you can.

Is it possible to cook a bit more tea so he can have seconds or introduce supper?

I do feed him, I'm not restrictive.

I "restrict" him when it's close to a meal time, sure or if he's specifically asking for crap I don't want him to have at that time. Otherwise he's free to a piece of cheese or fruit or maybe a cereal bar.

He doesn't eat many vegetables so I prefer to offer something after tea rather than just before so he's at least peckish when he has veg on his plate.

I give him a half sandwich in his lunch because that is what playschool wants. They literally give an illustrated list - sandwich - one slice of bread, two fruit and/or veg, one dairy - cheese or yoghurt, optional treat. I stopped giving treats as 99% of the time he wasn't eating the rest of his lunch in time to have it. I think I'll start putting boiled eggs or cold meat in as a treat.

I think that's what's weirded me out, he's gone from not eating all his lunch in time to sitting with a book while the others finish overnight.

Point taken on cereal though he loves it, of course I always offer him fruit with it, but I certainly didn't grow up with cereal and toast and eggs etc.

As an after thought - Are you sure he's getting enough to drink? Hunger/thirst is well known to be mixed up even by adults.

My 2 year old will sometimes eat that much and also can be food obsessed (although has days when he barely has anything). He is (has always been) 95th centile for weight and height so I am keeping an eye on snacks/treats but I don't restrict him. If your ds is slim and eats healthily I wouldn't worry about how much he eats.

He wants more food because he is hungry.
This. He needs healthy food, and while that can include fruit, he needs plenty of protein too at that age.
I'm wondering why you want him to have less than he wants, when he's very slim? What are you trying to do? Are there lots of people in your family who are very overweight and you're worried he'll get fat?
Even if this is the case, it doesn't mean he'll necessarily get chubby, and its mean really to have him hungry a lot of the time.

He needs enough food to feel full, and to start to understand how much food he needs for himself.

I think I'll start putting boiled eggs or cold meat in as a treat.

Seems weird that these things are seen as a 'treat'.