Apparently this “isn’t enough food”

[foodFood]

Dd is 8
Height and weight fine

I’ve just been told by a visiting friend I’m basically starving her when she saw her lunch !
1 mini pitta
6 mini breadsticks
Dessert spoon of houmous
Dessert spoon of guacamole
Bowl of strawberries cut up (6 big ones)
A frube

That’s fine isn’t it??
For breakfast she had a bowl of plain yogurt and loads of berries
She will most likely have an afternoon snack usually cheese or a piece of fruit and dinner is normally casserole/fish pie/jacket potato and soup or similar
She has milk before bed
She’s fine !! Always has small snacks lunches and doesn’t complain of hunger
Friend was aghast and said her kids at 18 m old ate more than that

You sound like a very caring and sensible mom to me, and are feeding your child good, well balanced meals. I am sure if your child is hungry they will let you know, and then you can increase her food accordingly.

Children go through growth spurts and will eat lots more during those times. Everyone has different appetites as well.

My son that is 21 can eat and eat and eat and is skinny as heck, he has a very high metabolism. I wish I could do that! I have to watch all the time, as I can gain weight easily.
I am sure if your daughter wants more food, she will be telling you she is hungry and you can give her more then.

That doesn’t sound very much at all to me, especially when she didn’t have anything very substantial for breakfast. I would have though that a child of that age would need more protein. Even the level of carbs is low as I would expect a child of that age to be running around burning off a lot of calories. Some kids do like to graze but they still need plenty of protein as well as their 5 a day.

That doesn’t sound enough from what you describe. Especially just yoghurt and berries for breakfast. Depends what’s with the jacket potato, but that and a jacket potato doesn’t sound much for a day.

My niece same age eats far, far more than that but is also a very healthy weight. Most of what she eats is very healthy, including loving fruit as a snack and often choosing it over less healthy options, but she also has treats almost every day. She basically eats pretty much the amount she wants, and is only told no when it comes to things like wanting a 2nd chocolate mousse after dinner. I am absolutely full of admiration for my SIL for teaching all her children to have a really healthy relationship with food; they eat when hungry, don't overeat or crave foods, and enjoy a huge variety of flavours and healthy foods. My own parents' obsession with always being healthy and never having any 'treat' food in the house led to me + siblings all having v unhealthy relationships with food, which have had a lifelong impact.

Sounds like you're daughter's eating well - by her own choice, not because you're restricting her diet or making all of her food decisions for her - and is healthy. You're giving her a great start in life!

mums

She just said there was tuna Philadelphia and cheese and pepper sticks with the jacket potatoes and half a pizza and salad for tea.

How's that not enough

For breakfast I had 2 slices of toast and jam, lunch was a tuna sandwich and a apple and for dinner i have just had a ham salad...so according to this post a lot less than some 5 year olds!!

Sorry but that seems an inadequate amount of food for a child of that age to grow and develop as she should. My grandchildren eat much more at 4 and 7 and are stick thin.

...and if neither of those things she must be stuffing in food you don't know about
Not every child is a bottomless pit sneakily stuffing in food behind parents backs. They're really not. Some just don't eat a lot.

Personally, I don't understand the obsession this county seems to have with overfeeding children.

Not much and more concerning the nutrition than size.., where is protein? Milk?

Depends on the child, I suppose. My son is 4 and eats a lot less than some of his classmates but if I gave him more he'd just leave it. He rarely finishes a meal anyway. No need to change it if she is a healthy weight and clearly not hungry. Your friend needs to step off the judgement a bit.

OP this is from the nhs website. There seems to be alot of over feeders on this thread.

OP sorry wrong one this is it.

I think she gets enough protein from yogurt cheese milk and most days has something like chicken or beef (today was pizza but usually dinner has meat or fish)

The portion size seems small (other posters have pointed out that this lunch comes at around 250 calories). It is also a bit mismatched in my opinion... a dessertspoon of guacamole and hummus will not go far with a pitta and six breadsticks.

Also I eat full fat yogurt daily but yoghurt and berries can only keep you going for so long. Reading about this 8yo's diet I thought "where's the protein?". A dessertspoon of hummus and a frube are not going to provide enough protein for a growing child.

It seems that this child has no weight issues so perhaps she could be allowed to choose her portion sizes? For example, put a pot of hummus out and let her help herself - if she's not used to overeating she'll stop when she's full, right? IMO it is hard to make children eat when they don't want to (a whole other thread!).

There seems to be quite a lot of ignorance about nutrition IMHO. Hummus, Guacamole and Frube would contain loads of protein. My boys used to eat loads but my granddaughters eat like birds! All kids are different.

My kids would struggle to finish that. They have tiny appetites but all fine height and weight wise, how much to feed a child is a bit like how long is a piece of string. Don’t let other people make you question yourself.

It's funny how much shit people chat on here about food portions. Yoghurt is a good source of protein. Full fat Greek yoghurt would likely have at least half of the required amount for a child.

woman.thenest.com/rda-protein-children-2797.html

Lol how many more people are going to say 'Where's the protein' ?
Protein is found in virtually all foods. There is plenty of protein in the food that the OP has listed, especially taking into account that an 8 year old only needs 19gs of protein a day.

I think you need to not worry what other people say. You know your daughter and what she does and doesn’t eat and how much is enough for her. As you said she is a healthy weight and height. Every child is different where appetite is concerned just like every adult is different. I didn’t eat much growing up but I’m fit and healthy, always have been and have a healthy appetite as an adult. Your daughter eats twice as much as I did at her age as I’m sure most 30/40 yr olds will agree! It’s only because the government has given “guidelines” people are so highly strung now.

There seems to be quite a lot of ignorance about nutrition IMHO
Blimey, you can say that again.

So many people think you can only get protein from meat!
OP if you're child is healthy and isn't saying she's hungry then don't worry!

MY 12 year son eats small portions always has. He is tall and slim and I always warns other parents when he visits them to probably half what they serve their children.
He eats very healthy but not a big eater.
I don’t encourage him to eat more. THey are supposed to eat the equivalent of the size of their fist. They don’t need a lot to live.

So many people think you can only get protein from meat!

When everyone knows guacamole is full of it!

I don’t understand why so many people think Greek yoghurt and berries is not a good breakfast for a child when it is for plenty of adults. It’s what I have and its filling and I don’t get hungry like I do if I have a carb heavy breakfast. It’s full of protein and fat which is much better at keeping you fuller longer!

My 12, 2 yo and 10 mth old would be eating you whole if you dared to give them so little. That said appetites differ. If she's ok then it's ok