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

Fine for my 8 year old daughter...

Just seems quite starchy and sugar based with all the carbs and fruit. There’s a lack of vegetables imo

But again if daughter is happy and healthy that’s all that matters

My 9 yr old DS has just had a normal size pitta bread with a tbsp of hummus, a yoghurt and some strawberries for lunch. He had cereal and a banana for breakfast, will probably have an apple or something as mid afternoon snack and that'll probably do him till dinner time. Perfectly normal in our house. He would soon tell me if was hungry.

She wouldnt eat cucumber it makes her throw up 🤢
Never knew why when she was little thought maybe allergic till she told us it was the middle sections texture ??!

My 11 year old dd has never had a massive appetite. That for her would be a decent amount now, she would have had less as an 8 year old.I wouldn't worry, it's not like she's begging for more and you're refusing to give it to her!! Houmous and guacamole are filling, lots of healthy fat, protein, fibre (in the chickpeas & the bread) so a little bit goes a long way. I also think full fat yog and berries is healthy and balanced - you could add a spoonful of oats or oatmeal to it, or some chopped nuts and seeds, but even without those it's much healthier than cereal from a box and if she's not getting really hungry again soon after eating then it obviously does the job for her.

Be guided by her- if she's hungry, she'll say, surely?
Some days my 9yo eats barely anything, others he wants two evening meals! The key is he knows when he's hungry and when he isn't.

Can I just as OP why an iron supplement? Too much iron can be not so good for you.

I was once told by a nurse in hospital my dd was too small, she should be bigger, has hv or any other doctor mentioned it to me before.
I told her I was NOT worried about her, she eats plenty and gets plenty of exercise (walks over a mile to school daily, 50% of the time also walks home too, also does a sports club at a weekend) I struggle to fill her some days. She can have a bowl of cereal for breakfast (7am), lunch at 11.30 she will have a ham or tuna sandwich, crisps, yogurt, fruit, then she will have a fruit snack about 2pm, tea is 4.30 and she will have as much as her older brother (shes 6, hes 9). Then she will have supper... either yogurt, toast, weetabix (she has 3 ) and a glass of milk.

My 9 year old eats the same, or sometimes a bit less than the 6 yr old. He's also skinny... but I think that's just their body shape.

Every child has different appetites, as long as they're happy full and not hungry then whats the harm. Ignore your friend.

You know your own child though so presumably she'd say if she was still hungry.

Sounds fine to me. The guacamole and hummus would be fairly filling.

Plenty of food. She's not hiking in the in the arctic and she's had breakfast and will get dinner.

She went through a phase of a few infections and the gp said get a kids supplement that also has iron (it’s centrum kids we use )

You know your child better than anyone and if he’s not hungry and is the right weight for his height then I’d not worry.

My 10 yr old would be fine on that for lunch, but my 6 yr old would be chewing her own arm off after an hour. It’s all day wn to the individual

Sounds fine to me.

My dcs would still eat about that now (teens).

Do you have a history of problems with food OP?

"Never knew why when she was little thought maybe allergic till she told us it was the middle sections texture ??!"

Im the same, shes probably not keen on raw banana or tomatoes either? I've mostly grown out of it but still cant face anything with raw banana in it.

My 8 year old eats a similar amount. Today lunch was a cheese and ham sandwich (made with one thick slice of wholemeal bread), some cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumber, a few crisps and a banana. Normally she might have had a yogurt too but she's had some Easter chocolate at 11am today, so didn't need anything else. She will always ask if she can have more, but doesn't complain of being hungry once she's left the table so I don't think she's genuinely still hungry, just hoping for extra treats! Her friends eat a lot more. DD is normal weight. Her friends, I suspect by looking at their muffin tops , are not.

We do get comments on her small packed lunches but I feel that people have just lost sight of what's a normal portion size for a child. I also get told she's skinny because her ribs are visible. Again though, that's what a normal child should look like - she's between 25-50th centile for her age / height so perfectly normal.

With myself or dd?
No problems with me and dd just has the issue with cucumber texture

I think some people don't realise how filling full fat yoghurt is because it's been drummed into them that low fat crap is best.

If your DDs height and weight are in range and she is active, energetic and healthy then it's enough food.

My 4 and 6 year old would be fine on this, sounds plenty, but they would probably have had a banana between the two meals, maybe a goodies cereal bar thing as well.

Ah cool OP, too much can cause tummy problems, I’m currently waiting for an iron top up and have seen the sides of both high and low iron.

My 20mo would still be hungry with that (height 75th centile, weight just under 75th I think) but he never stops moving and running. For instance on a normal day he will have something like;

Porridge made with ff milk & a banana
Bit of fruit
Large slice of quiche & cherry tomatoes
Toast
Whatever we're having for dinner
Yoghurt

Sometimes he still asks for more.

If your daughter is growing fine and not complaining she's hungry then there's no issue.

No not keen on tomatoes either will eat smooth bolognese sauce and ketchup happily but not chunkier pasta sauces for example. She never makes a huge fuss about it though but we’ve learnt she just doesn’t like a few specific things but she isn’t what I’d call fussy

There is protein in the chic peas that makes the houmous.
There is carbohydrates in the pitta/bread sticks.
Good source of vitamins in the other dip guacamole/strawberries.
Calcium in the frube.
Its fairly balances so good. If she isn't hungry after it, then its right for her.

My DS, also 8, would only eat that much for lunch. He's on the 50th percentile for height, and for weight, and always has been. He jumps around, runs, and climbs the whole day and still hardly eats a thing. But he still grows, is healthy, and rarely ill so I've stopped worrying about it.
If he wants food he asks.
My cousin's daughter is 6 months younger and packs away adult portions.
They're all different.