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

[noeffingidea]

Sounds fine to me, OP. If her height and weight are fine then that is obviously the right amount of food for her.

[MrsPreston11]

I have a huge fruit bowl out in the playroom and they know they can help themselves whenever unless I'm preparing a meal.

Works really well. Maybe try that? Then if she's near it she can grab something if she fancies and as she'll be seeing it lots there's no need to ask/remind.

I did it for the opposite reason as mine kept asking for snacks when bored.

[neveradullmoment99]

For lunch my children 10, 7 and 11 have a sandwich, crisps, fruit. It fills them up ok.

[foodFood]

How funny dd has just asked for chocolate !!! 😂😂

[Slartybartfast]

the breakfast doesnt sound enough.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

If it's the thick full fat plain yogurt that's extremely filling and plenty

Especially when you through I'm fruit and nuts and seeds and stuff

[MollyDaydream]

Clearly its enough if the child is healthy and you growing.

[significantAir]

Depends on the rest of the (few) day's food.

Our boys (6 and 4) would demolish that on an average day and wonder where the rest was but their appetites fluctuate. Some days they'll barely eat and others they don't stop.

The typical day's food you described sounds small; especially breakfast. Today's breakfast was 3 Wheetabix for the 4 year old and 4 for the bigger one (full fat milk). Handful of raisins. Half a banana each and a slice of thick-cut (home made) toast.

They're both slim but incredibly active.

[OliviaStabler]

If she does not have a large appetite then the size is fine but it is not a well balanced meal. I'd remove the frube and the mini breadsticks and add in some salad and some protein like chicken.

[agentdaisy]

If she's not complaining of being hungry then she's getting enough to eat.

That would be enough for my 10yo but she's always had a small appetite. My 9yo would still be starving after that.

As long as your dd knows that if she's hungry she can have something then keep giving what you are. If she was always saying she was hungry or constantly asking for food then I'd say it's not enough but if you're offering food and she says no thank you then leave her be. Don't try to force her to eat when she's not hungry.

[Clutterbugsmum]

Try not to worry about it, she old enough to tell you if she wants more.

FWIW my DD2 is 10 1/2 would probably eat the same. Today she had 2 egg scrambled and a slice of bread for breakfast, lunch was some grapes, mango with a slice of gammon and inch cube of cheese. She had a medium glass of milkshake. On the other hand my DS who is 9 has had 2 chocolate crepes, then 2 eggs scrambled with a slice of bread, a packet of crisps. His lunch was cheese ham wholemeal sandwich, cue and a pepperoni mini with the same size milkshake. Both have done the same amount of exercise today. They have different size appetite.
I also have DD1 14yrs eats anything that stays still for too long.

[INeedNewShoes]

That is a tiny amount, especially if your DD is active.

I'm pretty sure my 11 month old would demolish that without a problem.

The content is fine and its nice and interesting and good nutritionally I think, just needs to be more of it.

[INeedNewShoes]

some protein like chicken.

Surely the humous and guacamole provide protein?

[placebobebo]

Too much sugar from the fruits, when taken into account with the whole day.
Encourage cheese or nuts as a snack
Try swapping in some vegetable sticks or adding some complex carbohydrates like porridge instead of yogurt.

[Jenasaurus]

I am eating a similar amount, but I am doing it to lose weight and losing 3 pounds a week following it, however I have 2 stone to lose and am 53 :)

[BitOutOfPractice]

My DD1 also has a small appetite and that would have been a grand lunch for her at 8. She's 18 now and a healthy size. She still has a small appetite.

I still tend to serve up a small portion of dinner and if she wants more she has seconds. If I make the plate too full it puts her off.

Her sister on the other hand (15 now) never seemed to have a full up switch and would eat much more. Mind you she's 6' 1" now

Just to show you that even in a small family, appetites can vary hugely

[IamPickleRick]

I think yoghurt is ok for breakfast - is it Greek yoghurt? It’s very filling. My DS would either not touch half of that or eat four times that depending on his mood. He is very slim and tall, goes through a stage of eating absolutely everything and then barely a single grape the next week. When he is in his ravenous phase, I always give him much more yoghurt because it’s so filling.

[birdiebirdiewoofwoof]

If her height and weight are genuinely fine - i.e. officially fine according to guidelines - then she's clearly getting as much as she needs. And the meals you've described are perfectly OK in terms of content.

Different people can eat startlingly different amounts. DS eats far less than DD did at the same age, despite being more active. Sometimes I still feel instinctively anxious at how little food goes into him - it feels like I'm starving him. But he hurtles around, grows, fills nappies with regularity - that's not a child who's going short of food.

It's possible for a parent who has their own issues with food/weight to project that onto a child and keep them short of food. But if you're sure that's not you and the growth charts back you up, the opinion of one friend eyeballing your DD's lunch on one day is totally irrelevant.

[Pikehau]

YANBU She is 8 and can ask for more if she needs. Plus she gets the snack in the afternoon.

I used to eat very little some days and declare to my mother “mummy I ate yesterday” certainly wouldn’t do that now!

[NKFell]

The only thing I would change is breakfast there.

All children are different, my almost 9 yr old is always hungry and always eating but is skinny/wiry. My 5 yr old is a little picker, she eats like a bird and is normal weight, not skinny at all.

Children are weird, ignore your friend.

[IamPickleRick]

I might have put some cheese or a bit of chicken on there? Some pepper sticks etc

[Serialweightwatcher]

Mine always had good appetites and I would probably give that amount and maybe more when they were 3, but all kids are different .. by 7 or 8 they were eating adult sized portions

[foodFood]

Berries are low sugar I thought ?? She has blueberries raspberries strawberries and blackberries
Its the very thick Greek yogurt

[ChikiTIKI]

Until I was pretty late on in high school I would have one slice of bread folded over with ham or turkey in it, a bag of crisps and a piece of fruit for lunch. Sounds like what you provided is enough and lots of variety too.

Don't let someone make you worry about this. If your child was hungry, they would tell you or you would notice.

[Tinkobell]

It seems kind of snacky if you don't mind me saying. What about beans on toast, a fish finger sarnie, soup & a roll, omelette ....something a bit more substantial .....or even a couple of boiled eggs with soldiers. To me this is sort of snack food not lunch.