Just got RL flamed for the packed lunch I did for DS

[AClearShotOfTheStreet]

Lovely friend is here. Didn't know how but got on to the packed lunch I did for DS, who is 6, today for a holiday camp.

Apparently it's not enough, no wonder he is skinny and I am starving him (mostly lighthearted but kernel of truth?)

He had porridge for breakfast with a cup of milk, semi skimmed. I have given him an apple for morning snack, a ham and cucumber sandwich on seedy bread for lunch with a yoghurt, and a small bag of hula hoops for afternoon snack. He will have cottage pie with veg for dinner and a tangerine for afters, possibly a bit of Easter egg with a cup of milk just before bed.

This is OK right? Hula hoops are a bit of an anomaly as we are having the kitchen knocked down and It's what I could find. But this IS a reasonable amount of food for a 6 year old? He's very sporty and slim but I don't think I need to feed him any more? He rarely complains of hunger and if he does is directed to fruit bowl or slice of toast with peanut butter etc.

Doesn't sound that bad to me. My 8 year old DS, who is on the 100% centile for height, and about 60% for weight is on holiday club this week. He would have a huge (and I mean huge) bowl of cheerios or Rice Krispies for breakfast, followed by a peice of bread with nutella. For his lunch at the holiday club, I pack an apple, a pack of 3 chocolate biscuits (although normally this would be a home-made cake like a fairy cake or something, but I didn't have time to bake this weekend), 2 ham and philadelphia rolls, some cherry tomatoes and maybe a couple of left over little chocolate eggs, plus a flask of water. In the evening, he then eats about the same size portion of dinner as me, plus dessert and sometimes another piece of fruit too.

sounds fine. Unless they are tiny tiny portions, it's the same as many adults eat in a day. Including me!!! I think people's 'shock' is one reason for the obesity epidemic. They have lost sight of a normal day's food.

You might want to put in a bit more fruit or a cheese portion for more protein or try and swap the porridge for eggs now and then but otherwise, fine.

Children are all different. My 7 year old barely eats anything at all and I’m constantly getting comments and criticism. But she is healthy, not underweight, she is almost never ill. Her school actually contacted me about how little she eats - we switched from school dinners because the school advised it, as DD just wasn’t eating any of the lunches...
I won’t write what her packed lunch is because I don’t want to hijack the thread with people jumping on me telling me how awful it is, but it is very very small amounts of food and sometimes she doesn’t even finish it. I’m bored with how often I’m criticised about her eating. Her dinners are ridiculous too!!

That is something my 2 year old dd would eat on an average day. I also have a 6 year old and that wouldn't fill him up. My son is also quite skinny but he is very tall for his age.

Ok, so my (tall & well built - in 8-9 clothes) 6 year old boy has a bowl of cereal and a slice of toast for breakfast at breakfast club. Milk and piece of fruit for snack at school. Lunch is a ham sandwich, a small yoghurt, an apple and a packet of crisps/small cake bar/choc bar. After school is a biscuit or two, a normal family mean for tea (tonight is sausage casserole and mash and green veg). Depending if he stays up later tonight he might have a piece of toast with peanut butter. Drinks of juice and milk in between. I would say that's perfectly adequate to be honest.

That’s not a great deal. So from 9-5 he’ll have apple, Hula Hoops, sandwich and a yoghurt. And he’s having an active day.
My son took banana for one snack, apple for another, then sandwich, yoghurt, chunks of cucumber and some fish fingers for his lunch. I also put in some home made sweet potato fries but he won’t finish those.

Yesterday again banana and apple for each snack. And for lunch he had pita, hummus, chicken in a wrap with a minted yoghurt, chunks of cucumber and some popcorn and strawberries. I use one of those Yumboxes for his lunch.

Dinner on one day was spaghetti and meatballs and today is chicken curry, dal, veggie curry and yoghurt. (We are Indian). He will usually eat it all. ANd is on the 9th centile for weight as well.

Slim is good. The fact that he is satisfied and not asking for food is probably your best indicator.
Some kids just aren't interested in snacking.
I think we are so used to seeing people on the heavy side, that people who are on the slimmer end of the healthy weight spectrum look thin.

I should add that the biscuits would be a morning snack an the fruit an afternoon snack usually - depending on the activities they're doing.

According to the NHS children are fine to move on to semi skimmed milk after the age of 2. They don’t recommend fully skimmed milk to under 5s.
Kids don’t need to be on full fat milk. That’s a myth.

That wouldn't be enough for my 6 yo, or my nearly 3yo either come to think of it buuut they are slim and very active, all kids are different though, I'm sure he'd tell you if he was hungry, all sounds very healthy and it's better that he eat proper meals than graze all day imo!

Sounds about the same as my 6 year old would eat in a day and a similar packed lunch to what I'd give (wish mine would have the fruit though, likes fresh fruit juice and fruity yoghurts but will otherwise only eat fruit in puddings! So it's a flapjack in his lunch box instead).

I give mine full fat milk but if yours prefers semi-skimmed that's fine, he's having two cups in the day which is great. Think the milk I pay for in school is semi skimmed, not sure.

My son is the same age and about the same centile wise, he was down at around 3rd but crept up a bit. He is noticeably skinny, but healthy I think. He would probably be peckish mid avo on that lunch, I would probably include some nuts or cheese cubes as well. Maybe swap out the crisps for flapjack or similar as although it has sugar the oats are quite sustaining.

Depends on the size of the roll as well.

I will add that my son drinks full fat milk - probably three decent size glasses a day.

My toddler will eat more than that today. He's already had an adult portion of porridge (we usually share but he asked for more), a banana and a satsuma. We've not got to snack time yet!

I think I would have added one more thing to his lunch if the hula hoops are for a snack later, but otherwise it sounds fine, and if he's not complaining of being hungry, leave it as it is.

Don't forget, many people overfeed their children, so they will think you're "starving" your child. Take no notice of them, be guided by your child.

He needs more food. The porridge should have been accompanied by some fruit and possible nuts/seeds to provide healthy fats. The lunch should have carrot sticks/cucumber/fruit possibly with a dip, a cheese string/babybel and I would say a biscuit or something wouldn’t go amiss (or rice cakes/oatcakes). Dinner is sufficient. Your friend is right imo, doesn’t seem anywhere near enough food.

DD is 8, 4foot1 and 50lbs, this makes her 7th centile for bmi, so a healthy weight, but only just. She would eat your snacks and lunch at lunch and need extra snacks. I don't think you're giving enough food.

My DS would be fine with that lunch and dinner. But eats the contents of the house for breakfast each morning. He seems to be constantly growing upward but not outward!

Those people here who are advocating more fruit as snacks, or carrots, or cucumber bits, ok, that's more fibre and some vitamins but there aren't many calories in any of those.

Some of the kids here are eating more than I ever have as an adult.
Breakfast- boiled egg, 1 slice toast or porridge
lunch- portion veg soup, fruit, maybe some Greek yoghurt
Dinner - fish, meat, veg etc.

Children don't need to eat constantly all day long and have 'double lunches' with sandwiches morning , noon and night as well as main meals.

Asking for opinions about either weight or height on here is asking for trouble- combining the two guarantees it!
My 6 year old wouldn't eat more than that and he is also quite skinny (I don't weight him though, so couldn't tell you about centiles) and very active. If that's all he'll eat then there really isn't anything you can do about it.

My daughter is 7.5 and at the stables from 9-4 today so will be very active. She's taken a ham/cheese/salad roll, jar of mixed, unsalted nuts, mini pork pie, a few cherry tomatoes and an apple.

I think she may have a packet of crisps too, she packed her own. Any leftovers will be eaten in car on way home, then normal dinner around 6.

If he’s always been on the 8th and that’s where he’s staying then that sounds fine. There’s nothing wrong with being on the 8th centile - someone has to be after all!

I would also still give a 6 year old full fat milk if they were not obsess and make the porridge with it too.

I might add some fruit to the porridge to increase his fruit and veg intake and maybe give something else with the main meal with some more proteins, like some cheese sticks or some hummus and carrot sticks but if he wouldn’t eat that then it’s just wasted food!

If people eat all that in one meal then I understand why this country is overweight!

There is a reason why childhood obesity is such a huge problem in this country - parents keep giving their children TOO MUCH FOOD! It's ok to be hungry, you wont keel over. Have you ever had a pet who is continually begging for food? Of course! All animals have an instinct to eat food at any opportunity as they don't know where the next meal is coming from - but we have a plentiful supply so we need to override the instincts.

What you have described OP is perfectly reasonable and I would eat that perfectly well as an adult! Don't give in to PPs who say you need to somehow fatten him up more. You sound like a sensible and responsible parent. Kids should be skinny and sporty!

I would have offered probably all of that together for lunch, with some fruit or veg for snack and then something for the afternoon (crackers and cheese, oatcakes and raisins). Mine is 5, but I think she would definitely eat more than that, but you know your dc. If he couldn't eat more, then sounds totally fine.

Mine would eat way more than that at lunch. They'd both eat the sandwiches, apple yoghurt and hula hoops all in one and probably still ask for a biscuit or something sweet as extra, so that would leave nothing for morning or afternoon snack. Neither are greedy or overweight.