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.

Everyone is different and you know your son and what he will eat best. If you know that he will be fine with what you have sent them of course it is ok. It sounds like he is a very slim little boy so probably doesn't need much food.

I have to send my 4 year old to preschool with a packed lunch and he is skinny and tall but has a huge appetite so what you have described would not be enough for him. He generally takes:

Sandwich with ham/cheese
Pot of grapes
Small Apple
Either a babybel or yogurt depending on what's on his sandehich
Either a small pack of crisps or a biscuit.

He eats the lot and still eats the snack preschool provide in the afternoon

I genuinely have no idea where he puts it! As I said, he is tall and skinny - just like his dad who also eats for Britain!

Sounds fine to me. I only eat a roll and yoghurt at lunch and that fills me up. If I have a bowl of porridge for breakfast then I wouldn’t be able to eat the yoghurt as well if I had eaten a snack in between meals either and I’m an adult. My children don’t snack between meals and they would be satisfied on a roll and yoghurt for lunch and that includes my 9 year old. So don’t compare to other people. Everyone is different. The only thing you need concern yourself with is A) Is your child a healthy weight and B) Is your child complaining he is hungry. If the answers are yes for A abd no for B it doesn’t matter a dot what other people think.

For trips I throw in a few extras

Cheese fruit biscuit cake etc

So they have a 'special' lunch for the trips out

They love haveing an extra snack in the bus home

I am sorry to say this, but I don’t think that’s enough food. Also maybe ditch the ham. Processed meat is really bad.

Sorry again, but you did ask.

Cardibach - at last! I've been reading through wondering about portion sizes especially what the ham sandwich looks like. As it is seeded bread I'm guessing that it's quite substantial. Also other portions are relevant and whether the porridge is made with milk or water.
Several comments include unnecessary extra sugary or salty snacks. The bottom line is surely whether the child is hungry, he isn't.

DSS who is 8 gets cereal with an extra glass of milk for breakfast, a bit of fruit for morning snack, sandwich (plain with only chicken or ham) and a frube for lunch, packet of crisps for pm snack and a normal family dinner.
Never complains he is hungry in fact on occasion the lunch box comes back with half the sandwich left over and him telling us he wasn't hungry enough to eat it all.

All kids have differing levels of food intake and many will just eat the additional food because it's there rather than because they need it.

At 6 your son is capable of telling you if he needs more food and is hungry, just listen to him and it will be fine x

I’m actually surprised at the amount of people telling you it’s not enough. I could quite happily consist on that as a healthy weight, active adult. In fact I regularly do eat similar food. It’s not particularly surprisingly that 2/3rds of the population are overweight considering some of these responses (the whole days food in ONE meal hmm)

This.

Sounds fine to me. I’m always shocked at the amount of food people claim they give their kids. Mine have basically exactly the same and are teens. One is over 90th centile for height, super active in general with hours of sports each day.

The only exception here is that it’s sandwich only for lunch and then yoghurt and piece of fruit for afternoon tea. Breakfast is exactly as you have described. Healthy non processed dinner is a large portion for the very active kid. The other kid has disabilities which hampers a lot of physical activity and their dinner portion is small.

Not all food is healthy. Once a fortnight there is takeaway and if they go to the movies, a party etc they will have whatever unhealthy food/drink is on offer but that’s only occasionally.

I would think if your child was so hungry they would be coming home complaining???

I'd swap the hula hoops for cheese and crackers but other than that looks fine to me.

As others have said, children should be having full fat milk, not semi skimmed. They need fat for development.

You should be able to count a child’s ribs, without poking to find them. People have totally lost sight of what a healthy child looks like.

That’s more food than some will eat, less food than others will eat, but it’s certainly well within the ‘average’ for a 6 year olds lunch.

I would ask him how his lunch was today, just casually ask if he enjoyed it, if it was enough when he’d had such an active day & see what he says. I tend to put a bit more in with the ones that leave stuff when they’ve had enough, but not for the one that would just eat it until it was all gone, pretty much irrespective of how much extra you put in.

Your friend probably was just joking, it’s the sort of thing I’d say and I’d be really upset if I’d worried you 💐

Iv not read the full thread so it might have been mentioned but the one thing that stands out for me is the milk rather than the portion sizes.

Whole milk is good for kids, it has fat which gives energy and a healthy boost for growing children. Fat is generally seen as bad but getting it through milk is good because unlike processed food it doesn't have other bad stuff in it.

Not according to the NHS. Children do not need full fat milk over the age of 2.

You know your child best. If it was my child, I would have given a few extra bits with that - but he eats a lot!

I’m actually surprised at the amount of people telling you it’s not enough. I could quite happily consist on that as a healthy weight, active adult. In fact I regularly do eat similar food. It’s not particularly surprisingly that 2/3rds of the population are overweight considering some of these responses (the whole days food in ONE meal hmm)

Another one who agrees with you. I feel stuffed just reading what some kids have for lunch.

Sorry bold fail

Sounds like enough to me

*I’m actually surprised at the amount of people telling you it’s not enough. I could quite happily consist on that as a healthy weight, active adult. In fact I regularly do eat similar food. It’s not particularly surprisingly that 2/3rds of the population are overweight considering some of these responses (the whole days food in ONE meal hmm)

Another one who agrees with you. I feel stuffed just reading what some kids have for lunch.*

Totally agree

This must depend on the amounts of e.g. porridge etc.

NHS recommends 1649kcal for a 7 year old boy.

Porridge (if a small bowl with semi skimmed milk and no sugar or fruit) could be as little as 200kcal.

Apple is 50kcal

A ham sandwich could be 300kcal if it doesn't have butter and is 2 slices of bread, or maybe 350 if it has a little butter.

A yoghurt would be 190kcal if it's full fat, 175g pot, and about 110 if low fat (natural yoghurt).

So that's 600 or 700 ish, maybe more if porridge is big.

Hula hoops are 120kcal per bag, so now up to 750-850.

Tangerine is about 40.

So 900. So dinner would need to be 750 to hit.

I used to send my DD (and still do now she's a teen) with a small bread roll filled with tuna/mayo,a cheese string, yogurt in a tube,grapes or satsuma and if it is a particularly active event a flap jack.She decided if she wanted any mid morning/afternoon.My ex used to send her with twice as much if he was packing it and most came back.
It sounds fine to me,you know your child and this is only one of the meals he's having.
As for those saying it's from 9to 5with snacks factored on the longers OPs son is going without food is 2.5hours.We all snack too much.

If your kid has energy and is fine and healthy on the amount given then all is fine. I’d probably give fruit as any extra snacks because they fill a hole and are healthier if hungry. My kids diet varies each day but I don’t worry because she always seems to have enough energy.

I wouldn't give semi skimmed milk to a young child.

I wouldn't give cows milk to a child, full stop. But that's personal preference. My DC have never had cows milk, they don't need it.

That's what I have for lunch most days...ham sandwich (two rounds of bread) and a bag of crisps that I eat (if I'm lucky) standing up doing jobs. I'm a 12 stone, 5'7 Primary school teacher, rushed off her feet and if I even manage to quaff that down I'm well chuffed! No mid-morning/mid-afternoon snacks here either! Breakfast would have been at 6am...quick bowl of Cheerios. Dinner around 7.30...chicken breast, salad or veg...whatever I can cobble together in my knackered state. So yeah, for a 6 year old I'd say that was more than enough. I really have no idea what goes on in the minds of some parents who think their children need so much food these days...no wonder there's an obesity crisis in this country. Tell your friend to wind her neck in!

And there are still people saying ‘that’s about what my DC eats’ without having the slightest clue how much OPs child is eating! There are still people commenting in the (non-existent) portion sizes!
OP. How much food are you feeding your DC. Not what types, but HOW MUCH?

My 6 year old boy (also very active and slim) would need more than that for his lunch or he'd be very hungry. Probably a bit of cheddar, some grapes and carrot sticks and maybe a banana as well. If your son is full though it's more than adequate? I know I certainly hear about it when they don't have enough and if he isn't asking for more then it's a perfectly normal amount to eat.

Dd 6 had egg and toast for breakfast and is away with a banana for snack then a ham sandwich, apple, flapjack for lunch and a biscuit as a Friday treat. She never stops and your ds lunch would be perfect for her. She eats like mad in the evenings but less during the day, and even if I gave her more at lunch it would come home uneaten.