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.

There seem to be people on here who think a 6 year old should be eating more than an adult. I doubt very much if this holiday camp involves sprinting about all day so don't really understand where that comes from. He should probably be eating no more than about 1400 calories, so that looks about right. Maybe some nuts would've been good (but that's because I'm obsessed with cashews just now)

No wonder there's an obesity crisis.

When did 'snack' become a thing? It's not a mealtime. It's an optional extra. Three substantial meals a day plus two snacks. I don't see the issue unless he says he's hungry. Might give him whole milk, though.

Boiled eggs in kids' packed lunches?!? The other kids will be ripping the piss out of him and he'll get a phobia about eating his lunch.

If he’s not complaining that he’s hungry then I’m sure it’s plenty. Not necessarily true.

I would rarely say I was hungry at home because we weren't allowed snacks as a general rule. It was unusual when I was primary school age for the words "I'm hungry" to be met with anything other than the time/menu of the next meal. In the same way we never asked for sweets in a shop or ice creams from the van because we never got them.

Now we weren't neglected nor starved, but I can remember times when I was really hungry and waiting for the next meal because I knew we wouldn't get anything until then. We could eat as much as we wanted from what was on offer (I remember my very hungry sister once eating almost an entire loaf of bread without any comment from parents other than did she need any more)

I also was a very fussy child and there were times I got down from the table still hungry without saying anything because I didn't want to eat what was on offer and we were never offered alternatives. I'd still rather be hungry than eat certain things.

I gave my almost 10 year old less that that today. It's completely fine.

There seem to be people on here who think a 6 year old should be eating more than an adult

There are quite a few 6 year olds who should be - a sedentary adult woman, and a highly active 6 year old will have about the same calorie demands.

If you 6 year old is not highly active then they need to be moving more.

My 2.5 year old DS would eat all of that in 1 sitting probably, and he is on the 5th gentile (he's a small boy, tall though)

The other kids will be ripping the piss out of him

Your child needs nicer friends

Children are so often over feed that people have lost proportion of what is normal.

Let the child eat when hungry and don’t force feed by overloading

I have an almost 6 year old boy who has packed lunch at school. He has a sandwich, some vegetables in a small pot, a pack of mini cheddars and something sweet (small yoghurt, homemade cake, chocolate rice cakes) as an average packed lunch. He doesn’t ever eat it all but eats maybe 3/4. He’s average sized, I have no idea what his weight is but he’s healthy, you can see a few ribs but not too many.

Based on this, your Ds’s Lunch sounds fine, it’s just spread through the day as there are two snack times.

Not sure what’s wrong with boiled eggs?

I think people are scared of the kids getting hungry even though it’s healthy to feel hunger. I think people feed their kids too much.

I can’t remember being hungry as a child, we just had 3 meals a day, no snacks unless we wanted a apple. We were really active and I think because we were busy we were not thinking about food all the time.

@sirfredfredgeorge

I forgot that on MN you have to qualify every comment, haha. Obviously I wasn't talking about a sedentary adult woman and a highly active 6 years old, but in the main a 6 year old should be eating less than his or her parents and we've lost sight of that completely. Children should be hungry before their meals and it seems we're frightened of that.

You don't have to apologise for giving him a bag of fucking hula hoops.

What exactly is funny/shameful about an egg?

Because hard-boiled eggs smell like farts and the other kids won't let it pass without comment.

Seems completely fine to me. It's actually pretty much what I eat during a day (depending on size of dinner, of course) and I am reasonably active.
One of my children was a fussy eater, and would probably have ate less than a quarter of that amount, but still managed to grow into a reasonably healthy adult.

Personally I’d add more to the lunch and replace the morning snack of an apple with something containing fuel rather than just watery vitamins if he’s at a camp all day. I packed my kids off with much more at 6 and they are still very skinny (now 10&12). Just because there is more doesn’t mean they have to eat it. They can leave it when full.

@Chrys2017 I disagree, just asked my 3 older boys if anyone has ever taken the piss of them for eggs/ tuna/ cooked chicken (smells the worst IMO) and they said it’s never happened.

I think it’s usually adults that project their opinions like that.

My 11 month old eats more than that in a day

My 9 and 11 yo boys would have eaten probably less than that at 6 but now both have ginormous appetites!

They are at sports camp now and have a cheese and ham/chorizo sandwich, pack of crisps, a fruit (apple/orange) a squeezy yoghurt and pack of penguin biscuits, a smoothie drink and a bottle of water. (can be refilled) This is for both lunch and snacks.

They'll then eat a big dinner tonight

Sounds fine to me. Slim, sporty kids learn good eating habits which they will maintain into adulthood. I've got three children and I was really health-conscious about their diet and exercise and now, as adults, so are they. I think people who over-feed their children on sweets, processed food and salty snacks teach them unhealthy eating habits have let their kids down badly.

Chrys2017 I disagree, just asked my 3 older boys…

I'm glad to hear that. Kids must be nicer nowadays.

My niece always had carrots for lunch and no-one her age ever commented - the only comments she's had were in Blackpool once when an older guy asked her if she'd stolen her carrot from a donkey. So you're probably right Alright1613

Two very skinny children here. I mean really really skinny!

Breakfast
Scrambled egg on toast
Leftover slice of pizza
Fruit salad
Glass of film fat milk

Lunch
Steamed broccoli and carrots on the side
Spaghetti bol
Greek yoghurt with raspberries

Snack
An apple

Dinner
Salmon, sweet cornand cream cheese fajitas (2 each)
Side plate of carrots and hummous
Bowl of blueberries and blaxnvureenrs

One glass of full fat milk and a mini egg.

My children would be on their knees in that diet. They. Don’t. Stop. Moving.

Tuna, eggy smells and anything yucky will most definitely end badly. It is not pleasant sitting next to the kid who stinks of fish all day