To think this is an appropriate after school snack for a 4 year old

[Twolittlebears]

My DD is 4 and has just started school. She has to take a snack for afterschool club which lasts until 5.30pm. I've been sending snacks like:

• a piece of fruit and 1/2 pitta and hummus;
• fruit and 2 x rice cakes with peanut butter;
• cut veggies and hummus and 2 x oat cakes types things.

AIBU to think this is about right or too much for a 4 year old.

For background: we have been working to make sure DD eats appropriate portions. She was previously 99th centile for weight and after careful management is now 75th.

Those snacks sound fine and not too much There are a lot of very odd and restrictive attitudes to food on here.

I too would be interested to know the dc's height centile. (Coming at this from the opposite perspective - mine all look ridiculously underweight on paper until you realise that they're small height-wise too and can see that they're actually in proportion)

InstagramPork, it's not always as simple as that though is it? People are built in different ways-Ectomorphs, Endomorphs, Mesomorphs. It is not just nurture that influences your size. Although not endorsed by me, my eldest can has eaten a bag of donuts, a meal later with zero impact on his weight! I realise there are all sorts of problems with eating a bag of donuts so I don't need a lecture on that but it seems very harsh to make out the Op's snacks are the epitome of greed, they are 'simply' not.

That sounds absolutely fine. My eldest two normally have a croissant or pack of nuts and some fruit after school, sometimes crisps too. They have a small dinner. Both are slim.

we have been working to make sure DD eats appropriate portions. She was previously 99th centile for weight and after careful management is now 75th

OK i'm probably picky but I really dislike this kind of comment with no further clarification or context. Because it's basically saying high weight centile = fat kid that needs to be 'corrected' which isn't the point of centiles.

My ten year old has been on the 99th centile for weight since he was a toddler and any lower than that would make him look too skinny for his height and build.

@Goldenbear I’m going on the fact that the OP has said her kid was overweight and they’re actively trying to help her lose it.
Some people can consume lots of calories and not gain weight, others can’t. The most obvious way to lose weight is by reducing the calories and portion control

Both pretty much bang on 50th centile for weight and height

You know that's not a good thing though right? Or a bad thing? Or any different at all to a kid on the 20th centile for both or the 99.6th for both.

You say it with a tone of pride which I find odd.

Doesn't sound too much to me.

Those who think it is a lot of food, are your kids active? Mine are and they would easily that for snack, plus dinner, pudding, supper etc

When I see these threads I am in disbelief at how little children are given to eat, I would be embarrassed to actually list my Dcs intake from afterschool until bed! They are both whippets though so I would worry about them eating 'Mumsnet' potions.

I know, you'd expect my children to be the size of houses going by what they can put away some evenings! But I suppose they have both hovered around the 25th centile since toddlers so they obviously need it. Makes me laugh when I see things criticised as 'unhealthy' on MN though, given the diet of crap that many of the kids I taught would eat in comparison...

Please please stop sending peanut butter! If my ds was near your dd at snack time he'd be in a potentially life threatening situation

Re: centiles - yes, you're right, 99th/25th centile says nothing about how healthy or unhealthy a child's weight is by itself. My two are both 99th centile height wise and 25th centile weight wise, no matter how much they eat (a hell of a lot!). Their father, grandfather and uncles have all been 6' 5"+ and 8 stone wet through until they reached middle age though, so I think it must be genetic.

Is it an option to send something that could be her tea like the poster above has said? I'm a teacher and at our after school club the parents pay for food such as sandwiches/pasta/toasties then I assume they have no tea at home. I think she'd be hungry on just fruit from 12-whenever she's picked up x

I suppose I just feel sorry for the children who are made out to be porkers (not saying the Op's child) for wanting a bit of a snack after school. Particularly as the snacks like the OPs seem small and healthy! I'm really not convinced it's just about the food. My two walk to school and back so that's 3 miles a day but that's not very much really. They are also very bouncy kids so DD constantly dancing, or handstands or on the way home from school walking on walls, climbing and running. Even the way they play with their toy figures is active as they use the whole house for different 'worlds'. I think all these things come in to play.

Dd gets a biscuit at 3.30 then at 4.30 gets something more substantial, was a quarter of a jam sandwich and some plain popcorn.

She's not hungry for dinner once at home, just a piece of fruit is enough for bedtime

@MicroManaged I was saying it in the sense that their height and weight centiles are proportionate. If your kid is 99th for weight and 10th for height for example then they are likely overweight. Mine fall around the middle for both, so they are both average height and weight and are proportionate.
That’s what I was saying. It’s not a tonne of pride but statistically they are as average as you can get, so I think based on what my statistically average kids require to stay a healthy weight I think the OP’s particular snacks may be too much for a child she believes needs to lose weight.
It’s an opinion, not pride. I find it odd that you don’t seem to understand how the centiles are a gauge.

I don’t think anyone is saying kids who need larger snacks after school are all fat or overweight. I based my advice off the assumption (from what the OP said) that her DD was indeed overweight which they are sensibly managing. Humus and peanut butter as well as other snacks for a child which is struggling to maintain a healthy weight may not be the best choice as they’re heigh in calories

High*

Snacks sound nice and probably ok if she’s running around all the time, but PLEASE DON’T SEND PEANUT BUTTER. I’m surprised the after-school club allows any nut products.

Depends on lunch size. Ours were tiny and all the kids came out starving. Mums in playground all holding snacks.

Anyway I wouldn’t send peanut butter anyway in case of nut allergies other kids might have. Other than that, hard to tell re rice cake size, pitta size etc.

Sounds ok to me - my DC just started school and all of the kids are coming out of school really hungry. They have lunch before 12. I wish my DC would eat stuff like that but he won't touch peanut butter or hummus I assume if there are any allergies in the school then the school would tell the parents not to send nut products

In fact I think the reception class have lunch at 11:30/11:45

These threads are so odd

My 11 year old comes in from school and has a toasted cheese or fish finger bagel with nuts and fruit. He then has dinner - for example, chicken with new potatoes and veg. He will then have pudding. And later on an apple, some carrots and a slice or two of toast.

He's normal weight and constantly hungry. I wouldn't worry about a 4 year old in the circumstances you describe- she could be due a growth spurt. As long as you're not shoving cakes and chocolate etc down her, I'd just relax and feel confident in your own decisions. All you'll get on here is weird attitudes to food

My DD would eat far more than that and her dinner and she is like a stick insect! Sounds fine to me

Sounds fine to me and healthy

Yes, a piece of fruit and half a pitta is a totally normal size snack for a 4 year old at school! What is with people saying it's 'a lot'? Do you have tiny mice for children?!

Personally, I think it's fine. It's on par with what my 3 and 4 year old have as an after school snack, and both then go onto have dinner (including yoghurt and fruit).

That said, it's all relative to what they eat throughout the day.