Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

nothing better than gangly 15yo tucking into 5 weetabix straight after huge dinner?

317 replies

lightlypoached · 05/01/2019 19:43

AIBU as a mother to think there is nothing better than watching your 15 yo gangly, long-legged lovely boy tucking into a giant bowl of cereal just after demolishing a giant dinner of pasta? Grin

OP posts:
maddiemookins16mum · 05/01/2019 20:56

MN is odd sometimes. If my teenager had demolished a huge dinner I’d be saying you don’t need half a packet of Weetabix too.

lightlypoached · 05/01/2019 20:56

@winnerwinner Thankyou. I do love my kids very much even when they are little (or big!) bastards. Having kids is the best thing ever. Sometimes. Most of the time. Grin

OP posts:
Celebelly · 05/01/2019 20:57

I remember when I was a teenager finishing dinner and then going hunting through cupboards half an hour later for a snack. Was also the first port of call when coming in from school! Hollow legs... Wish I kept that kind of metabolism into my 30s, though!

SusanWalker · 05/01/2019 20:58

YANBU. I wish DS would. He's ASD and really fussy and not eating more than a meal a day at the moment. Finding things to give him.that he'll eat is a nightmare. Other times he'll eat but not particularly healthily but it's that or he won't eat at all. He's 6 foot though and broad shouldered so not doing too bad on it.

Always reminds me of Ron and his brothers in Harry Potter.

Isitweekendyet · 05/01/2019 20:58

@brainstormer

I'm not usually one to pipe up calling mysoginism/bodyshaming, however I wholeheartedly agree.

This flashed me back to my own teens when I would do similar, however I was a size 12 at ten and growing.

If you had listened to me you would have sworn I was starving too, but I guess my body didn't burn it off as easily.

I wonder would the OPs' be raving if their children showed the food or would be be actively discouraging them and appealing to Mumsnet for how to reduce their child's diet and shift the weight.

I would be looking into more of a deficiency for anyone shifting 6+ weetabix for breakfast rather than praising how skinny they were despite what they eat.

My 6ft 4 husband with an active job wouldn't shift that unless that was his only chance to eat all shift.

Overeating should not be applauded in any instance, especially not in teenage years when those behaviours are developing into adult habits.

In regard to those who question why the PP would object to her child eating so much has genuinely baffled me. They are not starving and to many families if there were two teens in a house who ate 6+ weetabix twice a day, that's nearly a tenner a week in just a box of own brand weetabix alone - forget the extras! That would blow our food bill.

Apologies for the rant but this thread has touched a nerve, please encourage better eating habits in your teens!

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 05/01/2019 20:59

Yep DS is like this! He is 10 mos old and was under a paed dietitian for the first 7 mos. He was so small he was not plottable on the HV standard chart at one point. The dietitian stipulated he must have 47ml of milk - that's about an ounce and a half - every 3-4 h. It used to take nearly an hour for him to drink that with a LOT of persuasion.

Then something clicked and now he eats a large portion of puree, tries to steal his sister's and goes for what's on our plates too whilst also downing 5-6 oz of milk every few hours.

It 's not a boy v girl thing either. His sister used to be an excellent eater and I loved that. She has gone off her food a bit whilst teething and it's sad.

ReanimatedSGB · 05/01/2019 21:00

I've got a permanently empty DS (14). I try to keep him fed but it can be a bit stressful on those weeks when money's tight and he's eaten three good meals and still wants more food.

TheOrigFV45 · 05/01/2019 21:02

Apologies for the rant but this thread has touched a nerve, please encourage better eating habits in your teens!

Maybe they are eating to their hunger, which IMO is about the best eating habit to have. Hungry - eat, not hungry - stop, peckish - have a snack or wait until your next meal.

FaFoutis · 05/01/2019 21:03

Your husband is not growing Isit. Relax a bit.

IfNotNowBernard · 05/01/2019 21:05

Eating massive amounts sometimes is normal, especially in teen boys.
Boys seem to have really fast growth spurts and they are also laying on more muscle than most girls are going to so they can get absolutely ravenous.
I grew up with several siblings of both sexes, we ALL eat well, and my sisters and me never dieted but what my brothers could put away was Shock

Squeakyheart · 05/01/2019 21:05

YABU as I have no weetibix in as forgot and as a breastfeeding mum I could easily match all hungry teenagers ( it's the hormones Wink)!

Buteo · 05/01/2019 21:09

Yup - eat if you’re hungry, don’t eat if you’re not. I also have DC that get slightly chubby round the middle and then have a huge growth spurt and immediately slim down. I know they can grow over a 2cm in less than a week.

MySkirtHasPockets · 05/01/2019 21:09

rather than praising how skinny they were despite what they eat

I certainly don't do this. I would love for my teen to fill out a bit and he wants this too. He has always been very skinny and is very self conscious about it now. His appetite has really picked up over the last year and it's fab to see him filling out a bit!

Surely it's common knowledge that teens have a tendency to stuff their faces due to growth spurts Confused

It's something I did as a teen and was not discouraged from doing so by my parents!

MySkirtHasPockets · 05/01/2019 21:10

Do girls tend to shoot up in height in the same way boys do? I only have boys, the girls in the family seem to grow more steadily and then stop growing shortly after periods start.

AuroraFloyd · 05/01/2019 21:11

I agree this is a weird thread. Maybe because as teens we just couldn't afford to eat whatever and how much we wanted in my family?

Two weetabix in one serving is still the limit in my house. Still hungry? Have a banana/toast/egg etc. If one of my kids cleaned me out of food that was supposed to last us all for a set number of meals then I'd be pissed.

Chewbecca · 05/01/2019 21:13

As filler uppers go, weetabix with milk isn't too bad, surely?

My 15 yo DS finished off the weetabix this morning so is now scavenging, despite steak, chips and veg for dinner plus a slice of clementine cake. Looks like a tin of cold baked beans is the answer to fill those hollow legs.

JuniperSling · 05/01/2019 21:19

It's lovely to see them eating well and having a healthy appetite. Mine is 15 too and quite fussy about what he eats, so I'd be happy to see him enjoying some decent non-junk food.

RomanyRoots · 05/01/2019 21:20

My ds1 and dd are like this and both are solid and quite broad, but not fat.
Ds2 has just put some weight on, but was scrawny even though he stuffed himself.
My dh used to be able to eat anything and not put on an oz, it used to annoy me, he's quite trim again now but whoa he became quite large in middle age.
It catches up with them Grin

LisaSimpsonsbff · 05/01/2019 21:22

I agree this is a weird thread. Maybe because as teens we just couldn't afford to eat whatever and how much we wanted in my family?

Two weetabix in one serving is still the limit in my house. Still hungry? Have a banana/toast/egg etc.

But if cost is the issue it'd be cheaper to let them have two Weetabix than two eggs? And bananas/eggs/bread can also be earmarked for particular uses - maybe they aren't in your house but maybe Weetabix isn't in OP's. She doesn't say 'lovely to see him eat the Weetabix, which should have been all our breakfast tomorrow'

ToeToToe · 05/01/2019 21:23

I have two tall gangly teen boys (14 & 16) and it never ceases to amaze me how much they can eat. I thought it was a myth, but no...they can literally eat the whole kitchen in an evening Grin

Weetabix is just fine. Last Sunday mine put on pizzas after a full roast Shock

CurlyMango · 05/01/2019 21:24

I find it pleasing. My ds is usually hungry and I like to fill him up. He is in great shape, tonight he has had pasta (600g dry) cooked with beef and tomato sauce. My dad and I have the other part. All happy.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 05/01/2019 21:26

In regard to those who question why the PP would object to her child eating so much has genuinely baffled me. They are not starving

Well, I'm sure they're not starving, but they are hungry, surely? He ate his dinner so it's not like he's turning his nose up at other food and eating what he fancies instead. Telling your hungry child they can't eat isn't a brilliant way to instill healthy attitudes to food...

SneakyGremlins · 05/01/2019 21:27

It's how I got an eating disorder. Not allowed to eat except for the three meals I was given a day, at portion sizes which were chosen for me.

NewYorkDoll3 · 05/01/2019 21:40

Weird thread.

NewYorkDoll3 · 05/01/2019 21:40

No idea what it's like to see my 'lovely boy' tucking into 5 weetabix after dinner, as I have 'lovely girls.'

Like a few others, I think it's odd. Why is his meal not enough? And why does it thrill you much to see him scoffing so much food? How bizarre.

Having FIVE weetabix after a meal is just odd. Why is the meal not enough? I'd be concerned if my child was shoveling so much food down. I can't believe some posters are OK with it.

@brainstormer

Not one post about a daughter hoovering up weetabix Hmm I guess just boys are allowed to eat a ton and we just tinkly laugh, if it was a girl we'd all be convinced of an eating disorder. Confused

Hmmm yeah I thought this. If it were a girl, people would be posting snarky posts about how the OP must want her daughter to be 'obese!' Bizarre thread to start. 'Look how much my child eats.' WTF? Confused Like you, I can only IMAGINE the posts on here if this thread had been about a teenage girl eating so much!

@sneakygremlins

It's how I got an eating disorder. Not allowed to eat except for the three meals I was given a day, at portion sizes which were chosen for me.

Maybe so. But many people who ate pretty much what they wanted (as a kid) got eating disorders too. And many people who were restricted, did NOT get an eating disorder. Because you are encouraged to eat healthy and not eat massive portions as a child, that doesn't mean you will automatically get an eating disorder. Hmm

Swipe left for the next trending thread