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

[lightlypoached]

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?

I love that I'm now serving my 12 year old DS bigger portions than me. He's a little scrap of nothing who is desperate to grow, so I love piling on the protein and veg and seeing him demolish it all. He's only 6" shorter than his DGM now, and 7" shorter than me. The big growth spurt is coming!

The other night he took the Christmas tree decorations down, every last one, including the lights and star on the top, without needing the steps. Then wondered why I was a bit emotional. He's an only child, so I will try my hardest not to be one of those MILs!

Why are you so worked up about it?

My DS (17) is obsessive (I do not use that word lightly) about fitness and body building. He eats much more than I can easily afford.

Although his choice of food is healthy, the quantities (4,000 calories a day or more) are not. Yet it is an obsession with him.

I know this thread is about the gratification we feel when our young people tuck into hearty meals, but, as an individual who has recovered from a serious eating disorder in my teens and twenties, I recognise that in my son's situation, there is an unhealthy relationship with food and body image.

My son is not overweight and seems extremely healthy, but it is his obsession with nutrition and fitness and the financial impact that this has on my limited income that worries me.

Why the emphasis on the Weetabix being from Waitrose in the update?

@wiltingflower WOOSH !

The sound of the OPs update going completely over your head.

I believe a level of sarcasm to appease the judgement on MN

The emphasis was on own brand. Waitrose Essentials range is as cheap as or cheaper than anywhere else, hardly showing off if that's your implication?

Sometimes I send DS off to Waitrose so he can stock up on food he wants as snacks.

I am going to be a shit MIL 😂

Why the emphasis on the Weetabix being from Waitrose in the update

Genuine weetabix is about £4 for 48
I can buy Morrisons weetabix less than £3 for 72.
I assume Waitrose is a similar price point

18yr old DS is 6’3” and still growing- he has 6% body fat- it was measured on a machine.

He always eats cereal between meals and has done since he was around 14. If he’s hungry, I have no problem with him eating.

DD is 20. She has LD and can’t always tell when she’s full. This has resulted in sick (lots of sick!) before now.

I restrict her diet without making a fuss about it because I don’t want to clean up oceans of vomit.

She is 5’5”- appears to have stopped growing- and she puts on lots of cellulite-y weight very quickly when at respite, (with a less managed intake- although they know not to give an unlimited supply) so clearly doesn’t need the volume of food that DS does. She eats plenty of fresh food when at home and is very healthy.

I’m all for equality, but people are all different physically and should probably listen to their bodies (not possible with DD, I know), rather than going for the ‘one size should fit all’ approach.

@NewYorkDoll3:

“A massively long post from you defending the OP (previous page.)

You seem hugely invested in this. I do wonder why...... wink”

Nope, I’ve read your comment a couple of times and am clearly too thick to understand the wink. Whereas I think YOU’RE too thick to realise that mothers of 15 year old boys may actually love their child just as much as a mother of a 15 year old girl loves THEIR child, and would maybe like to discuss that with parents of other teenaged boys on a chat forum.

Of course, maybe you think that once the first signs of acne appear, or hair growth on upper lip appears, or a cracking voice starts up, that we should be treating our children like men, stopping all physical affection, send them out to work down the pit and marry them off at 16 so that we don’t appear like an overbearing parent to paranoid posters on chat forums. But that’s your choice. Most parents of teenage boys are, you know, normal with their children.

It's a normal phase for teenage boys. Mine are 20+ now but there were a few teenage years when they would polish off a huge Sunday roast and pudding at 7pm and then be at the before 9pm.
They just eat normally now and are both very slim.

I was reminiscing with my in laws the other day about DH's teenage food habits. I remember the first time I went to his house for lunch - he made us a pizza each (filled up a whole plate) then came back through with another two plates for the chips and baked beans! I didn't quite know what to say...

I still call my 28yo my gorgeous boy, because he is. We don't hug much now, partly because of germs and partly because he's so thin I keep thinking I'll break him.

OP I totally understand where you are coming from ,mine are only 6 and 3 so frankly it's a bit hit and miss (the sweet potato smiley faces the other day were dubbed "a bit funny and I'm not sure I'll chance them" ) but I love seeing it when they find something they love

Ahem...not only because it means they are quiet

Some of thus thread has made me equal parts sad and angry

This who have an issue with this post I really hope you realise your controlling over food is a serious issue ....abd please don't tell me how I would respond dependant on gender ....i would say exactly the same if male or female

The faux concern condescension about health and obesity simply makes you seem ignorant at the real understanding of nutrition. For thousands if years mother's have nourished their children in whatever way works for them, if the most you have in your life is controlling to limit food you seem appropriate to the nth degree that is terribly terribly sad.

However back to the spirit of the thread...in our house my two will go through days of not eating much and then Hoover the fridge the next...little one makes me laugh as he cried when he got offered a biscuit the other day because he wanted cheese...he always wants cheese...he would shank mickey in a heartbeat over cheese

Also - when did AIBU turn into "any post whatsoever here is open for a thorough fucking beating, because AIBU". It wasn't intended to be that way, I'm sure. It wasn't always vile.

I don’t think it’s necessarily “vile” but it does tend to be challenging. So choose your topics wisely. I mean, what responses did the OP hope for? Just ones saying “I Also love watching my growing teen devour food, scrummy!” ?

Creepy thread. It's both the way that the OP is fetishizing her son's binge eating and talking about him in baby language. It's just a bit gag-inducing and over-indulgent. It reminds me of an interview I read with Liz Hurley and her son recently.

DS14 came into our room proudly demonstrating his Christmas growth spurt. His school trousers are now an inch above his ankles. Good job I bought them 3 inches too long and took them up an inch and half. He is delighted that he’s now over an inch taller than me and it won’t be long before he’s taller than DH.
I now cook for four and he eats the extra portion. He is solid muscle so not quite bean pole more bean pole on steroids.

I'm wondering if those who don't see affectionate side of this, actually have rake-thin teens who occasionally eat like labradors with tapeworms.

Because to me intermittent monster appetites are a normal part of puberty. And it's something that's a family joke here too.

Just seen this
www.amazon.co.uk/Teenager-Who-Came-Tea/dp/1472121767/ref=nodl_

I guess those who don't understand that you still feel love and affection for teenage boys probably have no children or very young ones. However much you personally dislike teenage boys (and lots on MN do ), the fact is that most of us who do have them love them just as much as we did when they were babies.

I’ve have 2 adult daughters so I was gobsmacked when daughters boyfriend moved in at the amount of food he devours . He has a whole pizza for lunch then a huge dinner plate then he’s looking for snacks later on !! I could never understand why my friend with 2 sons spend so much on food, now I know

In answer to the “creepy thread” posters, it’s all part of the parenting process. Boys are particularly sensitive in early teens when they are late developers they are much less likely to talk about it than girls. It’s just another milestone you quietly celebrate in RL as a parent. You know that the voracious appetite means they’re growing. It’s the same when their voice starts to break or facial hair appears.

I think I’m having a problem. Where I’m reading 6 Weetabix other people seem to be reading 6 Whoppers and fries.

My eldest stepson used to be like this. He's 24 now, but when he was mid teens, you couldn't fill him. He's 6'3", he was rail thin, but EAT!! l've never seen anything like it. He's filled out a bit now, very healthy, but still loves his food!

It’s everyone’s own choice how they treat their children and feel about this so I am not judging at all. My son would do exactly the same, but I do not allow him. There is no way they can possibly be hungry after eating a full meal. Yeah they may not be full, but they need to learn that it is ok not to be full. My son is 12 and currently 5’ 10”. He is also slim so I’m not overly concerned, but I do feel it is my job to teach him good eating habits for the future.