To lock up all the food.

[bristolianpielover]

I have two DS's, aged 7 and 9. They are both healthy weights (recently checked at medical apt's, so I'm aware of their centiles, I'm not just kidding myself!), and both extremely lean. But they eat CONSTANTLY. Fruit, toast, cereal, yoghurt, fruit loaf, cheese etc. I don't have sweets and chocolates in the house, but I know that these snacks are far more sugary than is ideal.
They eat a proper dinner. Tonight was fish fingers, home made chips an peas. None of us have huge portions, but they can eat as much as me. 10mins later, the elder one was making toast with peanut butter. A little while after that he nicked one of his sandwiches that I'd made for tomorrow's packed lunch.
Boxes of cereal and tubs of yoghurt just vanish before my eyes. I've moved stuff onto higher shelves, but the little one just climbs up to get it. Argh!
They are really active and do a tonne of sport over the week, so they burn it off. But I am genuinely perturbed at times at how much food they can get through. Notwithstanding having to replenish stocks far more often than feels normal. I do tell them to stop and wait. But then I feel bad if they say they are hungry. But they shouldn't be hungry because they've already eaten loads. Help!

That's growing boys for you! (in my experience anyway)

If they're hungry 10 minutes after a meal, and assuming they're emptying their plates, they're obviously needing bigger portions. Try that rather than letting them constantly snack.

If they are extremely lean then yabu. They obviously need that food. You could look at giving bigger meals and making the snacks more healthy and satisfying.

Wait till they are teenagers. Food is absorbed non stop.

Defo sounds like they aren't eating enough at mealtimes

They might need more than you for dinner if they are having a growth spurt and do a lot of sport. How many fish fingers do they get?
For snacks: Wholemeal toast and PB, cheese spread,bananas, cheese and crackers, family apples, family bag of easy peelers.
I find yogurt is expensive and it just vanishes in a day so I don’t buy much and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

They sound like mine. Giving them more fat and more protein worked for us.

We started buying the 20% fat mince instead of the lean; whole milk not semi; slathered veg in oil or butter; eggs for breakfast not cereal; nuts for snacks; roast chickens galore (skin on); banana milkshakes as a snack; would have done peanut butter toast but one child has a severe peanut allergy; cooked cocktail sausages and similar in the fridge for snacks; pork scratchings.

At this very moment I am sitting at the kitchen table with two of my children. One child is eating a late snack of toasted muffins slathered in butter with some roasted almonds and an apple. Another is eating crispy bacon slices from Tesco while he is finishing his homework, he had a banana and a yogurt before starting. Another child is out and I know he stashed a packet of shortbread in his backpack as an emergency snack.

All 3 do loads of sports and are skinny as hell but with muscle.

It costs us a bloody fortune in food. Luckily money is saved by DH and I being middle-aged and so doing intermittent fasting to avoid being chubby.

My DS 10 eats way More than me every day, he packs away a massive dinner, he can eat 100g of pasta with bolognaise and garlic bread, that would last me 3 days 😂😂😂

Milk milk and more milk my son could empty a cow

When I say we don't have huge portions at meal times, i mean that we have pretty normal sized ones (rather than the giant ones that seem to have become the norm). They had 4 fish fingers this evening. Yesterday they had three decent sized bowls full of spicy rice each (so they had thirds!) because it's one of their favourites. They definitely ate as much as I'd expect an adult to eat.
It's really hard because you hear a lot about the importance of portion control, so I don't think a 7 and 9yo should be eating the same sized plate full as me and DH, but they can easily do it.

Would they have some bread with their dinner (like we used to).
I forget what you said but did they have pudding, something stodgy (I know pudding is very unpopular on Mumsnet).

We have batches of egg mayo, tuna mayo and bolognaise sauce in the fridge that they are authorised to put on bread/toast/potato waffles.

It sounds like you need to give bigger portions. My teen DS’s eat big portions of chicken or fish & potatoes & veg then can be eating toast, butter & biscuits 2 hrs later. They have huge appetites and they still do lots of sports.

Are they eating plenty of bulky fibrous veg alongside their dinner?

@Ihatesundays nope pudding is fruit and / or yoghurt, unless I've done a Sunday roast in which case it will be something with custard

Def up the protein and fats.

@moreismore what veg do you suggest? As with many kids veg isn't their favourite, ahem! We tend to have broccoli, sweet corn, peas, green beans, cabbage, carrots. Not all at the same time. And potatoes are s staple if it's not a pasta based meal.

OP, this isn’t a criticism but I wouldn’t class fish fingers chips and peas as a proper dinner. There’s no stuffing in it so to speak.

Why don't you actually work out how many calories they need and the macros for them?

I saw how much a toddler needed once (I was doing a nutrition course) and it really surprised me.

Kids Calorie Calc

My 2yr old eats 4 fish fingers OP That is not remarkable.

That isnt a filling meal.......they need healthy stodge, lots of protein, pulses, beans etc.

Tonight we had chicken and chorizo stew using chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, tinned tomatoes, peppers, butter beans etc. Served with broccoli.

DS is currently flaked out on the sofa digesting, he has no room left for snacking 😂😂😂

Also stop it with the sugar carb loading. They need much more fatty protein (not lean protein!) And oils/healthy fats.

You’ve had some good dietary pointers here but I just wanted to mention that it’s worth considering their fluid intake too. Lots of people mistake thirst for hunger.

With that meal I’d do a second veg so fish fingers, chips, peas & carrots and maybe also broccoli. Have protein with every snack as it will keep them fuller longer. Cereal should be wholemeal with full fat milk, toast with ham, cheese, hummus, peanut butter or something else but add a glass of milk with it. Greek yogurt with maybe scotch pancake and chopped up fruit. Etc.

If they're lean and active and not eating chocolate and crisps then I'd just let them at it. Do they say they're full at dinner? I was a slim kid but ate like a horse when I was that age, up until my mid teens!