AIBU to say this is not enough food for my DS?

[GrannySquares]

My DS is 3 years old and is a very energetic but he really enjoys his food. He eats quite a lot because that's all he asks for so of course I do give him it and it is always healthy like cheese sticks, fruits etc. He goes to CM during the week and he absolutely loves it there but I feel like she only gives him very little food. A typical menu is for breakfast he has cornflakes, a snack will be an apple, and lunch is a sandwich. After, a snack will be a biscuit and a pear and dinner is whatever they have there. When he comes home, he is starving and he asks for food so I give him more dinner which he demolishes and he will also have pudding for after. Surely he shouldn't be coming home starving? I am paying a separate fee for him to have meals so why is he coming home, ravenous? Is he just greedy? He love going there and she's such a lovely lady so I'm going to feel bad if I ask her to feed him more

It doesn't sound varied or nutritious enough. Mine were three a long time ago and would have had:

Yoghurt and fruit for breakfast
or a pancake, home made, and two/three strawberries
Rarely cereal

Snack: fruit and milk
.
Lunch: crackers or piece of bread, cheese, ham, toms, cu
or waffle and baked beans
Fruit

Snack: biscuit and milk

Tea/dinner: pasta (maccy cheese, bol), fish pie, cottage pie, or what we were having.
Yoghurt, jelly or fruit

Bed: milk

Mine were good eaters but not fat. They were between 75 and 90th centile for height and weight. When they had a height spurt their weight dropped to a lower centile.

It sounds like lazy feeding to me and also very economical

Children are so different. I remember going to a new friend's house when my ds was about 2.5, a couple of months younger than hers. He was given 11 pieces of pasta, a teaspoonful of sauce and a teaspoonful of peas. My ds looked at me in horror but it was clearly what her ds needed to eat - mine would have had 3-4 times that. I cooked him an entire meal when we got home!
Now my ds is 15 - 99th centile for height, 30th for weight, plays sport++ and eats 8 Weetabix for breakfast every day. My friend's ds is 9th centile for height and weight and still had a tiny appetite.
There's such a wide range of normal - your ds night eat more than the childminder is used to seeing but it could still be right for him...

I am a childminder & mind babies/toddlers. Our daily menu would be breakfast at 8am of either ready brek, porridge or weetabix followed by either toast or banana/piece of fruit mid morning. Dinner is middle of the day & would be different every day i.e. stew, casserole, fish pie, spag bol, etc. around 3ish they get a large plate of a selection of chopped fresh fruit followed by yoghurt & rice cakes. The only drinks offered are water or milk. Pick ups start from 4:30 onwards & I know they all get a tea/supper at home.
Portion size depends on age of the child but they all get the same.
Hope that helps give you an idea anyway.

My 16month old would eat more that that. Doesn't seem enough for your son, especially as he comes home hungry. It may well be plenty for some children as they are all so different. I would either send a packed lunch/extra snacks or just talk to her about him needing a bit more when he's there!

I’d also say mine has always eaten to appetite and she’s had phases of being ravenous and times when she has hardly eaten anything. Generally during a growth spurt she can polish off loads and then afterwards she self reduces. I just let her get on with it now but it’s taken a while to trust her. After a recent sickness bug she had 4 days of picking, 2 days of eating masses and then she returned to normal.

Thank you to everyone who replied. I've read all your answers and there's a mix of opinions which is fine! We are all entitled to them. I think I am going to agree that it is not enough food for him and will talk to CM when he next goes there. If she's got a problem with giving him a bit extra than usual then I will just provide the food myself (packed lunch).

My DS is 3 and a half and he has:

Cereal and raisins with whole milk (low sugar Cheerios or weetabix)
Snack: at nursery it's fruit or a biscuit, at home it's usually a snack sized soreen
Lunch: sandwich or pitta bread (egg/ham/cream cheese/houmous), always with something on the side likecarrlt sticks/cucumber/sweet corn, fruit afterwards
Snack: popcorn, crisps, more fruit, cheese - depends what he fancies. Sometimes a cake or an ice cream if we go out
Dinner: he's a good eater and often has what we have - curry, pasta, risotto etc. Or fish fingers (3) or quorn nuggets with veggies. Followed by a yoghurt or mini custard pot.

He often asks for grapes and cheese then! So posh

I'm a childminder and Iafter 8 years of minding I've actually just stopped providing food for my mindees. I'm asking for packed lunches and/or dinners to be provided from home now.

It's just too hard to please everyone.
Some will hardly eat and so much good food gets thrown away.
Some want to eat constantly and I literally don't have enough food in the house or time to keep preparing food and snacks. They'll eat their body weight in food but then declare they are starving to their parent, the moment I open the door for them to go home.
Some will only eat a very limited number of foods and it then means everyone only gets to eat the same limited meal range as I can't be preparing lots of different dishes.

Give your son food to take with him when he's at the childminder. That way you will know exactly how much he has had and what he has eaten.

My nine month old today had; half a Weetabix with whole milk, half a banana, small bowl homemade chicken casserole with lots of veg, two tablespoons Greek yoghurt, two finger sized chunks of melon, two sliced up cherry tomatoes, a plain rice cake and small cup of water X3 , also BF throughout the day. He's 50th centile and a baby, that's not enough for a 3 year old.

I think it depends on the child, some will eat loads, others live off tiny amounts. I do think the food sounds a bit uninspiring and beige and that alone would lead me to want to provide my own food.

My youngest is 3 and on a typical day would have a bowl of porridge with some kind of fruit on top and a cup of milk. Then for lunch would be a mini wrap or sandwich with chicken/ham/cheese, a couple of types of veg, a piece of fruit and then a few crisps or a small yogurt. A snack mid afternoon(a biscuit or mini soreen or something) and then dinner of cottage pie/lasagne or whatever plus pudding and another cup of milk.

I'd say that the cminder is feeding him the bare minimum, and it's up to you to provide snacks and ask that they are built into the day. I've had issues with my kids staying at the cminder all day as she only supplies a sandwhich between the hours of 8.30 - 5, so my kids (8&10) came home ravenous. I now supply snacks. I think it's a combination of saving money and catering for lots of fussy kids.