Feeding my children too much

[QuirkyKoala]

I am hope this can settle a debate.

I have 2 boys (5 and 2) and we are in disagreement about how much they should be eating in the morning. A family member has been giving 5 year old 2 Weetabix and a slice of toast and 2 year old 2 Weetabix. I feel this is too much as I could barely manage what the 5 year old is eating.

YANBU - that's too much food
YABU - let them eat what they want

For real?

Sounds like good fuel for an active day in my opinion, I’d be thrilled if my three year old ate that for breakfast.

Do you have issues with food?

I think I’d rather have a bit more variety and nutrients, eg weetabix and a yoghurt or some nuts, and some fruit, rather than loads of wheat based stuff. But no issues on quantity, if they eat it they are hungry enough

Ok I came on here thinking there was going to be a lot more food than that. YABU. That doesn't seem like a too much to me.

It's too much of one sort of thing.

I'd offer one or the other and have offered fruit, juice, yoghurt.

Weetabix is very healthy unless they are having tonnes of sugar on it. I would be fine with the Weetabix but sparing on later snacks

Who is the family member and why are they feeding your child breakfast on a regular basis. Your child wouldn’t eat it if they weren’t hungry and different people are hungry at different times of day. I’ve been life long breakfast refuser, but some people are hungrier in the morning and less so later on.

Well do the kids eat it? Are they a normal weight?

Yep this is the only thing I'd be thinking of

You couldn't eat two Weetabix and a slice of toast? Do you have a medical problem or any issues with food?

If so, stop projecting them onto others

My son would have eaten 1 Weetabix at 5 with some fruit, so it is a bit surprising to me that they eat all that. My son eats it dry though, which might explain why 1 is enough. If they have toast my 3 and 7 year olds have 1 slice in the morning, again with some fruit. It's home-made bread though, so perhaps a bit heartier than a small supermarket slice.

Children are eating too much if they are overweight

What they eat in one meal is less important than what they eat over the day

Is this a joke?

If they eat it without being forced, it's not too much.

If they finish their food and are still hungry, give them more.

I would have thought this was absolute basic parenting.

I let DS - who is 5 - eat what he wants quantity-wise at breakfast, and it tends to fluctuate wildly. If your children are eating it then I think it's fine, if a little beige 😂

If they're eating it what's the issue?
My sons will often have cereals followed Greek yoghurt, berries and honey sometimes followed by toast or a banana.

I'd prefer less carbs but 2 weetabix OR toast with some fruit and/or yoghurt sounds fine and is what my DD has been eating since she was probably about 5.
My DD has just turned 10 and has been eating more than me for breakfast for a few years, she obviously needs the fuel though because she's a healthy weight.

My 2 year old has been having 2 Weetabix for breakfast since he was about 17 months old. He'd get well mardy if I tried to only give him 1😂

If they can comfortably eat it it's fine. Perhaps they prefer to eat in the morning. If they fill themselves up at breakfast they are less likely to be hungry mid morning. It's different if course if she is force feeding them!

My two 6yr olds eat about that every morning. One has two small pancakes and then Weetabix, the other has two rounds of peanut butter on toast and a bowl of grapes. We give them the first round and wait to see if they are still hungry for the extra – 9/10 they are. They are both healthy weights.

My 2y 7m ate 2 Weetabix and a banana for breakfast yesterday, he’s 25th centile and only ate a spoonful of bolognaise for dinner so I’m fine with it. If your children are a healthy weight and they’re not loading up on sugar over the day I wouldn’t give a second thought to what they’re eating.

Similar ages here. Mine will eat between 1 and 3 Weetabix each - depends on how hungry they are that day. My main concern is making sure they have plenty of milk/fluid alongside to avoid constipation! Generally try and avoid toast for breakfast as they have bread for lunch most days. Would offer banana or something if they wanted more but didn't want Weetabix. But generally it sounds ok to me.

Children will eat more than adults sometimes, what you would/could eat isn’t a good comparison. They’re often more active than grown ups and their bodies also need fuel for growing.

My nephews would all eat more than me sometimes at toddler/infant age but they were only offered healthy options. They’re all slim gangly teenagers now so the big portions did them no harm! I’d ask your relative to offer more range (e.g fruit, eggs with toast, etc) for better nutrition but I wouldn’t restrict the amount - if they’re hungry, they need feeding!

My one year old had a load of blueberries, strawberries, a whole large scrambled egg, quarter of a very buttery crumpet, nibbled the end of some toast and had a whole yogurt for brekky today. 😂 I feel like that's more than what you've put above and she's so young and at the bottom of her centile. I think most children can self regulate when they're full as long as they're not forced to keep eating and they're not offered naughty food that they won't stop with.

If they're eating it willingly then it's fine.
My dc are similar.

If you think this is too much food, are they possibly very hungry in the mornings because they are not getting enough at tea/supper time?

On a hungry day, my 3.5 year old girl would eat 2 Weetabix and a slice of toast. I'd probably be offering her the Weetabix or the toast and then something different nutrient-wise if she was still hungry, e.g., scrambled eggs, fruit, etc.