To think this is too much food for an 8yo?

[Twelvehaysofmistcats]

Not sure what im asking here exactly, maybe just a bit of perspective, but DS is 7 (sorry put 8 in title, hes not 8 it was a typo). Each day he eats

2 or 3 full bowls of porridge with fruit
3 or 4 big wholewheat crackers or fruit as morning snack
Lunch at home would be maybe 4 slices of wholemeal bread, loads of cheese or anything else protein-y, veg/salad, then if there was any bread left on the table he'd just finish it. At school he has school dinners but says they're not enough and he's hungry
After school 4 or 5 big wholewheat crackers with peanut butter, fruit, probably more crackers
Dinner is e.g pasta and sauce or whatever - its healthy but he'll have a full adult portion, then seconds, eats far more than even his dad. He'll pretty much cry unless dinner is something solid/filling - e.g. stew or soup has to have masses of bread or potatoes with it
Drinks water

He's on the tall side, solid but absolutely no spare flesh and you can see his ribs. Does a fair bit of sport. I'm not worried he's overweight at the moment, just that this is an insane amount for a kid that age to eat! I guess I worry that I should try to encourage him not to always have seconds/thirds as he's storing up problems for the future. Anyone have any experience of a kid like this?

YANBU - don't feed him so much, he needs to learn to stop (and youll go bankrupt when he's a teenager)

YABU - leave him alone, its totally fine for a 7yo to eat more than the rest of the family put together

Tank you!

My DS8 is also 130cm tall (measured him today!!). He eats a lot and is always active, but what you’ve described is a lot of food even for an adult.

Way too many carbs

It sounds like a very carbohydrate heavy diet, with little protein. All those crackers and bread are not going to fill him up. Give him more protein: scrambled eggs, chicken, hummus, tuna etc. I bet if you gave him a bowl of scrambled eggs he’d feel a lot more filled than having peanut butter sandwiches or 4 crackers.

But if the boy is hungry which he clearly is, he’d be better off having something substantial after school rather than a load of crackers.

My 10yo son has beans on toast after school and still eats his dinner.

Active children need the calories.

Lots of 99% or 100% peanut butters out there these days. OP seems food aware enough to pick a good one.

Nuts are great.

No one is fat or unhealthy because of nuts.

People over eat the other shite, nobodies eating a tub of peanut butter.

Have you looked at the nutritional information on the peanut butter jar? It doesn’t have that much protein. It’s a lot of fat and sugar. I wouldn’t use it as a l main protein source.

A legume, even better!

Anyone who thinks peanut butter is the villain in their diet is deluded.

@TenGreatFatSquirrels If it is not instant porridge - that is an UPF.
Oats are high in protein for a grain, but they are mainly carbs.

there’s nothing that shows that has any more benefits than 9 I don't believe you.
I said veg and specified the type of veg. I said not veg that is actually fruit or potatoes.

Not many will weigh each portion, they'll just make a guess.

What is a big wholewheat cracker?
I am aware of big bar of chocolate or big bag of crisps but never a big wholewheat cracker. Are there massive ryvitas somewhere I am missing out on?

REBISCO CRACKERS WHOLE WHEAT 32G X 10PCS?

Boys and men have a faster metabolism. As a boy he will eat more than his dad as he is still growing. You eat more as you grow. You also eat more when you're playing sport. It's all good things he's eating and he's not overweight. Let him continue how he is and will likely calm down in adulthood. Be prepared for teens as the growth spurts will mean he will be even more hungry.

I have 3 dd and one ds and I can't believe how much he eats! It's a good job I don't have 3ds or I'd be bankrupt. He's just graduated and living at home until he starts his permanent job and he's constantly hoovering up food. He's slim too but he must have hollow legs.

There is faster metabolism and there is way too fast

young boys don’t have different requirements to girls - not till age around 10

a typical 7 year old might need 1700 calories a day - that’s less than mum or dad should need

@mezlou84 , the boy is 7, the father a marathon runner.

Could be due to doing lots of exercise. Could be coeliac or diabetic perhaps? Maybe ask a doctor.

I didn’t say they weren’t, but we were discussing protein, and peanut butter is not a great source of protein compared to other things primarily because we eat it in smaller amounts. It may be good for you but there’s not as much protein in it as people think. The OP was surprised he wasn’t getting enough protein because he eats peanut butter. Hence the point. It won’t give him that much.

I do wish people would learn to read peoples’ points in context.

I didnt say that though. I was just pointing out the fact that lots of PBs have sugar in them.

I was going to ask this - has he been cleared for any medical issues?

@Sidebeforeself , or palm oil. Yuk.

That IS a lot .
nb I've read your posts and can see he's tall and not overweight.

I'm amazed he's literally fitting that in his body. It's the sort of volume athletes might have - 3 bowls of porridge for breakfast!

Porridge has protein (15g a bowl if made with milk) and is a slow release carb.

Has type 1 diabetes been considered?

I think the PP who’s lecturing us all about nuts being healthy despite that not being the point any of us were making either needs to work on her reading comprehension orrrr she works for the Nut Marketing Board. 🤦‍♀️

How long has he been eating like this? Has he lost or gained any weight recently? How much does he drink? There could be a serious medical problem behind it, such as type 1 diabetes. I think you should get him checked tbh. It’s not normal to be eating like that, and be able to feel his ribs.

exactly my first thought