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!

I know, it’s amazing he’s not making himself sick

Is he neurodivergent at all? Overeating can be a sign of this also. I know my done has ADHD and he uses so much energy that he eats loads too.

I think there is a point in a childs life where they go from eating really quite small portions to suddenly having the appetite of an older child/teens, which is often more than adults eat. I think it's quite normal but it's a surprise for a lot of parents. My ds used to come home from school and eat 12 Weetabix...no joke.

She’s nuts!

(apologies for my poor joke)

The fact you need to ask rings alarm bells, you are putting him on a path to obesity and heart issues, get a grip and be a parent.

I wouldn't worry too much, but I'd take him to the GP for a checkup just to make sure there's no underlying issue. Slightly less carbs and more protein/healthy fats and more water will keep him fuller for longer.

I ate very quickly as a child and the food didn’t hit my tummy and I kept on eating until I felt quite ill.

maybe if he wants three bowls of porridge in succession. Suggest he waits 10 minutes and has some water.

Porridge made with milk is horrible. It's like eating vomit.

Clearly most people don't agree with you. I think it's very common to make it with milk and it should taste creamy. Do you mean the texture or the taste?

Echo what others have said about upping the protein of his meals and snacks.

He is taking on a lot of carbs with the crackers / bread / potatoes I guess as they fill him up quickly. I would be inclined to reduce those a bit, whilst replacing them with wholewheat versions as they will be slower release and stop so many spikes in blood sugars etc, and add more protons and fibre to each meal. So a bit of meat, a side salad or leafy greens.

Maybe batch cook some curry’s or chilli with added pulses like lentils/beans. These would also fill him up for longer, whilst also upping protein and fibre.

Always have a glass of water before snacking as often with kids they will mistake thirst for hunger.

Sounds like he is quite an adventurous eater, so I think you have a good base to work from xx

Maybe your milk is off if its like eating vomit?

And how does your comment help the OP?

That's an absolutely insane amount of food for a 7 yo maybe he just has a really fast metabolism since he's not overweight

Maybe he's just craving the satiety that meat will give. He's going after lots of savoury foods, but maybe they aren't providing everything his instincts are telling him he needs?

It could even turn out cheaper to spend 'more' by giving him chicken/pork/beef/lamb than buying multiple other things that don't quite hit the same spot.

It is a hell of a lot of food which I don’t think volume in itself is a problem - however, the carbs are making him crave more carbs. It behaves exactly the same as sugar in the body, creates blood sugar spikes and then lows meaning he will constantly be craving rather than being satiated. Try more protein and fats in his meals so extra eggs, meat, cheese or some lower gi carbs such as sweet potato, sourdough bread, wholegrain pasta. It probably just needs to be more balanced. Maybe drinking milk would fill his tummy more. I’d be concerned about this leading to future type 2 diabetes

How long has he been eating like this? If it's a new thing he may not have had time to put on weight yet. If it's a long time he must have a high metabolism. It does sound like a lot of food.

That does seem like an awful lot of food. It’s way more than my 16y old DS who runs 6 days a week, covering about 60km. It’s great he’s not overweight, possibly he’s about to hit a growth spurt but I’d be trying to get more protein into him too.

Calories are calories

if his body was craving meat he would overeat and as a result he would put on weight

this is not happening

that’s not the case

if this lasts - see a doctor please

OP, I dug out my password to reply to this. Have you had his blood sugars checked? My mum was always incredibly skinny as a kid, she had to have special shakes to try and put weight on because her legs were so stick thin despite eating loads. She was diagnosed as type 1 diabetic at 17. This was only discovered after she ended up in a coma for 3 weeks and woke up with all sorts of major complications. Please, see a doctor about this. Type 1 is entirely different to type 2. You may be thinking ‘he’s not overweight, he couldn’t possibly be diabetic’ but other than sharing a name, they are completely different things.

Definitely increase protein, but all his food sounds good quality and nutritious. My PT told me boys aged 7-11 require more calories than I should eat as a woman. They run around constantly, use their brains and they grow like nobodies business. Check his weight on the kids bmi scale and keep a VERY (not noticeable to him) eye on it, but don't stress. Whilst we all like to pretend it isn't the case, calories in vs calories out dictates weight. If he was actually eating too much he'd be overweight.

@MsTamborineMan I've eaten porridge made with milk once, under duress. I didn't finish it.

@BringBackCatsEyes , texture mainly. It was like what I imagine oatcake vomit to taste and feel like - creamy, warm and oaty.

@Sidebeforeself , how does yours?

@childofthe607080s , calories are not all equal.
'Meat and two veg' - a filling satisfying meal. Pasta - slop dowsed in a creamy sauce that will slip down easily, burn quickly leaving you feeling hungry again in no time

You mean the one where I was sharing information rather than my personal taste? Because I was providing some info that I thought the OP might not be aware of. Yours is just a comment on something you dont like to eat. Which doesn’t help

It sounds like a lot yes but at the same time you say he has "no spare flesh and can see his ribs" so assuming he isn't overweight. If he's not overweight their is no problem.

If he isn't fat, his body needs it. If he didn't need all that, he would be fat. He's not stuffing himself with excess sweets, takeaways and UPFs so I wouldn't worry.

All calories are not equal ( calories in celery rarely get anywhere) but the shite talked about calories and proteins and meat on this forum is really starting to grate

if a child aged 7 is eating more than an adult man and not gaining weight he doesn’t need more protein - replacing complex carbs ( oats) with eggs will still have him eating an unusually high amount of calories because he would be losing weight without them

calories in calories out may be difficult to understand given the interaction between gut and brain but it does work a lot better than most people grasp

if the excess food consumption continues for any length of time she needs the boy checked out

Really interesting to see the different opinions on here, I'm still reading with interest. He has always eaten a lot but off the scale in the last year id say. He was a massive baby, a hefty toddler and then thinned out a lot as he got more and more active. The comments of a pp rang true about being broad shouldered and generally tallish (he's not towering above his mates but maybe they just come big round here), but really with no spare flesh at all (don't know a better way to put it). He's not super skinny either but I will keep an eye on him as i also don't know how he gets so much inside him. But todays experiment of 2 boiled eggs and some very stale chewy toast as his after sport snack plus a mug of milk was successful! He ate it and then wasn't hungry for a few hours after. So I think for him it is probably like a lot of people have suggested - he needs to fill up on the right stuff, and ive got better ideas of what that might be now

Some of the comments (and jokes!) here have been fab though, thanks so much all