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 have a 7 year old DD and she eats nowhere in the same galaxy as that. Sometimes she’ll have breakfast (weetabix) and then a cooked school lunch. After school club usually give them a couple of crackers with cheese or similar. She often doesn’t need or want tea in the evening so I just offer her a banana and/or a yoghurt.

My point being is that my friend has a boy the same age and I cannot believe how much more food he needs! I have him after school one day a week and give him a cold tea at about 4pm - sandwich, carrot sticks and hummus, apple/banana, piece of cheese etc. It’s pretty substantial. He then goes home at 6 and eats a full cooked meal!

I think kids are just all different- that’s my conclusion!

Porridge made from oats lacks lysine and is an incomplete protein, even made with milk.

In order to make a bioavailable protein, you should add seeds or nuts along with the milk, or protein powder, nut butter.

Thats a normal height. My son was 135cm when he was 7 almost 8. And his not the tallest in his class.. both me and his dad are average heights.

Great to hear that the protein and chewy food filled him up. Hope that continues to work for you.

I honestly think that some children just seem to eat seemingly ridiculous amounts when growing. My DC can chow down on endless weetabix (cue the judgment coming at me), but they love it and it fills them up, so why not?

I don’t think the problem is a lack of protein, there are lots of good vegetarian sources of protein in there. Some meat eaters tend to be dismissive of vegetarian sources of protein despite quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.
Maybe a lack of healthy fats? It sounds like quite a low fat diet? Although there are some healthy fats in there, so maybe not.

No, it’s quite tall - just because your son was 135 doesn’t mean it’s average.

MORE bio available.
It’s still got protein.

He seems to be eating a lot of crackers! Perhaps toasted wholemeal bread or a toasted teacake a little more filling?Also we do eat meat (chicken .occasionally Beef) but also have some veggie meals as well .I find less filling generally.Need some bread or whatever as well) Does he drink milk at all .My own DS was always hungry .Also friends DGS! Boys are known to be eating machines .

Yes it’s a lot of food

yes a lot of carbs which give the sugar rush and drop

more protein def

eggs meat fish

maybe protein powder into a glass of water so he drinks more and isn’t thirst

Mum of two hungry boys and I agree that yours probably needs more protein! It sounds like you're already making changes that are working but I have a couple of low budget suggestions that might be helpful:

• Boil and peel a box of eggs and keep them in a tupperware box the fridge for a quick, healthy, high-protein snack
• Stir smooth peanut butter into porridge to up the protein
• Keep a jar of toasted seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds are popular here) and sprinkle them on porridge, pasta, salads
• If you're confident it's not a choking risk buy big bags of unsalted mixed nuts and give him a handful as a snack
• A chopped up banana with a couple of spoons of smooth peanut butter stirred in makes a delicious high protein snack
• Give yogurt as a dessert or a snack - my kids love greek style yogurt with a handful of berries stirred in or with a drizzle of honey on top

We buy Pip and Nut peanut butter in 1kg tubs because it's so good for keeping them full and doesn't contain palm oil or other nasties. It's often on special offer on ASDA so we stock up when it is (and often have a cupboard full of the stuff when it's on offer because we go through so much 😂)

Deleted because others have suggested more protein also

Go to the doctor for peace of mind. Could be something wrong

If he’s active and there’s hardly any fat on him, I honestly wouldn’t worry, My Gds (9) puts away an enormous amount of food, is almost permanently hungry, but is very active with hardly any fat on him.

An hour after a substantial meal he’ll be wanting porridge, or bananas, and has been known to want more 20 minutes after a substantial breakfast, on the way to school! Dd never goes out without emergency bananas….

You are right to worry about the habits continuing though. My daughter has always grazed on food throughout the day. She was so skinny and so active. Then a serious health issue meant she was wheelchair noynd for months and then fairly inactive for 18 months. She's now mid teens and overweight. Still grazing. Although I cannot control what she grazes on these days. It's hard to get it right. But I echo the others. Protein.

He needs to eat more fat as that keeps you full- butter, cream, egg yolks, keep the fat on the meat. If you eat carbs it spikes your blood glucose so you don’t feel full for long.

Too much carbs. He needs some proper food. Pasta and sauce is not a good dinner unless the sauce has got mince in it. He would need some chicken on the side. How about bacon and eggs for breakfast. If you increase the protein he will feel more satisfied.

Pasta and sauce is not a good dinner unless the sauce has got mince in it.

It’s good enough for vegetarians and vegans.

Vegetarians and vegans can't live off pasta and vegetable based sauce either. They need protein too!

Not at every meal. Pasta and a veggie sauce is a perfectly acceptable meal. Lentils and beans are good sources of protein.

So come on then, what's higher in protein that OP's child can spread on toast?

A slice of seeded wholemeal bread with peanut butter and honey and a small glass of milk. A great high protein breakfast for a 7 year old.

Why does high protein food need to be spread on toast?!

Peanut butter is not a hugely high protein food. Do you work for Sun Pat or something? Your posts are really most bizarre.

Again, please learn to read in context. The OP stated she would be surprised if her son wasn't getting enough protein because he ate peanut butter.

And the honey is completely unnecessary sugar.

Not unnecessary - honey is nutritious and can make the seeded wholemeal bread and peanut butter more pleasant/palatable. Some kids would need it, some not.

@HealthyWeightBy40 , snacking is OK as long as the snacks are things like an apple or orange.

@Naanspiration , A slice of seeded wholemeal bread with peanut butter and honey At the same time??? Weird.
The honey is sugar.
PB is good for protein but so would be cottage cheese or fish paste.

Peanut butter is a spread if you hadn't noticed. OP's son was spreading it on crackers. Is that enough context for you?

Is there something higher in protein to spread on crackers or toast than peanut butter that your are suggesting?

Peanut butter should be encouraged - no need for you to warn a 7 year that it's "not that much" protein.