my 4 year old says she is hungry...

[PavlovtheCat]

...she is desperately upset, says she is 'very very hungry'. Is this a going to be avoidance tactic? She has done this all well, not hunger, but other stuff, wanting a cuddle etc.

But, she is growing, she is currently like a stick and eating like a horse so it is possible i guess? Last night she said she was hungry and had a sandwich, then got up again and had some of my chips and half an egg. before going to bed.

This evening, she had a huge plate of dhal and rice at about 6pm, followed at 6:45pm by a large bowl of custard and frozen fruit cooked down into a sauce.

She is now wailing at the bottom of the stairs 'but i am still hungreeeeeeeey'.

Should we give her some bread, or just send her back to bed...DH has attempted that, refused her more food, but should we be refusing?

I'd send her back to bed. But then I am hard

Is she thirsty?

DS who is also 4 is forever telling me he is hungry but often it is thirst

Offer her some water and a banana

DS (4) always seems to be hungry in the evening. Tonight he has had: chicken, chips and beans; jelly and yoghurt; half an apple; a handful of grapes and a biscuit. He's stick thin.

i would probably offer a cup of milk but no food.

oh maybe she is thirsty? Oh but she has a cup of water by her bed...i will check DH put it there. And she had a large glass with her dinner, on account of it being lentils and all.

I think if she has eaten everything she's been offered, it's not a tactic to get sweets or ice cream. She clearly is hungry if being so insitent. A slice of bread and (peanut - no allergies?) butter might just help to stop the hunger pangs long enough for her to drop off.

I HATE being hungry!!!

choufler the problem with cup of milk, is it gets her back up, which DH suspects is what she wants. She is not allowed milk in her bedroom but yes, like your DS, she is stick thin, currently a bit too thin for my likening so I am having to make sure she is eating good carb loaded food.

meow no not a 'i want pudding' cry. She had pudding, without asking for it, ate the lot. She ate the lot of her tea as well, not a grain of rice left. I just can't see how she can fit it all in that tummy of hers!

I might give her a sandwich. She loves peanut butter, although had two slices of it for her morning snack!

Peanut butter sarnie or banana

If she wolfs it,then you know it is hnger

DS is eating everything in sight and he has shot up in height judging by the way his trousers are flapping round his ankles now!

Sounds like a major growth spurt to me, especially as you say she's so thin. Has she always been this way?

meow she has always been slight, generally she eats a ton, gets a bit of podge, then shoots up, thins out a bit. This time she has not put on the podge, she has got thinner!

I went up, with a cup (plastic ikea cup half full) of milk, and a slice of wholemeal bread and butter. She drank the milk and chomped the bread, ate all the middle (her fave) and about quarter of the crust. She has put the rest of it on her shelf for 'ron' and then she lay down and settled for sleep. Not entirely sure we won't see her again this evening, but she looked more sleepy than before! definitely a growth spurt. It might explain her behaviour all week then. Probably starving, the poor thing.

We are going to change her meal/snack times so she gets an extra meal/supper in too. I think it is likely mental development as much as growing upwards as she has had an intellectul surge this last week or two as well.

intellectual, clearly not from her mother!

My 4yr old DS was like this last week.

One day for breakfast he had:
2 weetabix
2 slices toast with butter and honey on
One pear
One fromage frais

And a mere 1 and a half hours later he was 'starving' and had grapes, a banana and then a chocolate spread sandwich (2 slices of bread).

I tell you, it went on for 4 days!! God knows where he put it all.

oh, and I want to know who 'ron' is?!

'ron' is 'later on' . You don't say that? its just us right?...

Not a peep from her. Not one single little sound since she ate the food I gave her like she was auditioning for Oliver.

We say 'ron but it's cute that your daughter says it! Does she get what i means?
Glad you fed her

mrs no, I don't think she has a clue really! But given the amount of questions she is now asking, more than ever, she will ask us soon...! (what are bag handles for, why do people have arms? why do some people have beards, what are trees for? what does 'dead' mean? or the best one 'why do people say 'i love you' to each other?'!!! it is constant, not just 'why' but very specific!)

Make sure you give these hungry kids plenty of fat and protein. Meat, fish, nuts (nut butters), eggs, beans/pulses, butter, oil, ghee etc. Protein and fat is more sustaining than just carbohydrate on its own because it takes longer to convert to energy in the body. The idea of a peanut butter sarnie was a good one.

chil - yes i agree. we give her full fat milk, she has butter, cheese, luckily for her one of my fave dinners is macaroni cheese!

On thing she probably does not eat enough of is red meat, we don't eat it too often, although eat plenty of fish, chicken, lentils.

pixie just about the start reception in sept, turned for at the beginning of this month. luckily, i wont miss it for a while as she grows up as we have her brother who is a baby!