Anyone elses children constantly pester for food?

[allhailtheaubergine]

It's only small niggle really, but I am getting fed up.

They are 3 and 5.

Constant refrain is "I want a snaaaaaack"

They get 1st breakfast
2nd breakfast
Morning snack
Lunch
1st afternoon snack
2nd afternoon snack
supper
Bedtime snack

And they STILL whinge that they're always hungry.

They eat healthy stuff - snacks tend to be fruit / nuts / cheese and crackers / peanut butter toast.

Meals are one hot meal per day and one meal of sandwich or eggs or soup.

They're not fat. They're very active.

They just seem to want to graze all day and it's doing my head in.

Ds1 has ADHD and doesn't have fussy eating as a comorbidity - consequently, he clears roughly 2500 calories a day - I kept track for a week (he's 8, 127cm and 26 kilos).

Does he do all this in 3 big meals?

No. No he does not.

Irritatingly, he has an average 8 year old's digestive system, and therefore will eat an average eight year old's dinner. Then an hour later, he will want another dinner. And some cake, please. And maybe a cheese toastie. Some crisps sound good - an apple instead? No, no mum. As well as. Have we any biscuits? No? Some more toast will be fine. With some ham on it. And some cucumber. And some cheese. But I like peanut butter with ham and cheese!

What's for dinner?

Yep. All I hear from DS sometimes is "I'm hunnnnngry". He usually isn't though. It's often boredom or habit. For example, he watches a bit of TV before bathtime and if he's had his tea early, he can be hungry by then and has a snack (banana or something). However, when he's had a later tea, he'll still say he's hungry when he sits down to watch TV. If that's the case, he's offered a plain rice cake which he usually refuses (he'll eat them if he's hungry but not otherwise )

ds can help himself to cereal if he's hungry, but he has to ask so he doesn't eat several a bowl full just before dinner.

I have a snack cupboard that he can help himself from, but again he has to say what he's having. It has boxes of raisins, cream crakers, oat biscuits, nuts etc in. In addition he can have fruit, carrot sticks with dip or a yoghurt from the fridge any time.

I still give him full fat milk.

He will only eat what he wants though and will quite happily leave half a chocolate biscuit saying he's full

My sister's middle ds will eat and eat though and never stop. He isn't bored, he will stop right in the middle of something and head to the fridge.

It's not just physical energy they're burning up, brain energy too needs feeding!

The only time DD2 isn't asking for food is when she's eating. Second it's finished she's thinking or talking about what she can have next. She's 3.9.

DD1 is almost as bad and the thinnest 9 year old you'd ever see.

Both eat really well and they're not constantly asking for junk it's breakfast lunch, dinner then sandwiches, fruit, crackers, cheese, toast, yoghurt and then sweets. I am honestly at the end of my tether with the smallest one, I can scarcely afford to keep her going some days! Thank god she only drinks water I'd need to buy a cow if she wanted milk.

My DD does the same thing asking for snacks or 'something else now Mummy...' (which translates as 'choccy biccy'.

It does seem to go in phases, with growth spurts and whatever, but I try to limit the snacking as I know DD get's plenty of filling food at meal times.

I think by giving them as many snacks/meals as the OP listed that possibly their brains and stomachs are getting trained to expect food every hour or so all day long. Might be worth sticking to more ridged times, breakfast then snack at 10am then wait for lunch etc? You will have to ignore a lot of whinging to begin with though !

ohthankchristit'snotjustme

All the time. ALL the time ALL THE TIME. 'I'm huuuungree' 'Can I have something to eeeeeeeeeeat?'

In our house, it's nothing to do with growth spurts (unless they are constantly spurting) and it does my head in. I feel like I spend every waking moment opening cupboards/fridge/freezer and listing the boring snacks available. Even when I get tough with them and say 'NO. You've just had your dinner, and second helpings! You can have bread and butter and a glass of water'...five minutes after scoffing... 'I'm still huuuuuuunnnnnngreeeee!'.

I feel like I'm working in the engine room, constantly shovelling food down their throats, only to see it burn away instantaneously, and their maw open again, demanding ever more fuel [exhausted emoticon]. And yet they both remain slim. Wish I had their secret.

i wish mine were like that. she's nearly 2 and practically lives on air (well and chocolate buttons when I let her have them) today she's had half a bowl of ready brek, 2 shreddies, 2 mini breadsticks, one nairns oatcake, an ella's kitchen stage 1 veggie pouch, 5 marmite rice cakes, one nineth of a slice of toast with peanut butter and a fromage frais. oh and 3/4 of a chocolate digestive biscuit when we had to pop into my office for a moment. This is one of her best eating days ever

sleeplessinderbyshire - my nephew is exactly the same, except he's very, very picky, so would perhaps eat one plain rice cake for lunch, then announce himself full for the rest of the day. Hell, at least she saves you money!

DS1 is 2, and since 18 months his favourite phrase has been 'hungry boy'. He'll eat 2-3 weetabix with raisins for breakfast, then half an hour later wants banana or something. Will eat a punnet of strawberries on the way round the supermarket, and would happily eat a whole tub of hummus with a spoon if I let him! If he sees anyone with crisps he will go and help himself, very embarrassing!

Got another ds on the way, dread to think how much food we'll get through when they're teenagers...

Yes!

They both eat 3 good meals a day and in between are hunting around & demanding food.

I feel like some sort of zoo keeper with pockets full of food when we go out.

Ha ha I could have written your post - at least, certainly about dd1. My two are also 3 and 5 and the 5-yr-old in particular is also CONSTANTLY eating. I had thought about posting this myself as I was starting to worry that it was abnormal, but glad to see perhaps it's not. She also has a lot of healthy food and is very active and slim so I try not to worry but I have to have a special shopping list just for her to keep up!
Dd2 isn't so bad and has just had a tummy bug so has hardly eaten anything for 3 days. She is also a very different build from dd1 - eats less but is "bulkier".

At their age, they should be fine with breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. They will have to make do with that once at school. The more snacks you offer the more you are at risk of raising 'grazers', with potential weight issues when they are older.

I am a life-long grazer and am much more slender than most women my age (44) . I think it's because I only eat when I'm hungry and I certainly don't eat if not hungry, even if it's formal mealtime.

Only one of DC (7yo) is frequently hungry, he takes after me in his physique.

Meh, I'm a life-long grazer too and I'm slim compared to most. I remember eating all my lunch at morning tea when I was a youngster. I did it all through my schooling, and still do it now. It's just the way you're built : I get really low energy levels if I don't have something to eat every hour or so.