My son is obsessed with food

[MoleyMick]

My DS is 2.9 and is big boy - tall and broad for his age, but also chunky. He is obsessed with food. I give him healthy meals - average day is weetbix and fruit for breakfast, sandwich and yoghurt with more fruit for lunch, snacks are veg stocks or plain popcorn, dinner varies but mostly meat and veg type stuff. But he does get treats from grandparents etc, at his playgroup they have a picnic style lunch where everyone brings food and people bring cakes etc and at parties etc. usual kid stuff.
But he is obsessed. He is constantly nagging for snacks, his games revolve around food, and when we get junk mail from the supermarket he will sit there and study it for ages. And it's "bad" stuff he wants all the time - cake, biscuits, etc - which often I don't even have in.
He is very active - he does swimming, kids soccer, he goes to kindy two days a week where they run around all day, we go to the park and soft play, he is always jumping and dancing. But - he is bigger than other boys his age. I was a chubby kid and it was miserable. I feel like I haven't done anything to foster this obsession but it is full-on.
My DH is lean and doesn't think about what he eats, so will give DS treats, my parents do - I am the bad guy not giving it to him
Has anyone else battled this? What do I do other than offer fruit between meals? It's the constant thinking about food and whingeing when i know hes not hungry I hate.
My DD, 8 months, is also a big eater and I find myself worrying I will be in the same position with her - and that shouldn't be a worry you have with a little baby :(

Veg sticks not stocks! Sorry for typos, on phone.

My brother was like this, he was huge till about 3 and he was never full. All of a sudden he started getting taller, all our childhood he ate 3 hot dinners a day and ended up 6'4 and very slim. He even has stretch marks on his back and shoulders as he grew so quickly!

Your son may be similar, I guess it wouldn't hurt to get him weighed by the hv though. I would be having a word with family though it is not fair of them to make you the bad guy and it is cruel to your ds if they are giving enough junk to make him overweight.

Thanks lunar. I hope that's what happens!! He's not huge, he's very tall but he does have chunky thighs etc. I think I will take him to hv though as you advised, see if I get advice from them - perhaps if it came from someone on official-dom people might listen. At the moment I get "it's great that he eats" and "he's a growing boy".
It's the fact that DS thinks sooo much about food that really bothers me. He's lovely and the only time I really get frustrated with him is because I am being constantly asked for cake or whatever.
(And the fact he sometimes dislikes sharing with his sister but that's another thread!)

I had/have this problem with DS1 and can totally symphathise with you, especially about the comments. Whenever I mentioned to anyone else my worries about how much he eats I would just be told that I was lucky he's a good eater.

Well, he's 8 now and I can tell you that although he's still a chunky (stocky?) boy, he's definitely not fat. Hold strong on the not giving him junk and it will sink in, my DS now gets in from school and goes straight for the fruit bowl... and then asks for crisps! I let him have one 'treat' after school, such as crisps, but he knows now to to even bother asking for anymore because for so long the stock answer has been, if you're hungry, there's fruit in the bowl.

It still worries me that he never seems to be full (he eats more than me sometimes at tea time and I'm not a small eater), but I just keep steering him towards the good stuff, which luckily he likes. I just wonder how much he'd eat if left to his own devices.

It's good to hear of someone in the same boat! Stocky I don't mind, I just don't want him to be overweight and miserable. I will soldier on and not engage in any cake related discussion.
I hope it sinks in soon...!

I meant to say, it sounds like you're doing well on the healthy eating front anyway. It sounds very much like what I feed my DC. It's just that now he'll eat the weetabix with fruit and then have a boiled egg and soldiers after!

I let them both have crisps/cake/sweets whatever after school, but only if they've eaten the fruit and veg in their lunch boxes. Not a problem with DS1 anymore, as like I say, it's more of a problem (?) with how much he eats. DS2 who is 6 but skinny, is obssessed with 'treats' but gets told the same.

Have you thought about upping the protein content of the snacks? So a small piece of cheese with some crackers or grapes, or some dip with veg sticks? Egg or yoghurt with breakfast? Its fat and protein which fill you up.
Mother of 2 constantly eating, but very skinny boys here, has discovered that a boiled egg for breakfast keeps them going much longer than a slice of toast (with about the same calories)

That's very true nextphase, we, or rather, they almost always have an egg for breakfast, whether it's boiled, fried, poached, scrambled or part of homemade pancakes, and they definitely go for longer.