Is this enough food for a 4 year old?

[whyohwhydelilah]

Been having issues with DD who just seems so uninterested in eating, aswell as being uninterested, she is fussy into the bargain, so getting her to eat (unless of course it is a sweet treat, no surprise) can be a battle. Today I thought I'd let her dictate how much she ate, (letting her pour out portions aside from omlette) I didn't give snacks today just to see what she was hungry for, it doesn't seem like much at all.

Small bowl of bran flakes with semi skimmed milk
One egg omelette with cheese, half a banana
Quarter of a tortilla wrap, half a slice of waifer thin chicken, handful of grated cheddar cheese, teaspoon of mayonnaise, 4.5 grapes, 2 fromage frais yogurts
5 cups of milk & 1 cup of water over the course of the day.

I appreciate this isn't the most balanced food diary, but on volume, what a do people think? It doesn't seem like a lot, yet she insists she's "full up".

I'm no expert, but that seems like a lot of milk for a 4 year old, perhaps her tummy is getting too full from the milk? Maybe try cutting that back a little and see if she's more hungry.

Why is she on skimmed milk. Children need whole milk. Wonder if that is why she is having so much of it?

Agree re the milk. In terms of amount, my 3.7yo eats loads more than that.

Semi skimmed is fine.

But I do think that's a lot of milk and may be filling her up.

My just turned 5yr old varies from small portions one day to double the next. I'd look over a week not one day and half the milk. But it's good idea to let them where poss do the serving and help with cooking if you want to re-interest lo. They do just have phases as part of independence at this age so if she's not overly tired and happy go with the flow.

Thanks for the feedback so far, given that she's never been a great eater I've never really tried to discourage her favouring milk as I always think at least there is some goodness coming in there. I should perhaps just allow milk with meals and maybe water the remainder of time? To see if perhaps she is just filling up on that, she just seems so disinterested in food at any time. At the moment she will generally have milk with each meal and also with a snack, I know children half her age who eat twice as much, I wonder if she has a small appetite. I will definitely cut down the milk and monitor over a week, you are right, it changes daily.

She is full of beans, from the moment she wakes up until bedtime she is on the move, it just seems so little sometimes I'm amazed she can keep going, the milk must be fuelling her.

I'd do a cup of milk with breakfast and a cup with supper. Water throughout the day.

Semi skimmed is fine from age 2 but I agree she is having a lot of it. I think 3 portions of dairy is recommended per day

My 2yr old eats more than that, today's he's had,

1 weetabix, full fat milk & a sprinkle of sugar microwaved and mushy
1 Heinz fruit pot (only way I can get fruit into him, the baby blended pots)

Pom bears

Vegetable pasta
Yoghurt

Breadsticks and hummus

Fish pie and veg
A few chocolate buttons

He drinks mainly weak squash or water, sometimes milk

He's a piglet but still in 12-18 month clothes so a tiny piglet

My twin girls are just 4. They used to eat much more than they eat now, I put it down to them not growing at such a quick rate compared to when they were 2 for example.

They go through phases which coincide with growth spurts where they do not stop eating then days where they practically eat nothing at all. They are both very tall girls (112cm) and very skinny at 17 kgs (which considering their height is light).

They are very active and play a variety of sport 4 times a week plus other physical activities too. They are rarely ill. This tells me they are getting exactly what they need.

I always give full fat dairy, butter and plenty of protein.