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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

six year old eating 10 weetabix before 8am - should I worry?

22 replies

mum0f3 · 09/09/2009 12:32

Just a little background, my six year old ds is ALWAYS hungry or more accurately to say he never feels full. He will eat until I tell him he has had enough, if I don't he will continue to eat. He will eat to the point of being sick in the night due to over-eating, if given the freedom to eat what he wants. For example: sitting at Christmas dinner with extended family, I chose to ignore what he was eating while I enjoyed the company of everyone together. But it was reported to me that he ate two big platefuls of christmas dinner, that is two large adult portions, and was snacking on more until the table was cleared completely.

A week ago, one morning I did not get up early and he helped himself to 10 weetabix for breakfast, he would have had more if I had not stopped him.

What should I do? How do I help him, he clearly does not have a "full" feeling and never has even as a baby. How do I stop being the one dealing with portion control and get him to understand that he needs to take control of his eating patterns.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

RealityIsNOTDetoxing · 09/09/2009 12:34

This reply has been deleted

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colditz · 09/09/2009 12:34

he's only six, so I think you are still mostly responsible for how much food you provide. I would take him to the doctor though.

FourArms · 09/09/2009 12:37

If it was just the weetabix, I wouldn't have thought much about it. My DSs both love weetabix, and have been known to eat 4 and ask for more. Maybe it doesn't trigger a fullness feeling. But, with the other issues, I'd probably see a GP or HV.

HelenaBonhamCarter · 09/09/2009 12:38

What Reality said

It sounds as though there may be something wrong.

generalunrest · 09/09/2009 12:39

Not a nice thing to suggest, but has he got worms?

LuluMaman · 09/09/2009 12:39

is he overweight?

eating to the point of vomiting is something that needs addressing immediately.

10 weetabix is a huge amount of food. i would struggle to eat 3 and i can eat !

weetabix makes you feel really full, it is fibrous , isn;t it, which makes you feel full

LadyMuck · 09/09/2009 12:44

Tbh, if this is a regular thing and not just a one-off I would see your GP. You need to know whether there is a physical problem here.

GoldenSnitch · 09/09/2009 12:52

I think I would see the GP if I were you.

Worms would surely mean the child felt hungry again sooner but not fast enough to enable anyone to eat 10 weetabix in one sitting!!!

That is an enormous amount of food!

My nephew eats huge amounts of cereal, especially when we're all around as he shows off but even he, at 11, wouldn't manage 10 weetabix!

Prada-Willi would have been spotted by now surely? Don't babies with PW fail to thrive? I'm sure they have a distinctive face shape too...

HelenaBonhamCarter · 09/09/2009 13:01

GoldenSnitch it is a condition related to Angelman syndrome.

I'm not sure how or when it is spotted, but I think whatever the cause of OP's son's eating problems he needs to be seen by the GP at least.

Sorry Mumof3 - I hope the doc can help sort out what's going on x

Original poster

mum0f3 · 09/09/2009 13:01

Thank you all for your prompt replies.

It is a constant, and the GP has said it can't be Prader-willi due to the fact that if I tell him to stop, he will. So I am being told it is a psychological problem.

I read some threads on here about hungry children and there is advice about letting children have healthy snacks, but he already has a healthy diet and has apples as snacks. He is not overweight but only because I control quantity of what is eaten. My other children eat til they are full and stop, none of them are fussy eaters.

I have not done a close inspection for worms recently, but since the problem has been since he was a baby I guess I would have noticed in his nappies.

I feel that this is not normal behaviour, but not sure whether to put him through a battery of tests if it is true that it is psychological, and worse I don't know how to deal with it if it is psychological.

OP posts:

stepaway · 09/09/2009 13:06

how would your DS have reacted if, after say 3 weetabix, you'd not let him have any more breakfast? i really think, as others have said, that you need to return to your GP and push this issue. Even if it is purely pyschological, surely the GP could refer you to someone who could help you with this? best of luck.

bigchris · 09/09/2009 13:10

is he overweight?

Original poster

mum0f3 · 09/09/2009 13:15

stepway - he knows that he has two weetabix for breakfast and a piece of toast with a drink of milk. He will ask for more and say he is still hungry but will be able to be sent to get ready for school without too much hassel. Basically he will stop eating if I say it to him, but I should not have to say it to him all the time.

I want help from the pyschologist, but have been told that the waiting list is huge and it will be a long time before he gets seen.

I cope with it most of the time, but I do worry for my sons future and need to resolve this before he gets to be a teenager and I have no control and if he has not started to sort out the issue, then he would rapidly become obese, and subsequently very ill.

Has anyone got any advice on how I could deal with this? Anyone know of anyone with this sort of issue (anyone with Prada-Willi experience for instance)

Thank you again for your being here.

OP posts:

GoldenSnitch · 09/09/2009 13:21

I would ask for/demand the Psychological help I think Mumof3. At least if you get his name on the list there will be help on it's way even if it's a long way off right now...

You're right that this needs addressing before he becomes resposible for his own food intake.

Original poster

mum0f3 · 09/09/2009 13:30

GoldenSnitch - I will be asking for psych help for him definitely, it is worrying me.

Should he be tested for a phsyical cause? do you think? or should I just be pursuing psych help?

OP posts:

GoldenSnitch · 09/09/2009 13:49

I'm just another Mum so I'm not really in a position to offer medical advice. I can totally understand why you are worried though and I think in your position, I would want to explore every avenue.

If I were you, I would make another appointment to talk to your doctor, maybe without your DS there, so you can talk openly about your concerns without him over hearing you.

That way you can voice your fears for his heath and future without potentially upsetting your child.

Hopefully, this is something that can be solved fairly easily once it's been diagnosed. It's definitely worth doing it now before it has a chance to affect his life too much...

brimfull · 09/09/2009 13:54

I would be seeking a second opinion .

Hope you get it sorted.

Overmydeadbody · 09/09/2009 13:58

My DS can eat 6 weetabix or shredded wheat, so that alone would not be something I would worry about, but the other stuff as well, I would seek some advice for.

Overmydeadbody · 09/09/2009 14:00

Hopefully your son will soon get to the age where he knows he has to limit what he eats even if he doesn't feel full.

Maybe start really teaching him about portion sizes for himself and that even if he could eat more he needs to stop once he's had a portion of something?

lazymumofteenagesons · 09/09/2009 15:00

Although not quite as extreme my son went through a stage of over eating and was sick after meals quite a few times.

I didn't get to the point of asking the doctor about it. However, it did seem to be connected to eating too fast and not letting the brain tell him he was full until it was too late. Also when he asked for more I used to make him wait til everyone had finished and that helped as mostly by then he realised he had enough or got bored!

It did result in some embarassing meals though. A big family dinner ended with him getting up from the table to be sick after the main course and then coming back to the table asking what was for dessert complete with a bit of sick on his collar

mathanxiety · 09/09/2009 15:36

Weetabix and toast is a very carbohydrate-heavy breakfast. Sometimes protein can help you feel you have eaten enough -- eggs, sausages, etc. Does he have a drink of milk before bed, or a snack to tide him over so he isn't so ravenous in the morning? Presumably he is eating protein at dinner though... Maybe get on the psychologist waiting list and while you're waiting have physical cause looked at?

thisisyesterday · 09/09/2009 15:59

hmm well a few thoughts i had while reading this thread:

1.) if it was psychological he wouldn't have always been like it either. a baby doesn't have psychological issues like that

2.) is his diet lacking in anything else? I am vegetarian and went dairy/egg free when ds2 was born. I was absolutely ravenous and could easily have eaten 10 weetabix! the reason I was so hungry was because my diet, though good, was not complete. When I added more protein and made sure i was getting all the vits and mins i needed i was fine again

3.) do you make an issue of his eating? if you go on about it then he will think about it. it may be a self-fulfilling prophecy iyswim? the more you talk about eating and not being able to stop, the more he may feel that that is the case and carry on.

4.) if he is used to over-eating he may just have lost that ability to feel full. so why not be fairly strict for a while and ensure he CAN'T overeat and see what happens.

5.) to be totally honest if he isn't upset when you tell him to stop eating i would just carry on and make sure he doesn't eat too much

maybe he genuinely is really hungry and you just need to tweak his diet? I would go back to the GP , or a different one, and ask for an appt with a nutritionist as well

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