5 year old secret eating?!

[Frozenheart]

My lovely 5 year old DD has always been a very good eater ever since she was weaned.
The last couple of months, I have come downstairs to find my fridge and cupboards raided. All of this is being eaten before I wake up in the mornings.
Yesterday, her morning raid consisted of:

6x small petits filos yoghurts, 1x dairylea dunker, 1x apple and 1x satsuma.

This morning, she ate 6x more small yogurts, 1x packet of wotsits and 3x plain tortilla wraps

We always make sure we have filling, healthy meals during the day, but the words ”im still hungry still come out after finishing her meals and when we put her to bed!
In reception class last year, she was weighed and measured and it later came back to us that she is overweight. This wasn’t a surprise to us, as she has always been ahead of ages in clothes for her age. and her dad and I aren’t the slimmest of people!

So my main question is, would any see this as a cause for concern and to contact the gp? Is there anything we could change?

It's clear you adore your daughter and the fact that you're posting your concerns shows this.

But everyone else is right, she can not be left alone in the mornings for hours. My first thought when I read it was - what if she choked on a piece of food?

If she hasn't eaten since 5pm then she is definitely ready for breakfast at 6-7am so I don't think what she's eating is that bad, it's just easily accessible food.

You sound like a lovely mum but please don't let the aggressive posts overshadow the overall message that most other people are in agreement about.

I think 6x small petits filos yoghurts is actually naughty. There are other people in the house too!

She’s not being naughty, she’s being neglected! That’s the kind of attitude that breeds eating disorders and food insecurity

@scully29

But, if shes 5 and you dont get up until 8.30, how does school work? Does she get herself ready for school too as well as feed herself?

The OP did very clearly say this was at weekends.

If you’re worried about her eating having just clear the house of junk food or tell her she can’t eat anything until you get up.

I agree with getting rid of the junk food, but should you really just leave your 5 year old child hungry for 2hours so you can sleep, I don't think that's great.

All this “safeguarding”, “neglect” issues are ridiculous. Obviously her being up and about when you are in bed is not ideal but in no way does that make you a bad or unfit mum! I agree with the give her a packed lunch to take to bed idea x

I think porridge is a really good suggestion, it is slow release energy, very filling and you can add different things to keep it interesting. Frozen fruit etc. My personal fav is pecans and maple syrup.

Try to get rid of the white bread/wraps/ham/Petit Filous etc, there is so much sugar and it is very processed. Whole foods are much better at making you feel full.

I don't think locking food away is going to work long term and would be better for her to learn to self regulate but obviously you need to help her with that and I think a chat with your GP would be a good first step.

I know it is really difficult, I was brought up on ham sandwiches and crisps etc, it is a hard habit to break.

I hope it works out for you.

Ignore the poisonous posters.

Locks are a terrible idea. If she’s hungry she needs to eat. I think she needs more fibre really to keep her fullee for longer. Maybe some salad alongside her dinner? Things like lentils and beans can be good. And make sure she has no sugar in the morning, not even in yogurt or cereal. It might be causing her blood sugar to spike a bit, and then when it drops she feels hungry and continues to feel this way until late. May start the day with toast and beans?

Yes, you need to get up when she gets up in the morning

You can try and make this a bit later with black out curtains and a wake up clock, so she knows when she can get up (eg for her age I’d say 6:30)

You need to get up with her and give her proper breakfast (not snacks food like crispy kids cereal and petit filous but toast, eggs, porridge, fruit etc)

You need to guide her, and let her eat as much as she needs, then no food until next meal

But Deborah 7 is very different from 5. Can anyone imagine it being ok for a 5 year old to be left alone in school for 2.5 hours? Its not just the safety thing its the emotional thing, and fulfilling basic needs thing too.
Id say - you could get up when you hear them up give them a small breakfast and then take a cup of tea back up to bed yourself, it doesnt have to be much, just a small change to the routine would change the eating concern surely!

Your child is learning to ameliorate boredom with food. She’s learning that food fills in the emotional gulf of absent parents. She’s already overweight.
This is an easy fix,it really is. Plus you’ll feel better, so will she

I wouldn't let my 5 year old be up for that long without me. She would have raided he entire biscuit tin.
They are too young to be battling with their need for instant gratification and win!

Some of the posts on here are absolutely shameful. @Winemewhynot you know you're just being goady now so why continue? I detest early mornings too, but thankfully my children aren't particularly interested in being downstairs without me. We don't allow them cartoons, electronics, etc in the morning so they generally get into bed with us or read a book, play with toys in their/my bedroom. I think the best way to remedy the uncontrolled eating in the morning is to let her have a late (filling) snack before bedtime and then take it in turns with her dad to get up with her in the morning. Talk about how there are certain foods that we don't have in huge quantities and make her very aware of the food she can help herself to throughout the day. If it helps, my nine year old loves to help himself to less than healthy foods whenever he can and this is a real cause of worry to me as he has always been a big child. I don't really subscribe to the 'don't have it in the house' train of thought as sometimes a packet of crisps is needed! And also my fourth once quietly helped herself to six petit filous in the back of the car while we were driving home from the weekly shop. She was one at the time and they were gone in seconds so I honestly don't think they're the most filling thing for a small child.

She didnt say this was at weekends though as her OP described a friday 'raid' .

@CraftyGin

I think you might need advice from a paediatric dietitian.

If she is already overweight, having a free range of the fruit bowl probably isn't the best. It's great for skinny kids.

Free range of the fruit bowl is NOT what makes children overweight.

This doesn’t need a paediatric dietitian. Op an alarm clock & to get up with her child

I honestly don't think letting a child go downstairs by themselves at the weekend is the end of the world . I get up to make my DC's breakfast but once they've finished it I'll often take my coffee back upstairs to bed for a bit while they're playing. They can either play downstairs or, if they want company, come and sit in our bed and read books. I wouldn't let them get their own breakfast though and if I heard them in the kitchen, I'd be downstairs to check on them like a flash (our house is tiny so I can always hear where they are in it). They also know not to take food without asking for it.

But it's not the worst thing in the world to leave a child alone at the weekend to amuse themselves for a bit. Though I wouldn't actually go back to sleep as I like to have an ear out for what is going on (but my child is slightly younger).

At five years old, she's too young to make sensible, healthy choices - which is why you need to get up with her and make her something, or lay out some food for her the night before.

I really don't think it's appropriate to leave her alone for upto 2.5 hours each morning - she could really get herself into danger. If she's managing to eat that much food without you realising, she could easily choke, hit her head or do all manner of other things and you'd have no idea.

You need to get up with her and fix her some breakfast - especially if her last meal is at 5.30pm and you're not getting up until 8.30am - that's 15 hours without food - far too much for her to cope with alone.

There's absolutely no need to contact the GP - she just needs someone to supervise her. Many adults struggle to resist cupboards of tasty food - expecting a 5yo who is left alone for several hours to resist similar temptation is hugely unrealistic and unfair on her.

This isn’t OK OP
I know you are about to have a hissy fit about people piling in on you but you really shouldn’t be leaving a five year old alone downstairs awake for the very long hours you are currently doing. You need to get up when she gets up, it’s the crappy part of parenting small kids. I certainly would trigger a safeguarding investigation if I knew of a 5 yo that was being left alone ( and expected to get her own breakfast) for that amount of time.
Other comments : ditch the petit filou, wotsits and dunky things. None of you need that processed sugary stuff in your diets. Give her a snakc after her last meal.

[quote Frozenheart]@Orangejuicemarathoner she is always left out some fruit in the mornings.[/quote]
Im struggling to understand why are you so unwilling to wake up and make her a healthier breakfast and regulate her morning eating? It’s not about leaving food out for her, plenty of people said you’re possibly not meeting her emotional needs. Even if you’re awake, tidying up and showering isn’t more important than this is it?

@Goldbar you’re describing the opposite of what op does.she doesn’t get up, she remain in bed. Op Doesn’t prepare a breakfast and isn’t present

You don't want to hear it, but leaving a five year old to her own devices for up to an hour and a half on a weekend morning is asking for trouble.

You/your H need to supervise, even if that only entails wrapping in blankets on the couch and turning on the tv for a few hours until you are wide awake.

Kids of five can come to all sorts of harm with free access to water, windows, furniture, doors, knives, cords, kitchen appliances, pots and pans, maybe cleaning supplies.

You wouldn't want to have to answer the question, 'Where were you when DD suffered an electric shock or cut herself with a breadknife?' that you were in bed.

But it's not the worst thing in the world to leave a child alone at the weekend to amuse themselves for a bit.

But it is the cause of the very issue the OP is concerned about.

I can't imagine regularly leaving my 5 year old unsupervised in the house for 2 or 3 hours straight whilst I lay around in bed. No parent is perfect and we all make mistakes but this is neglectful and no wonder she's eating all these things - she's hungry and bored. It's your responsibility to give her a decent breakfast soon after she wakes up and to give her love, care and attention as she starts the day. I hope you can now see from most of these responses, that getting up with her is the right thing to do for your child's overall well-being.

Sorry, that's two and a half hours, not an hour and a half.

@ImNotDancing

I think 6x small petits filos yoghurts is actually naughty. There are other people in the house too!

She’s not being naughty, she’s being neglected! That’s the kind of attitude that breeds eating disorders and food insecurity

@ImNotDancing I accept that. Maybe I used the wrong word. My DC would absolutely eat 6 petits filos if we let her. I guess the difference is she has us around her to help moderate and manage that behaviour.