3 year old dd always hungry

[fireandblood]

I am worried about my dd age 3 she is constantly telling me she is hungry. After eating she will ask what is next. For breakfast today she had toast (fussy about cereal but will eat shredded wheat bitesize if in the mood) yoghurt then asked what's next so I persuaded her to have an apple instead of junk then she asked what's after so I gave her raisins. She would eat cheese and chocolate all day if she could .she has a very sweet tooth opposite of my son that would happily snack on fruit and veg all day. She won't touch any veg but I sneak it in with pasta sauces etc. she will eat apples strawberries blueberries mostly sometimes will have a go at other fruits so I try steer her toward these but she will constantly be in the kitchen getting the stool out trying to reach the cupboard and is always asking for something else after meals. What's next is her favourite phrase! She is quite tall for her age and sturdy not fat I can see her ribs and is just fitting 3-4 ok (she will be 4 in august) we haven't been as active in winter but she will go on the trampolining does dancing once a week walks up nursery/ school anything from once to four times a day depending on weather and is on the waiting list for swimming. It was worse when granny done shifts cos she would always come in with crisps and treats (too much) but now granny is 9-5 now so that only happens once a week. If we go to granny's for dinner though this is a food fest for her as she will not say no but my son knows when he is full and will eat normally all day even at granny's. My mum gave her ice cream for breakfast when she stayed over the first time on 2 years for lunch she will usually have ham sandwiches with fruit yoghurt cheese and something else savoury then about 10 minutes after finishing she will ask what's next she sometimes has boiled egg and toast at lunch. Snack on afternoon tends to be crackers/fruit/ wotsits then dinner usually spag Bol/chicken curry/sausages/stir fry she only gets a mini milk after is she eats all dinner. Then at bedtime it's milk or hot chocolate then they both want something to eat so usually it's toast. I feel there is too much bread in the day but it's so hard trying to get her to eat new things. Please help

How many calories does she get?
Work that out and then decide. Toast is nothing, yoghurt is a thick drink. Give her protein, scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Thanks for replying. I have honestly not counted up the calories as I didn't really want to start calorie counting for her hopefully doesn't come to that but I might need too to get an idea. She will eat egg sometimes for lunch but think I'll offer that tomorrow for breakfast. I've prob missed out that she does get a treat on a day eg biscuit/kinder chocolate/cookie but always wants more.

Can you write down a daily food diary for a few days, maybe others can see if that sounds alright?

My 3yo can sometimes go through days where it seems like we can never fill her up. I do find, though, that if she is hungry then she will genuinely eat anything, so while it starts off as a request for a biscuit she will accept pretty much anything I offer.

What you list above does sound a little sweet, though I do understand the problem with grandparents - my mum's idea of a healthy day is NOT the same as mine!

Yeah I will try and do that I think. The food is bare today anyway so she hasn't got the choice there today to eat much but doing an online shop for tomorrow

anyone more suggestions of healthier treats/snacks and breakfasts to fill up? Keep going between meals? Any suggestions for her to realise she is actually full as opposed to eating for the sake of it which I think a lot of it is would be great too.

I just feel I am constantly trying to distract her as soon as she finishes something she will ask for something else

Thanks

Snacks in our house are oatcakes, crackers, fruit, cucumber and carrot.

For us, it helps weed out genuine hunger from fancying a biscuit. If she's hungry, she'll have a chunk of carrot. If she's trying her luck, she won't.

Definitely makes sense... Just wish I could get her to give veg a chance. Ds who is 5 will happily snack on carrot cucumber cherry tomatoes she will just screw her face or if you manage to get her to try it she just spits it back out whether cooked or raw veg. Veg is another worry. She even moans if she can see green on garlic bread cos she thinks it's a veg even though she used to love it .

Thanks for your advice think I need to Force the veg issue somehow or try a different approach with the veg there must be at least one she would like if she gave it a chance.

I don't think anyone can advise until we know how many actual calories your daughter is getting. If she is contantly hungry and you can see her ribs then she probably isn't getting enough. Children that age need more protein and carbs proportionally than we do and fewer fruit and veg.

Raisins are mostly sugar and could play havoc with digestion.

It's natural for them to determine what is safe food at that age and it may make some foods distasteful for a while. They need to trust their instincts on that and adults need to let them. Try to understand what's driving the cravings and the refusal first.

What did she eat yesterday, I can add it up for you.

www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Dietary-Recommendations-for-Healthy-Children_UCM_303886_Article.jsp

This is an informative website, calorie intake should be 1000 minimum for a 3 year old, increasing to 1400 for a very active child.

Thanks for that good to know what she should be having roughly so I will try tot up tomorrow. I'm working nightshift so at work just now so in unsure what the dh gave her when I left.

Her ribs aren't protruding I just mean I can see they are there she is not covered in fat but she does have meat on her which is fine. I am just worried about the habit of constantly asking for something just after she has finished eating something I see as substantial. It just gets exhausting trying to distract. Eg eats all lunch, has yoghurt or biscuit then 2 mins later I'm hungry same goes with brekkie and this happens all morning

Unfortunately she likes her raisins a lot so I would be reluctant to take them off her but she only has one mini pack of these a day.

Thanks again all.

maybe food = attention in a way. have you tried doing something eg a jigsaw, drawing a picture, playing catch, with her when she asks for food? worked for my dd.