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Original poster

My 3 year demands food all through the day

27 replies

Pernod · 03/05/2006 13:33

My just 3 year old dd constantly appears hungary and drives me mad by asking for food all day long. I give her 3 healthy meals a day and snacks of fruit or rice cakes. I have tried increasing her portion sizes at meal times but she still complains she is hungary as soon as the meal has finished. When-ever we go to other peoples houses she embarasses me by asking for food & eating loads there.
She is on the largish size at the moment & I'm sure she's nearly as heavy as her 6 yr old sister.
I don't want her to suffer like I did as a child by being teased for being on the chubby size.
She swims once a week & also goes to a gym club.
I honestly think she'd just eat all day if I let her.
Help, what can I do to stop her thinking of food the whole time!

OP posts:

cod · 03/05/2006 13:34

i tlel mine the kithcen is shut

do you nsakc all day too

BudaBabe · 03/05/2006 13:37

Have a friend with children like that. It drives her mad. They are normal weight for their height.

I would make sure the snacks are healthy - rice cakes make me feel hungrier tbh. Could she be thirsty - easy to confuse with hunger. Give her water and see if that helps.

starlover · 03/05/2006 13:38

just say no!
i think the more you eat, the more you want.

stick to normal portion sizes and fruit for snacks between meals and nothing else.

try and distract her, or just tell her she can't have anything.

also, make sure that there is plenty of water available to drink... we often mistake thirst for hunger so eshe may just need more to drink.

if you are still worried then take her to the GP jsut to make sure there is no medical reason why she may want to eat the whole time

foxinsocks · 03/05/2006 13:40

have you checked her for worms? has she got an itchy bum?

I agree the water idea is a good one.

mcmudda · 03/05/2006 13:40

Are her snacks given at regular times? my ds (3.5) did this until "snack time" became a fixed thing. 10am and 3pm keep him going until proper meal times. He understands "it's not snack time" more than "no not yet" or "I think you've had enough"

bundle · 03/05/2006 13:45

worms?

UKmum4 · 03/05/2006 13:46

my three year old is exactly the same - slightly heavier than he is tall on the centile charts - but solid not fat. He wants to eat all day. he sometimes aske sor lunch 29 minutes after breakfast! I put a lock on the top of the pantry when i found him climbing up the shelves inside. Last summer (age 2)he weighed only 7 lbs less than 8 year old dd. (who was only on 2nd centile of weight charts) as they both eat the same fooods etc i feel there has to be some argument that they are just diff. body types and I try not to compare too much.
I am fairly relaxed with ds, but I say no when I know he can't be hugry ( 20 minutes after two slices of marmite toast and an apple!)

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 14:58

My 3.5yr ds is the same however he has been the same 2st 7pounds for the last 12 months - when I asked the health visitor she said it is normal and he is just getting taller. He will ask for "something to eat" around 15 mins after 2 weetabix and a slice of toast ( which is more than I eat at breakfast )! Don't worry tho - as long as they have plenty of fruit,veg and water I dont think theres a problem X

littlemissbossy · 03/05/2006 15:00

No offence, but is she eating out of boredom/habit? keep her busy and give her loads to drink - that'll help for starters.

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 15:08

I think that does help too - if we are on the run I usually pack a bottle of water and a bag of grapes and that keeps him happy

LIZS · 03/05/2006 15:12

I'd also suggest that she may do this out of boredom. Does her day have a structure so that you can be clear that she can have a snack after she's been to an activity or a particular tv programme, for example.

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 15:16

Good tip - I try to keep his snack times the same as the days when he is at nursery

Original poster

Pernod · 03/05/2006 15:52

Thanks very much every-one for your suggestions!
I hope it's not worms! Are the signs just an itchy bum?
I think I'll try to go down the road of offering her water to drink when she asks for food, and making sure that she's not eating out of boredom.
We've just got back from the school run and at school she winged the whole time that she was hungary AAAHHHH!!!

OP posts:

UKmum4 · 03/05/2006 15:54

my life just isn't that structured and we are always on the run - ds2 isn't sedentry by any stretch.
his weight is has been unchanged for about 15 months and although i know he is taller we keep waiting for him to really slim down but he never seems to.
onelittlebaby - ds is also 31/2 -sounds like they are similar

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 15:58

yes it does - although mine is quite slim - not skinny by any means - but I know what you mean about being on the run all the time - as the days that I am not working Im usually shopping, cleaning, visiting family, friends etc and its hard to gauge what they actually do eat throughout the day - at least they have a healthy appetite!!

UKmum4 · 03/05/2006 16:09

True - and dd was so thin for a while i couldn't find any clothes to fit her that was much more worrying. ds is 2st 12, so he's not exactly huge

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 16:11

No that sounds fine - hes only a couple pounds over my ds - and believe me there are some huge boys in his nursery class that really are huge!! They are similar ages as well !

BudaBabe · 03/05/2006 20:18

onelittlebaby - I know if I have weetabix and toast I am starving shortly after - the carbs give an energy rush which drops quickly. Try giving some protein i.e. a yoghurt or some cheese and see if that helps. It should mean that the energy is released more slowly and drops more slowly also.

funnybones · 03/05/2006 21:16

maybe she senses food is an issue with you and says she is hungry to get your attention? i can see me having the same problem as you in a few years as my son also has a bottomless stomach - 30lbs at 9 mnths! i'm sure he eats the same amount of food as i do

onelittlebaby · 03/05/2006 22:27

Budababe -is that what it is? Wow - might try that one myself - i thought weetabix was slow release stuff - or maybe we are just greedy in our house!!!

Littlefish · 03/05/2006 22:35

Porridge is good for slow release. It's also really easy to make it in the microwave.

BudaBabe · 04/05/2006 06:12

No - I find Weetabix really bad - makes me ravenous!

throckenholt · 04/05/2006 07:44

mine do it too - and I am not sure it is hunger rather than habit. It seems to be a phrase that comes out whenever they can't think of anything else to say. I have twins - one always says I'm hungry, the other dithers between hungry and tired (and is normally neither).

I find porridge personally does not stop me feeling hungry - I am usually ravenous a couple of hours after a breakfast of porridge with yoghurt and banana. I love it but have stopped having it because I usually end up snacking all morning which is not very helpful.

Original poster

Pernod · 04/05/2006 09:42

I normally find 2 weetabix can keep me going most of the morning but I always put either sunflower or pumpkin seeds on top so maybe that helps. So far this moring I've told ds about 5 times 'the kitchen is shut'!!!

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 04/05/2006 09:46

My nearly 3 year old is the same way. She is skinny as a waif, however, and quite tall.

She eats three meals as well.

we give her plenty of snacks like fruit, homebaked bread, etc. She'll eat raw veg, too.

She's very, very active. So she likes to nibble and then flit off back to whatever she is doing.

I don't restrict food, though. I think it leads to a bad relationship w/food. Food isn't the bad guy, it's how you approach it that is.

I nibble all day myself, but am slim naturally - although I do walk a lot.

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