Eating too little? My 5 yr old eats same as 2 yr old

[vindolandia]

My 5 year old ds has always been a fussy eater. He likes pasta but not much else and never touches vegetables. Generally he puts away about the same amount of food as our 2 year old, who enjoys food and runs to the table and eats heartily, with appetite. Our older son always has to be coaxed to eat and is an incredibly slow eater, I don't think he gets in much at school lunchtime at all. It can't be right that he's only eating as much as a 2 year old? Weight wise, they're both slight, and light for their ages. Have had doctor check him out but found no physical problems. Can a 5 year old thrive on so little?

I've found my 11 yo cousin eats almost as little as my DS who is 1yo. Cousin is very slight and eats so slowly (DS goes faster!) but no harm has come to his growth or health. I do notice somedays he eats more in the way of snack foods than others and that may provide him with more than we realise he is getting over the week (e.g yoghurt drinks, milkshakes, haribo, small cupcakes, raisins).

Is he growing? Does he have the energy to play? If so, he's fine. Some children just seem to eat very little. What are his weight and height centiles like?

Can you tell us what a typical day looks like and how you deal with the fussiness?

Agree with sharon too. They can get lots of calories that you just don't count. Have you tried keeping a food diary? It might help to alleviate your worries. Have you read My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzalez too? Your library might have a copy

Does he eat like that all the time? My DS is small and skinny but healthy. I've noticed he will go through phases of eating loads when he's having a growth spurt, then will go for weeks seeming to eat very little. As someone else said, if he has enough energy and is growing then I wouldn't worry!

My 7y old dd eats less than my 2 y old dd. Always been a slow and picky eater. Honestly both her sisters are finished a meal about 45 mins before her. She's really tall and skinny and easily 2 inches taller than her twin but weighs less. She does eat but just doesn't have the same hearty appetite as her sisters.

I ended up keeping a food diary as I was worried but once it was all written down I realised she was grazing most of the day but just didn't do so well at meal times. She also drinks a lot of milk that her sisters don't. As long as she is growing and in healthy weight range I wouldn't worry too much and just try to encourage her to eat what she likes

As long as they are growing and are healthy I wouldn't worry too much. My son has phases where he doesn't eat much but when he is having a growing spurt he doesn't stop eating.