Portion sizes for 9 to 11 year olds

[Kentishbear]

Hi, just that really. Can you share the portion size you give to your 9 to 11 year old please? I got talking recently with a group of fellow mum friends and our portions differered hugely.
For example, what would you give if you were doing
Chicken breasts, pork belly, chops, drumsticks etc. How about freezer food, nuggets, waffles, fish fingers, frozen pizza etc ?
There's no real relevance to this thread only to cure my own curiosity lol.

It’s hard - kids vary so much. My 9 year old isn’t a big eater, so wouldn’t eat, say, a whole chicken breast, but her sister definitely would have done at her age. And she prefers to eat more at lunchtime than in the evening, so that confuses matters as well….

An active 8yo needs as many calories as a sedentary adult. Both my younger DC, nearly 10 and nearly 14, eat slightly less than me.

If hungry, 2-3 chicken drumsticks. 4-5 fish fingers. Whole pork chop. (Not all in one meal ). Essentially same as or larger than adult meal. If not hungry though will eat almost nothing.

He is skinny as a rake.

That age group for freezer food (which is all my dd ate at that time) probably 2 fish fingers or 4 chicken nuggets, about a dozen chips and a tablespoonful of veg. Followed by a mini yoghurt and/or an apple or pear.
Not a big eater though.

About one food delivery truck per meal.

My elder DD (10) likes less meat, more veg, reasonable carb portion.
My younger DD (8) prefers more meat, more veg, skip the carbs.

The other day we had pork, spicy rice and veg. DD1 had half the pork steak, two spoons of rice, big spoonful each of carrots and peas. Dd2 had 3/4 pork steak, spoon of rice, spoonful each of carrots and peas (rice and pasta are the only carbs she will happily eat)
Then a yoghurt each. And fruit

They probably eat more than me.

Both my 7 and 9 year old boys would happily eat a pizza express pizza (not the kid one) to themselves and still have room for pudding. They're not overweight.

9yo dd eats-
Breakfast
2x slices of toast or two weetabix
A yoghurt or hardboiled egg
Fruit

Lunch
A sandwich or 2 egg omelette or ham and cheese toasted wrap
Chopped veggies
Cheese string
Quakers

Dinner
A chicken breast or two sausages or a chicken kiev (or similar)
Pasta or rice or boiled potatoes (probably a cup full of each)
A cup full of cooked veg (eg broccoli/peas and sweetcorn)

She will also at some point eat a more treat item like a cookie/muffin/ice lolly (one).

Quavers

Damn autocorrect.

DS ate the same portions as me (an adult woman) at that age.

Chicken breasts, pork belly, chops, drumsticks etc. How about freezer food, nuggets, waffles, fish fingers, frozen pizza etc ?
Two chicken thighs if served whole, 600g pack to serve 6 in a curry. 500g mince or 500g beef or lamb to serve 6 in a chilli, bolognese or curry. Half a 300g frozen pizza with sides. I don't buy the other foods.

2 waffles, 2 fish fingers
A whole salmon portion
A whole pork or lamb chop
Half a chicken breast
Half a pizza
4 or 5 nuggets

My 11 year old eats adult portions but is a muscular very active child, my 16 year old will eat more than me so a large adult portion and always has done and is a skinny lanky active child, my 19 year old eats as much as she can get her hands on and is over weight. All had same portions growing up. All very different. Like all kids 🤷(I know 19 year old is an adult but she is still my kid!)

Quakers for lunch - not very sporting, they are pacifists I believe

Depends on the child. I have 2 boys and the answers would be different for each of them. One is very sporty and was doing 2 hour swimming sessions 5 days a week at 10-11, and the other just did school games and, Friday football, and Sunday sports. Sporty one would be eating what medium sized adult potions at 11 and the non sporty one did not eat much and still would be eating restaurant child portions at 11.

My 10 year old boy eats pretty much the same portion size as me, more if it's food he really likes! We had (small) chicken thighs in a tray bake the other day and he had three, along with about 5 new potatoes and a pile of broccoli, corn and carrots. He's less keen on red meat so would only eat one chop, and probably would leave chunks, but fill up on veg etc but then he could easily eat an adult sized burger, with fries, from a burger place like GBK or Byron.

When he was about 5, I took him to visit a friend who lived quite far and she made dinner. She had two early teen boys (about 11 and 13 or something like that) and a husband who is a large man, fit, healthy, cycled to work etc. She fed each of us a chicken thigh and some sweet potato fries. DS and I had to stop at macdonalds on the way home. Her DSs were both appallingly badly behaved and she was often moaning to me that her husband would raid the fridge/cupboards if she had snacks and all I could think as we drove away, starving, was "no wonder they struggle so much if that's all she feeds them!"

My DS11 eats like it's his last meal!
75th centile for height, 20th for weight (tall and skinny)
10 hours coached sport per week.
High activity levels when not training (park play, walking dog, riding bike, pogo stick etc)

He will happily share half a bag of pasta with cheese and sweetcorn with his sister.
6 fish fingers, 4 waffles, peas and half a broccoli
6 chicken goujoins, sachet of rice and veg
5 sausages
Lunch can be a cheese wrap, grapes, carrots and belvita soft bake
Breakfast is 2-4 slices of toast.

@Kralia

Quakers for lunch - not very sporting, they are pacifists I believe

Ah but they taste so healthy and pure. Like a fresh green apple

@Sheldock

My DS11 eats like it's his last meal! 75th centile for height, 20th for weight (tall and skinny) 10 hours coached sport per week. High activity levels when not training (park play, walking dog, riding bike, pogo stick etc)

He will happily share half a bag of pasta with cheese and sweetcorn with his sister.
6 fish fingers, 4 waffles, peas and half a broccoli
6 chicken goujoins, sachet of rice and veg
5 sausages
Lunch can be a cheese wrap, grapes, carrots and belvita soft bake
Breakfast is 2-4 slices of toast.

Goodness that’s going some! I dread to think what your weekly shop must come to!