Children's portion sizes - think I'm getting it wrong. Did anyone see the Jo Frost street party programme about this and if so, what did she say?

[Doodlez]

MIL just been talking to me about something she saw on TV. Jo Frost held a street party and talked about appropriate portions for various aged children. Example - ONE dessert spoon of ice cream is enough. Half a small pizza is enough etc.

Did any one else see this and can you remember what else she said about portions - is there a link to the programme or can you at least remember what it was called?

I've tried searching but can't find owt.

What I'm after is an example list of child's age - appropriate size of portion of different foods.

I don't really count fish and chips as a meals, fish and chips (unless homemade and over cooked) is a treat.

the meals I serve are typically egg fried vegetable rice, chicken with noodles, mince, potatoes and veg, pork chops, spuds and gravy, ALL served with carrots, runner beans, cauliflower, broccoli etc

The portion makers seem to be under the assumption that everything offered is fried or sugar loaded.

If I child's meals are all fried and sugar loaded, of course they would have to be small, but rather than saying that the child should have his food restricted, why not say "And limit the fried and sugar added food, give big piles of vegetables and unfatted potatoes, and lean meat, and your child will be neither fat nor hungry"

Because that would be far too easy and commonsensical, coldtits.

Everybody metabolises food differantly and has days where they're more or less hungry than usual.

I give my kids large portions and let them eat until they're full, then leave the rest.

They're all healthy, fit and ideal weights for their heights.

this morning for example my 5 year old at half a slive of french toast, my three year old ate 2.5 slice and my 13 month old ate 1.5 slices.

at that point each of them decided they were full and asked to leave the table. usually my 5 year old eats the most breakfast though and the 3 year old only picks at a bit... if i'd given them servings based on what's normal he's have gone hngry and hers would have gone to waste... instead they all got served a slice and i had extra slices made to share round.

9/10 times my 5 year old won't eat more than two bites of dinner, yet every once in a while she'll eat a huge dinner and ask for seconds and even thirds... the 3 year old generally eats well at dinner but has nights where he won't eat or night like thursday where he finishs an entire pot of masjed potatoes practically single handedly

The most important thing you can teach a child is how to listen to their own bodies and eat when they're hungry and, crucially, to stop when they're full.

whydobirds Not sure from your post if you realised it's not 5 tablespoons per meal in total for a 5 year old. For example if you had fish, mashed potato and veg for dinner it would be a palm sized piece of fish, 5 tablespoons of mash and 5 tablespoons of veg. That's all they need to be healthy, however as long as they aren't eating unhealthy food then eating more than that won't make them unhealthy iyswim. My DS is 3.8 and to me that sounds like loads and I can't imagine him eating all that in just over a year.

I find this information is more reassuring to parents who have children that don't eat much or children who are overweight but active (so unfortunately probably have crap metabolism), so they know what they could cut down to.

i think mine eat as much as i can feed them, and neither is fat.

in fact i have had rude comments from a certain person about them being 'skinny'

problem is, that appetite isn't a sure guide - a child that has always been overstuffed wll have an appetite to match, and some children have such small appettites they are really difficult to keep any weight on.

and children, like adults have different metabolisms so genuinely require different amounts...

my sister was always skinny, i was always carried puppy fat - we ate the same food in the same portions. Mum downed my food in the end...

so i think it is better to have a realistic view about whether your kids are fat, or not, and adjust food accordingly - there's no absolute answer for all kids.

nappyaddict yes I did realise that, sorry. Late night equalled badly worded post. I think I have a DS of the same ilk as Bibbitybobbity's though. His trousers are constantly too loose round the waist, yet he's a human dustbin.

EggyAllenPoe I was about to say that, but you've put it so much better than I was going to

it's just never too late in the day for flattery

That's certainly true. When my dh started bodybuilding he had to ramp up his food dramatically, and for the first few weeks he was working really hard to eat the scheduled amount (given that it was mostly dry tuna and unseasoned vegetables, perhaps not too surprising) but after a while his appetite adjusted and he felt hungry enough for his seven meals a day. Obviously a non typical example, but if you eat a consistent sort of volume your body does adjust to it, whether in feeling hungry, going into starvation mode, building muscle or just laying down fat layers.

Given that for many people the reason why they are overweight is related to portion sizes (especially for children) I don't have a problem with a strong message being given out, it's just that it needs to be tempered with a few caveats about lifestyle and individuality. for my ds it's not that he is hungry to much, but that if he doesn't eat enough he can run out of energy so much that he gets really quite weak and feeble (I was like this as a child, going as far as fainting on a few occasions).

What others have already said:

some children (people) are very active and need more food, other children (people) are less actuive

some children are going through a growth spurt at 8, others are not

(if I were to eat the same quantities as dh who is a similar size to me- or even the same quantities I used to put away as a 25yo I would grow very fat)

also:

some children are good at regulating food intake, others seem not to know when they have had enough

(not necessarily due to parenting: I and my 3 brothers were parented in the same way: I and 2 of my brothers eat until we've had enough, my eldest brother has no clue and just carries on eating)

and btw it is possible to grow fat on just eating enormous portions on healthy foods: my brother managed it - we never had junk food at home; he just ate masses; he is finally losing weight at 50 because his girlfriend is teaching him how to listen to his body

but I'd say he is a bit of an extreme example and nobody else in my large extended family has ended up with food issues of that kind