think the DSes might need a few stoutness exercises

[misshardbroom]

I am a trifle concerned that both DS1 & DS2 have put a fair bit of weight on in the last couple of months.

Neither are what you'd call fat, but they're certainly fatter than they were.

DD is a skinny-minny and we struggle to get weight onto her.

This has been the pattern with the 3 of them since birth, btw.

Anyway, after the obscene chocolate-fest of the Easter holidays, I do intend to scale down the amount of sugar available in this house, and we're also going to be able to start walking home from school, which we haven't been able to do for a while.

But can you give me the benefit of your collective wisdom about lunchboxes? What do you put in your children's lunchboxes to ensure they're full and have sufficient calories to get them through the afternoon, without resorting to cake / crisps / biscuits? Ditto post-school snacks.

(Obviously they have fruit as well, before I am drummed out of MN and lose my Boden discount code as punishment)

should perhaps clarify DSes are 5 & almost-4

Smoothies are good for after school snacks. They are filling and nutritious.
My DC have school dinners but when I did lunchboxes it would usuaaly be something lie chicken and rice with salad and fruit and youghurt for desert or cheese sandwiches with same for desert or pasta

ds puts on weight by just looking at sweets and will eat until he is sick unless you actually stop him.

for lunch he has: 1 round of sandwichs
small portion of cheese
yogurt
2 crackers with thin spread
tomatoes
carton of fruit juice

he has milk at breaktime but no snack.

breakfast is cereal, glass of milk and a banana.

after school is breadsticks/more crackers and grapes.

HTH

dd (6) has a ham roll or sandwich (using 2 slices of bread), some fruit (strawberries, grapes, etc), a yoghurt drink or frube and a wee biscuity thing e.g. pack of mini jammie dodgers, mini cookies, etc. After school snack tends to be crips as she has had a fruit snack at morning break as well as at lunch.

Just watch that its not the out-before-up growth spurt? Many kids seem to grow outwards then suddenly shoot up.

dd1 has a packed lunch -
a sandwich (2 slices bread)

• fruit/carrot/cuc/pepper sticks
• slice cake/2 biscuits/handful mini-crackers
• water.

She is 10.
Nothing comes back except sometimes the crusts.

She has toast/biscuits/cake/fruit/yog when she gets home from school.

Seona - crisps every day! you'll get the Mumsnet police round !

I know - although sometimes she has sweets instead (is that any better)!!

ROFL at Mumsnet Police - are Boden doing a flashing blue hat this season?

Do they like granola / cereal bars and the like?

Have you tried sticking their height and weight into an online BMI checker? You may well get a surprise either way. I also subscribe fully to the out then up school of thought.

Its the old eat less, move more rule. Can you get them out into the garden to run around more now that the weather is improving. Also, ration TV/DS/wii (don't care how active the games are, they will use more energy outside).

Yes, definitely on for more running about.

TBH, while they probably have more sugar than is good for them, they don't eat much differently than I did as a child in the 70s / early 80s. I think any difference really lies in the level of activity.

DS1 is good with hearty stuff like porridge, pulses and cereal bars. DS2 not so much... he's at that perennially suspicious stage.

I will find a BMI checker, and then report back if when I get DS2 to stand still on the scales.

Please don't check their bmi - it's a nonsense for children. If you think they look fat, do more exercise with them. Assuming that they are not scarfing down shed loads of empty calories, the extra activity will sort it out.