Ds is always hungry, is it normal for him to be continually starving as he puts it ?

[NuttyMuffins]

He is 4 and must 'i'm hungry' about 1000 times a day.

So far today he has had...

Marmite on toast
Cup of milk
Banana
Another cup of milk
2 biscuits
Bag of crisps

I will do him his lunch soon but I know that after 5 minutes he will say he is still starving, there is just no filling him.

Sounds like a growth spurt - my boys go through stages of eating for England.

That's nothing compared to what mine eat. Kids are always starving!!

Doesn't actually sound like a lot to me - my 2 yr old eats more. What kind of toast was it - white/brown/wholemeal? Maybe a bit of protein at breakfast or a bigger wholewheat/oat cereal portion would help him.

Biscuits won't fill him up, or crisps.

I keep running out of stuff to give him though.

What snacky type things do you give ??

I always offer him fruit first and he does usually eat it but then will ask for something else again straight away.

my 4 year old constantly says he's hungry (even 5 minutes after a huge meal). I am inclined to think he says it when he can't think of anything else to say. His other key phrase is when are we going to visit .... Both said numerous times a day.

I always offer fruit or bread and butter if they are saying they are hungry and they have just had a meal. They don't always take up the offer so they can't be that hungry.

He normally has porridge for breakfast but we ran out.

It was granary bread that he had today.

He does like eggs and I somtimes do that but don't always have time in the week.

He tends to like to snack all day rather than eat a big meal. He can sometimes complain he is hungry but then leave most of his dinner.

Gave him a plate of carrot and cucumber the other day but i think he would of eaten more if there had been something to dip it in. What can i use ??

I give my kids bread when they say they're hungry - seems to fill them up for a while.

sometimes 'im hungry' can actually mean im bored or even im thirsty.

my ds1 has the potential to get very porky, so i make sure i offer water then wait 10 minutes, just to rule out him mistaking thirst for hunger. offer an activity, if its eating because he's bored, a change of focus would help.

finally, crisps and other junk is not the best thing. a slice of wholegrain toast and a banana (or similar type) is best if it is genuine hunger. if he turns up his nose, hes not actually hungry. stuff that ultimatly puts his blood sugar in his boots is not going to help him.

My DD does this too - she's almost 6 now but has always been like that and is not at all overweight. She likes to dip carrot & cucumber (and red pepper) into cream cheese or hummous. Other good snacks are tortillas or pita bread, sometimes plain, sometimes with jam, cream cheese, hummous or peanut butter, smoothies, pretzels & raisins, dry cereal in a bowl to snack on, cheese & crackers, grapes or a fruit salad if I can be bothered. Of course they do also eat the usual crisps and biscuits but not all the time.

The other day DD came home from school at 4pm. She had a biscuit, half a cereal bar and a slice of cheese to snack on. Then an hour later sat down for dinner and ate a salad (a proper grown up salad in a bowl with lettuce), 1/2 a piece of salmon and two portions of mashed potato & sweetcorn. 1/2 an hour later she said she was starving. When I suggested an apple she said she'd already had 2 at school!! You have my sympathies.