4 year old always hungry

[Bex1517]

Hi there. My 4 year old son is always hungry. Like always. He eats and eats and eats and is always saying he's hungry. He's a normal weight for his age. A typical day he eats weetabix, biscuits, fruit, cookies, Barney bear, dunker or a sandwich, grapes, nuggets and stars, pudding then still wants more. !! It actually bugs me how much he asks for food.

@LovingLola haven't tried but will give it a go. Thanks.

I’d start offering him the real food version of his current diet. So chicken (not nuggets but plain strips), three types of veg (including peas and carrots) and potatoes. If he doesn’t eat it that’s fine. If he’s hungry later offer the same meal. You know he likes all of the things it’s made of he just wants the fast food version. If you want offer ketchup or sauce to dip so it still feels similar.

Nothing wrong with Weetabix for breakfast😊 Could you put a few blueberries in a ramekin dish for him to add to his breakfast if he wants?
Snack: Offer him a plate of sliced banana, apple and grapes. If he's hungry he'll eat it.
Lunch can be fish fingers, beans and mash, or maybe cheese on toast.
Don't offer biscuits, cakes, crisps or other kids' crap in the house. They can be a treat for when you're at a cafe or playgroup.
If my DC or DGC said they were hungry after dinner but before bed (and asking for crisps or cakes) I'd offer bread and butter and if they turned that down I'd say 'then you can't really be hungry'.
Peas and carrots are fine if that's all the veg he'll eat for now. Try putting tiny portions of other veg on his plate. One day he'll eat some.

Hi, my 4 year old is like this sometimes. I find a lot of it is boredom as when we are out he hardly asks for food but at home it can sometimes be constant!

I find ensuring he has a good lunch and then a snack mid afternoon then saying 'no more until you eat your tea' works well along with ensuring he is drinking enough.

Hi op I'm sorry if you have been upset my take on it is I think it maybe seems a lot but actually most of it isn't that filling. How many weetabix does he have at breakfast ? have you tried offering other things with breakfast? I would try and offer less snack things so he likes dunkers he could have breadsticks / crackers with cheese cubes , I'd push the fruit and veg with every meal and offer real meat rather than nuggets ect. My lb has one slice of thick seedy toast, a Apple then a combination of dry bran flakes, banana , cheese cubes sometimes he has them all. Other things he likes are pancakes I just make them with mixed frozen berries and oat bran but you could add anything. croissant , crumpets ECT instead of toast. I try and give snacks at home like rice cakes and fruit , cheese and crackers. At school he has milk and fruit. For school lunch he has a cheese sandwich or savoury pancake or puff pastry roll, then either cheese or egg. Then 2 veg e.g. carrot and spinich then a yoghurt or piece of cake sometimes. At home he has similar but maybe beans on toast some form off eggs after school I bring a snack rice cakes / breadsticks ECT. For tea he eats just what we eat. What sort of things do you eat ? Things to help fill him up could he nut butters , eggs in any form , banana you could make a homeade cake and give him a piece of this rather than the Barneys ECT as this will be more filling you can also add things like ground almonds ECT.He could have some milk to drink aswell as water. I'd try changing his diet and see of it helps

oh forgot to mention we talk briefly about healthy food and needing fuel for your body , vitamins ECT they also cover at school so could be worth a go ?

Hi Bex1517
You sound like a really caring mummy who is just trying to do the best for your son. I know it’s hard when you get into a cycle of set foods to introduce new foods but I always found my girls loved plates of cut up finger food like a little smorgasbord. For example carrot sticks to dip in hummus ( you’ll be surprised they actually like this!!) cut up apple wedges, squares of cheese and pineapple - out of a can. Anything bite size . Good luck

@Sleephead1 @Louby6 hi thanks for your replies nice ones thank goodness. He is still at nursery (school in August) therefore lunch is a packed lunch no option of cooked lunches. I work 4 soon to be 5 days a week and also have a 1 year old. My typical diet is natural yoghurt, raspberries and blueberries for breakfast, I snack on fruit or cereal bars lunch is usually a chicken salad or maybe the occasional sandwich followed by crisps. Dinner/tea is usually a sweet and sour or spag Bol etc. I will try out your idea thanks 😊

My boys were always starving. They would have school dinners but then I always cooked a proper dinner in the evening. We had plenty of protein rich meals, things like pasta with chicken, mince, pork etc., we had cheese pie and baked beans, chicken legs with jacket potatoes, roast dinners, fish, eggs, I didn’t buy biscuits or crisps.

They used to eat as much as me. Growing boys do eat a lot.

@Hazlenutpie thanks for that. I like hearing food ideas will give them a shot. It's not for the want of trying new things believe me.

Generally protein is what fills people up.

You can google for lots of ideas but basically things like meat, fish, dairy, nuts, beans, eggs, oats.

So try and add something from a protein source at each meal or snack to help fill him up

Breakfast - weetabix fine if thats what he likes, but something like rice crispies won't fill for long. Add milk, and fruit. If he will eat things like eggs, peanut butter or greek yogurt are good protein sources.

Lunch - he has a packed lunch. Add things like cheese, or sliced meat into sandwich. or cubes or cheese, boiled egg, yogurt.

Snacks - nuts are good, you can mix the ones he likes with fruit he does ie cashews with some grapes. glass milk

Dinner - you say he's fairly fussy. start with an item he likes ie a chicken dipper, and add maybe mash potato made with plenty of milk or some cream. Gradually over time introducing different items alongside ones he likes. If he eats a fairly basic dinner, try adding a filling desert like rice pudding, yogurt, etc..

Have you tried getting him to help prep dinner? if he helps, he might try eating it ie homemade dippers? homemade fishfingers. adding things to flour, egg, then breadcrumbs can be fun (if a bit messy) for young children

Some great ideas on this thread. It is amazing how much children can put away! I make my own hummus with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, tinned chickpeas and tahini. It stores well in the fridge, and is a really nutritious snack. Worth a try if he enjoys dipping. Would he enjoy chunky soup with croutons? Lentil soup is nice, or veg soup with grated cheese. And talk about hollow legs, wait until you have teenagers!!

@CarolinePooter hi there. Thanks for your response. He's never had soup. I think a lot of it with me is fear of waste and that he won't like it!

I know, but it is odd what they like that you'd never have imagined. For example when my daughter was a toddler I used to make steak and kidney pie and she would very carefully eat all the bits of kidney and ignore the very nice steak! Maybe if you have some soup you could let him have a tiny bit in a bowl at the same time, he might think it's treat to have your grown-up food ;-) Good luck!

Try making your own soups. You can then see what he might like. You can freeze them in individual portions so no waste