Three year old always hungry!

[Bobbo1989]

Hi all,

DS turned 3 last month. He has had quite a jump in height and is ALWAYS on the go. Since then, he’s constantly demanding food, becoming very stressed when I try to make him wait for dinner. He eats the majority of his meals. So far he has breakfast at 8:30, snack at 10, lunch at 11:30 inc something like sandwich or pinwheels, crisps and fruit. Does have a nap still then when wakes has a snack at about 3:30 - either another piece of fruit or some veg sticks. Then dinner between 5:30-6. But now he’s so hungry ALL the time, I’ve been adding in cheese slices as a snack, even more veg sticks etc, and he’s still stressing about how hungry he is.

Is this normal?? I always knew boys were bottomless pits but 🙈

Give him a slice of bread in between times. That'll be more filling than fruit and veg (you can give that as well but he needs something calorie heavier to satisfy)

My 3yo swings wildly between constantly grazing and living off fresh air 😂 I roll with it and try and get some good stuff in!

I'd be hungry too if all I had between my lunch at1130 and dinner at 5.30 was one piece of fruit. That's six hours. Is that not quite a long time for a wee one?

That looks like a very low carb low fat diet and a very long wait between lunch and dinner.

I would add buttered toast, cheese, hummous, french bread, cereal, porridge--and don't make him wait. At this age, they don't have wants, they have needs.

He has cereal for breakfast, and as I mentioned cheese for snacks. He is dairy allergic so can only give him so much “fake” cheese. He doesn’t like humous that much.

He has quite literally an entire carrot, red pepper and some cucumber. I have to watch the amount of carbs and sugar he has because the dentist said he was showing early stages of tooth decay (how is beyond me…).

Thank you, I might try that. He does get an awful lot at pre school, a full meal that I would only dream of eating for dinner (and I’m 13 stone), plus dessert and of course snacks in between but suddenly is screaming from
hunger. I may add, he’s had this diet for 2 years but only recently changed, which is why I’m wondering if it’s a growth spurt.

That doesn't seem like a lot. But I know the feeling!
My son grazed so much now
The past week it's gone like this

7am breakfast. Cereal
8am second breakfast. 2 eggs and cherry tomatoes
9.30am snack (Greek yoghurt)
11am snack apples and watermelon lol
11.45 lunch (Leftovers but typically rice and meat)
13:00 snack (tuna on crackers (yes I know) )
15:00 snack (varies but generally corn on the cob, cucumber with raita)
16:30 dinner (anything we eat as a family)
Then he's down for bed by 6pm.

It's absolutely insane. He's tall for his age but he's quite athletic and slim.

Try fill him up on meat if possible

Does he have any Eggs, chicken, tuna, meat, pasta?

What about breakfast scrambled, poached etc eggs, toast, and avocados.

Greek yogurt and fruit snack .. all the snacks are just veggies? Not many calories so he will be hungry.

Then I'd be looking at carbs for snacks, maybe bananas, and porridges, with fruit topping.

I don't understand why, if he is "screaming with hunger" you don't just give him more food.....

@Bobbo1989

so what? He's allowed to be hungry, he's growing? He wants food he's not screaming for sweets!

I can't see much actual food in there & barely any protein!

of course he's hungry!!

is he drinking enough? It could also be he's a bit dehydrated.

but mainly get some protein into the poor bairn!

Up the protein and good fats. Add extra virgin olive oil to pasta, avocado on toast, nut butters on toast. Add in chickpeas and edamame as snacks for extra healthy protein etc. His diet sounds quite carb heavy and I find mine need protein and good fats to keep them from getting too hungry.

He is stressing because he doesn’t have enough food/ calories. @greenrollneck advice above sounds a lot better.
Like others have said he needs more proteins and too long between meals.
As an adult I can see why you would be looking at the healthy veg snacks etc ( what we would eat) but toddlers / children then teenagers need a lot more. Be prepared OP you have a growing kid who will always eat more than you think and in a few years time will definitely eat more than you. My 18 year old will have breakfast ( if up) mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, twice the portion size of my dinner and healthy snacks in between meals ( plus the non healthy stuff teenagers like!). Then he will have supper.

Oh your poor kid!! Only some fruit in 6 hours? That's actually cruel, he must be SO hungry. He needs loads to grow and aid brain development!!

Peanut butter is an easy healthy fat to add in too. If he doesn't like hummus, you can make pastes/dips with other combinations of pulse+spices+oil to have good fat and protein rich snack.

It really does sound like he just needs more food. It's truly incredible the amount they can put away but they're growing so much, their brain is constantly processing and they never stop moving so they're burning a ton of calories.

@Bobbo1989 "
He has quite literally an entire carrot, red pepper and some cucumber"

In 6 hours???

Can you do pasta for lunch? Might be a bit more feeling. Have a 4 year old with multiple allergies including milk and we don't bother with fake cheese but have lots of pasta and breadsticks as well as tons of fruit and veg - they are also constantly hungry!

When my dc were younger they'd often have
6am breakfast of toast and milk
7.30am cereal at nursery (or home actually)
10am variations of snack fruit, veg, breadsticks, dip, crackers, cheese
12pm lunch (hot food)
2pm snack at nursery (if at home they'd have a drink and eat at 4)
4pm tea at nursery (hot food)
6.30pm snack on way home from nursery usually fruit
730pm dinner (sandwich/toast) if they were still awake but sometimes after nursery they'd be exhausted

Even now in primary school they have eat at weird times
7am breakfast at home
8am breakfast at breakfast club
10am snack
12pm lunch
4pm snack
5.30 dinner

Carrot red pepper and cucumber has pretty much zero calories. That is what an adult would eat to lose weight!

swap breakfast cereal for an egg omelette/french toast

he needs more protein

If he has early signs of tooth decay (so no tooth decay yet?) the answer is not to limit his carbs. The answer is to brush his teeth. Do you use fluoride toothpaste? Btw ‘sticky’ carbs like crisps and dried fruit and v bad for teeth compared to something like a jacket potato Don’t give fruit then brush teeth - bye enamel!

I can’t understand how any of this is a surprise to you. Your words are ‘ He has had quite a jump in height and is ALWAYS on the go. ’

Feed the poor kid fgs

Yeah definitely not enough protein or fat in there. A whole carrot and red pepper isn't gonna fill a growing child up! Try some carrot and pepper sticks with crackers and nut butter/cream cheese (there are decent dairy free ones available). Or apple slices with a dip made of nut butter and honey mixed together.

And then work on making the actual meals more sustaining - add something like egg or fish with lunch. So a hard boiled egg, or egg/tuna mayo sandwiches, or eggy bread/french toast, or sardines/scrambled egg on toast for example.

Just feed him more.
Ideally something with some fat and/or protein in. Cucumber, pepper and pepper are diet snacks. Let him dip them in peanut butter cream cheese humous, gucamole - anything with some substance.

And echoing some if the others above, second breakfasts, 2 dinners, and double snacks between meals was my life with small children - and is becoming my life with teens!

Op, Most breakfast cereals have little nutritional value. Will he eat two slices of wholemeal toast and spread, with some jam or peanut butter? Something that will keep him feeling full for longer.

Not having enough carbs and protein

And a long wait from lunch to tea

Not surprised he is hungry on that

Maybe needs a cooked lunch as well as tea

Sandwich fruit crisps isn't touching the sides

At that age I was feeding my three and four year olds the same casseroles that I made for the entire family.

Dishes such as

• chicken chasseur

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

• beef stew

www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14685/slow-cooker-beef-stew-i/]] www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14685/slow-cooker-beef-stew-i/]]]]

• ham hock with red lentils

laurenscravings.com/classic-ham-hock-lentil-soup/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">laurenscravings.com/classic-ham-hock-lentil-soup/]] laurenscravings.com/classic-ham-hock-lentil-soup/]]]]]]

All of them cook well in the slow cooker and you can adapt them to be as complicated or as simple as you like. Serve with mash potato and a serving of broccoli or green beans but they also contain lots of vegetables and protein of course. For young children you can also make them as wet or dry as they like. The meat in these dishes should be very tender and pull apart easily for young children.

Op, you seem to be feeding him adult diet food.

Forget all of that. A growing child needs carbs, protein and fats. Certainly avoid sugar if you wish but understand that growing children eat a lot. My DS by that point was having

Two slices of wholemeal toast, spread and honey
Mid morning snack of a banana and a babybel
Cooked lunch - baked beans on toast
Mid afternoon snack more cheese & cherry tomatoes
Supper - wholemeal pasta with chicken & sweetcorn

Now he's 16, he's still beanpole thin, 5'11" and eats maybe 3,500 calories a day. It's like filling a bottomless pit. So get used to it 😁