How much does your 11 year old DS eat?

[BelleDeCinsault]

I am not worried about starving mine, he is certainly not underweight but goes through phases where he looks positively podgy then shoots up in height and it all redistributes itself.

The problem is that I'm starting to worry that I am underestimating his appetite - he seems to increasingly be needing more food than I would have thought, certainly more than me. He reckons he is "still a bit hungry" after a large baked potatoe with beans and cheese and veg for dinner.

He is about 5'2", I have not weighted him recently but judging by his size 9 feet, he is not going to stop growing any time soon.

Does there come a point when a healthy boy's appetite will exceed his parents?

Your experience would be appreciated.

Thank you

Hi Belle I don't think there's anything worrying there. My ds was always a skinny little thing and about that age he 'filled out' a bit .

I say if its healthy food, let him have it. Mine discovered a sport that burned off calories around then and he is slim again, he's now 15.

Don't worry, just make sure he's not overdoing the calorie laden non nutritional stuff, and not doing exercise.

doing exercise

grrr

My DS is 12, and has grown about five inches in the last year (he's now 5'7") and is constantly hungry - he can eat half a loaf of bread when he gets in from school, plus bananas, apples, crisps etc and still wolfs down a large supper. And no, he's not fat.

As far as I can tell, this is perfectly normal teen/preteen boy behaviour - most of them seem to be like this, so no carbohydrate is safe when they are around.... I think I'd be surprised if a boy this age didn't eat way more than his parents.

My 10yo subsists on thin air. My 14yo eats more than me and has done for several years, but then I would expect that: she is growing (even if she has stopped shooting up) and I am getting to the age where I need to cut down, because my body is slowing down. e

Thanks for the comments, I suppose I must accept when he tells me he is hungry that he is.
Like you say, fill him up on healthy meals and snacks and encourage a sport.

Thanks

Not an 11 y-o DS but a 13 y-o DD, but she had a sickness bug for a mere two days before Christmas, and had to pull in her belt a good couple of inches afterwards. I'm sure it would have made no discernible difference to my waistline.

She does a lot of sport and has grown about 6 inches in the last 2 years. She is always hungry. I think you need to let them eat according to their appetite, as long as they don't have a history of overeating and snacking on junk.

10 yr old DSS literally never stops eating.

For dinner last night (after huge breakfast, lunch and snacks) he had 3 full plates of liver and bacon, mash and 4 veg. He eats more dinner than me and the other 4 put together.

He walks to school and back, plays football break and lunch, then for at least an hour after school.

he's supposed to eat more than you, At his height, age and gender he probably needs about 2500 calories per day.