6 YO dd obsessed with food and always hungry !

[studentnursey78]

Hi just not sure what to do TBH , she is big for her age height / weight of an 8 y old, her dad (ex hbby) is over 6ft and very obese, his older children from 1st marriage are very tall ( 5,10 / 6,2) and are a bit large.
She wakes up hungry and never stops asking whats for lunch / dinner /tea, or what can I eat now.
I have tried to be cautious and not make an issue about it but she seems obsessed with eating.
She stayed at my parents last night and they were so pleased with her eating 'the same size portion as them' of shepherds pie with 2 bits of bread and butter ( grrrrrr !! ) I had a go at my dad and tried to educate him on the actual size of her stomach !
He wasnt impressed , I think he thinks I'm starving her !
What should I do ?
Was thinking about talking to the school nurse ?

Oh! I can see why you are worried.

Do you think its behaviour that she has learnt from her dad and the older siblings?

Yes your parents are wrong and rather ridiculous to be pleased she can eat the same size portions as them. Does she eat their often?

I would give her the recommended portion size for her age. You can probably find a guide on the internet and make sure her snacks in between meals are healthy.

Also make sure she gets exercise. I don't just mean structured exercise but doing day to day things like walking to school and the shops instead of driving.

Did the school weigh her in reception? What did they say?

I think also look at why you think the rest of the family are overweight. Is it because they don't move much, eat huge portions, are always snacking? Once you know you can avoid it for your daughter.

A close friend of mine has a similarish issue with who DD who is 11yo. She always had a "large appetite" but seems to have gotten into this routine where straight after breakfast she is hankering after a snack and asking what time lunch is. She is not fat but definately quite solid in build and heading that way.

My friend has started to take the family swimming twice a week. Got DD to join a street dance class once a week as well. She makes a concious effort to have a family outing at the weekend to a park etc where they are out and about and walking - even if it is just a bit of a stroll.

She no longer has ANY crisps, biscuits, cakes in the house except on special occassions and makes the odd slimmingworld cake. My friend is on the SW plan herself. Some days she serves up her SW meals to her family other days she does not but the principles of this plan is going back to basics and avoiding processed, packet, sauces and meals and using low fat, low sugar ingredients. Her fridge is stocked with low fat/fat free yogurts for snacks and the fruit bowl kept full. The rule in her house is that the kids can help themselves to the fruit bowl but anything else they have to ask for.

She has not told her DD that she is on a diet in fear of knowcking her confidence and has made these changes to the whole family and is hoping her younger DC grow up not knowing any different. There have been a few moans apparently but friend says she is on SW diet and that she cannot afford or has the time to cook too many seperate meals - a bit of a this is how it is so tough.

Oh another change she has made which she reckons has helped lots is replacing large loaves of white bread for smaller loaves of brown bread. Her DD had a tendency to just go and make toast when she was hungry.

She is doing all this without mentioning her DDs weight and so far the results seem to be working. There has been a small and slow weightloss - well, a few items of clothing have become looser and better fitting - friend has not actually weighed DD.

This is my best friend and she wishes she had made changes like this a few years ago now. Hope this helps and is not too condescending. I dont mean it to be - but its all kind of common sense stuff, but what I wanted to try and get across is that it can be done subtley without the need to tell your DD she is on a diet if you don't want to.

Good post queen. I agree with with doing it so the children are unaware.

I feel a little sorry for her having been in a similar situation at the same age. My (diet conscious) mother decided to cut back on my food because she was worried I was overeating and, as a result, I used to faint if I had to stand up for long periods.

If she's tall and growing rapidly she will need regular meals and snacks (every couple of hours) or it is really unpleasant. Rather than reducing portion-sizes, change the composition of her meals. Vegetables are very filling but relatively low in calories so someone with a big appetite will fill up better by having lots of veggies on the plate and smaller amounts of other foods. Rather than adding bread and butter to the shepherds pie, a big portion of cabbage would have done the trick. Keep her topped up with snacks and drinks during the day. Not just fruit but also high-protein/high-fat foods which are relatively filling and long-lasting. The type of food to avoid are the simple starches, processed carbohydrates and sugary options because they are not sustaining and she'll feel hungry again quite quickly... wholegrains and unprocessed foods are better choices

Don't agree with the high fat snacks between meal pp, completely agree with the suggestions of whole grains / proteins.
How about taking a careful look at breakfast like whole grain toast with poached eggs with fruit for afters. Eggs can be quite sustaining and can do a better job of filling up so they're not so desperate for snacks. A big bowl of porridge made with two thirds water and one third milk with chopped fruit can be nice and filling. In our house the girls are only allowed to snack on fruit or veg between meals.
Be careful of fizzy drinks/drinking large quantities of milk as that. An contain a lot of calories.

(My 6 year old seems to be constantly snacking too, but it's ok at moment as its all unprocessed which I think can make a big difference, she has a sweet treat once a day like home made flapjack too. Plus we're vegetarian so it's all fine right now, I was worried at one point but it all seems to be fine as she scoots both ways to school so burns it all off)

She eats two weetabix with a banana and raisins for breakfast most mornings, I was gonna think about porridge but not easy as Im not always here in the mornings as my early shifts start at 7 so am gone by 6. OH is good at encouraging her to have cereal rather than toast.
Will look into the 50/50 bread ? already have brown / white in the house so she always goes for white so might just get 50/50.
Have told my parents about her eating , will ask them to bulk it out with extra veggies.
Am trying not to make an issue of her always appearing hungry and she always has access to bananas / apples / grapes / chunks of cucmber which she enjoys.
We dont have sweets in the house the only crisps are small packets for packed lunches, no chocolate bars or cakes.
Was wondering about yoghurts ? Any good ones that are not full of sugar ?
She could have them as a snack option ?
By the way thanks for the replies I did start to wonder if I was being a bad mum by limiting her intake of food :(
She was 6 lb 15 when she was born and has always been good at gaining weight. I remember at her 3 year check the HV said she was height / weight of a 6yold then ! She does appear to be the correct weight for her height and has plenty of exercise - although we may do more now?
Will ask whoever takes her to school to walk instead of bus ? ( usualy my dad - who also has a habit of going via the ice cream man outside school on the way home !)

Walking to school would be very positive!
Yeo valley large tubs of organic yogurt don't seem to have too much sugar in them, that's what my girls eat.
About the porridge , can your OT leave it on lowest heat while doing other jobs in morning, it takes about 15 mins, I only stir mine a couple of times and it comes out fine! You can also make porridge in microwave very quickly I've heard!

(please don't stress though , my 6 yr old talks about food LOTS so I just let her have unlimited fruit/veg between meals and she does have quite big portions at meals but it is all unprocessed which can really help . Lentil soup for example us very filling and very low cal.

Sorry about mistakes , I'm on my iPod !

Also I don't know how fussy your DD is, but you could try replacing meat with quorn in some of your dishes , also very low in fat. It makes a nice meat free sauce with pasta. Also what about vegetarian sausages, they are probably lower in fat than meat sausages. Just some ideas! X

You might not have the time or even own a breadmaker but 50/50 loaves made in breadmaker make very filling bread, much more filling than shop bread which could help too. We own a Panasonic breadmaker , best kitchen gadget we bought , don't buy shop bread any more. Makes beautiful and filling toast too . X

I stand by the advice regarding having a decent quantity of fat and protein in meals and snacks. Both are more satisfying than starchy carbohydrates on their own. It's why fruit can often act as an appetite stimulant. It's why eggs are a good breakfast choice. It's also why a slice of wholegrain toast spread with peanut butter is a better choice than just the toast on its own.

PP, I just meant I didnt agree with high fat snacks between meals if OP is worried about potential weight issues, not cutting out on fat altogether. X

(didn't know about fruit acting as appetite stimulant so that is interesting to know)

Is she hungry enough for an apple/some carrot sticks/ cucumber sticks / cherry tomatoes? These are the only things I offer DS when he is nattering for food. Sometimes he genuinely is hungry and will go for an apple, other times he's just nattering. He is also tall and broadly built and I am aware he could very easily put on extra weight on already heavy frame. He's not fat at the moment though.

I have a DD who seems almost constantly hungry. My top tips are:

• give free access to fruit bowl. If genuinely hungry she will eat from here
• give snacks that are more filling / sustaining i.e. nuts
• get her involved in an activity when she asks for a snack and say snack time will be after said activity.

With my DD it is about 40% growing and the fact that she is tall and 60% boredom i.e. left to watch tv while I go I the shower

Also forgot to mention thirst, sometimes a child (or adult) think they're hungry but infact it's really thirsty. I try to make sure my older DD has had a good drink after she's eaten her main meal before her pudding, otherwise she'll eat main meal and pudding And have no room for drink! I make sure she has a decent drink if water between meals too.

Completely agree with the thirst comment. I couldn't recognise it as a child but now that I'm older when I'm hungry I first have a drink of water or a squash and nine times out of ten the hunger goes away. Sometimes if I'm really hungry then I'll have a glass of milk and some fruit.

I'm 27 and when I was small it was around the time that parents were told to give their child a snack when they got in from school. My mum used to indulge that and give us peanut butter on crackers or some toast, sometimes tomatoes or an apple. As I grew older I started to snack quite a bit and it became a bad habit and I've struggled with my weight ever since. I guess what I'm saying is to make sure she really is hungry and if she is then make sure she is getting healthy snacks of a small portion size. I think the real battle is making sure she's getting the right things when she's at her Dads, you won't be able to control it but perhaps if she learns good habits she will make concious decisions when staying there. Perhaps that's wishful thinking for a 6y/o!

My DD6yrs also eats alot. However, she's very tall for her age and weight appropriate. Sometimes it bothers me when she wants more at supper time, so I have tried to reduce what I cook...She will also eat as much as some adults.

I use to be like that too...... I ate, and ate...but was very healthy. Until I turned 35, then my weight didn't come off as easily!

I wouldn't worry too much about it.... go for healthy foods if possible! :)