Help me sort out DS(6)'s portion sizes? - sorry it's long!

[BlueBananas]

DS has just turned 6 (last week) he has had eating problems from being around a year old, so pretty much from when he began eating real food

Between the ages of 1 & 2 he wouldn't eat, just wouldn't eat a damn thing, then this progressed into him eating but making himself sick - he would cough and wretch on purpose until he brought up everything he had ate. He would do this probably 5 days out of 7, on the other days he just wouldn't eat

The making himself sick did eventually stop (thank god) but left behind some physical damage and some respiratory problems, since 3 & 1/2 ish we've been working on just getting him to eat

He was discharged from his paediatrician at the end of last year as he's happy that we can continue to get him to eat more and gain some weight - as you can imagine he is very underweight and tiny in height

So at the moment he is eating the best he ever has, eating the most foods and eating the most willingly, and gaining weight

But now he's started asking for more food! I actually nearly fell off my chair the first time he said he's hungry and can he have a snack!
I've realised I need to reassess how much he is eating but I'm at a bit of a loss, he's my eldest so I have no idea what is normal for a child his age, it would be really helpful if some of you with children around this age could post what they eat in an average day?

This is what DS ate yesterday -
Breakfast - an apple chopped into pieces, 1 weetabix with whole milk
Lunch - Dairylea sandwich (1 piece of bread folded over) a handful of lettuce, about 4 cucumber chunks & a yoghurt
Snack - packet of crisps & a slush at soft play
Dinner - 1/2 a chicken breast, 3 roast potatoes, a tablespoon of peas, tablespoon of carrots & gravy
Bedtime - 1/2 a piece of toast and a glass of milk

This feels like loads of food to me, there was a time when on a good day he would eat a yoghurt and 2 breadsticks - this was literally a really good day if he kept it down, so I realise my ideas of healthy amounts are a bit skewed
Help please!

That's ok Blue I'm glad to be of some help! it can feel quite lonely when you feel everyone else's DC eat a 'normal' amount, our progress was slow going (2yrs so far, he's 4 yrs old now) but DS2 is nearly 9th centile now (he dropped off the chart from 25th) and although we still get the look when people ask how old he is, I don't care because he's doing well and we've worked hard to get where he is now.

If you ever need chat Blue please don't hesitate to PM me

It sounds very important to stick to things he likes and not push anything he doesnt. I find lots of kids don't like "mixed up" food like lasagne. I would offer him a piece of cheese or meat to go with his garlic bread instead. Also you might try adding in a small mid morning snack if that doesnt stop him eating lunch.

Well my perfectly average sized, healthy weight DD (5) eats-
1 weetabix/Cheerios/slice of toast plus some fruit.
Fruit/biscuit snack
Sandwich - normally only 1 slice with cheese
Olives
Crisps
Baby tomatoes
Yogurt
Fruit snack again
Then maybe 2 sausages with a cup worth of pasta and sauce with peas or broccoli.
Also maybe a small icecream or cake.

I suppose I would be expecting an older child to be eating a bit more maybe.
What he's eating sounds ok for now, just stick at it and keep adding a little bit more and see how he gets on.
It all sounds very positive though.

DD is 5. Today she has eaten:

1 bowl All Bran (probably the size that adults are supposed to eat but nobody does) with semi skimmed milk
1 round of buttered toast

1 large carrot

1 ham sandwich (1 piece of bread folded over)

2 plums

We're having roast lunch today, so she'll have about half an adult size portion of that, probably followed by a yoghurt.

Dd is just 5 and smack bang in the middle of her range for height and weight, and that looks like a reasonable day for her. Today she had a small bowl of porridge with whole milk, toast with jam. Late morning she had half a scone and strawberries. Late-ish lunch was ham and cheese toastie (2 slices of bread but prob only ate one whole one) with tomatoes and some apple. She had a banana pancake and mini yoghurt a little while ago and dinner will be chicken fajitas (she'll have wrap, plain yoghurt, veg, chicken x 2). Maybe a banana before dinner if she's hungry.

You must be hugely relieved he's eating well, congratulations.

DS is 8 and very very active. A normal day would be....

Big bowl of porridge
Banana and grapes
Yogurt

Snack like biscuit

2 slices bread cheese sandwich
6cherry tomatoes
1\2 red pepper
Biscuit

Snack - toast etc

Small fillet of fish
Peas
Potatoes

Biscuit or cake

My DS1 is 5 and would eat the same amounts yours would, except probably only half an apple for breakfast and he wouldn't touch the lettuce or cucumber (but I'd probably give him another half an apple or some grapes).

He is slim but healthy. However there are a lot of podgy-to-obese children in his school class so I think portion sizes are tricky for a lot of parents at this age. I go with DS's appetite.

My 7 year olds

Breakfast one large American style pancake, tinned fruit

Lunch - wrap with hummus, salad, hard boiled egg, handful of cocktail sausages

Snack - Ice lolly

Dinner will be chicken drumstick, 4-5 homemade wedges, large portion of veg

Usually a bowl of cereal before bed

So that all sounds fine ... I am amazed some children seem to eat more ... They still have small tummies!

Oh the last couple of replies are all much more similar to the amount DS eats, very reassuring

My 6 year old dd eats a similar amount to your ds, sometimes less except once or twice a fortnight when she eats pretty much from dawn til dusk! I think she's actually a snake in disguise.

Today my 5 year old had
A brioche and half a banana for breakfast
some grapes
A fish finger sandwich made of 3 fish fingers and two slices of bread - didn't eat the bread , plain yoghurt
A packet of quavers
Macaroni cheese with ham and peas, probably ate two heaped tablespoons
A satsuma

Not his best eating day but not unusual.

My tiny 5 year old DS eats a similar amount at main meals but a bit more at breakfast - small bowl dry cereal or slice peanut butter on toast, glass of milk and a yogurt - and a morning snack - cheese and crackers or cheese and fruit, usually. He also has fruit for pudding. He also has had lots of issues with eating.

Ok so tomorrow I'm going to try to up the amount of protein in his diet and make him the same kind of portion sizes but with more calorific foods
Reading all these meal plans back I think the main difference is that DS's foods are all a bit more 'light' and I suppose he's never going to gain a decent amount of weight eating Dairylea sandwiches and cucumber chunks is he! You just lose sight of the most basic things when you're in the midst of things don't you
Thankyou all for your meal plans, I will report back tomorrow with how we get on

Ds1 had problems eating as a baby and has always been on the underweight side, so I really understand how you feel.

He is now 8 and eats an enormous amount, and although he is still very, very thin he is quite tall and very muscular.

The answer for us was to always have instant access, small portioned and high nutrition snacks available. He just has quite a small stomach, so can't eat that much at each sitting, but will eat about 8 times a day. By the end of the day he has consumed a very large number of calories!

Almond meal is fantastic in that regard. Very, very nutritious and easy to make really nice biscuits with. We also make some savoury biscuits with nut butters and herbs that he can snack on whenever he wants. These things feel like 'junk' food in a sense but have some real nutrition in them, so I feel much better than if he was just eating junk.

Another great thing is avocadoes. They can be eaten savoury with bread/crackers and a bit of balsamic vinegar, or sweet with lemon and sugar. They are a great quick meal for when I don't have time to prepare something more elaborate.

He still eats the same as he did when he was six, which is approximately:

Breakfast: bread with butter and honey/jam, french toast or pancakes (small portions)
2 hours later: Yoghurt with fruit, or with raisins
He will then usually have a couple of biscuits (as described above) or a slice of almond meal cake, and will eat one or two pieces of fruit.
Lunch: Bread with fish pate, or with cheese, or pasta or pizza (if leftover from previous day's dinner)
Afternoon: He will have at least 2 snacks, sometimes 3. He would eat sweet stuff all day if I let him, but I usually stop him in the afternoon and insist that he have something savoury instead. Cashew nuts are a handy standby, he eats some most days. At some point in the afternoon he usually gets a piece of chocolate or some ice cream as a treat.
Dinner: Whatever we are all eating, he will usually have a small portion. I always make sure there is a lot of variety at the dinner table, so if he doesn't like something there is still plenty more that he can get a balanced meal out of.

Looks like you've got lots of good advice and encouragement here already. It sounds like you've both (you & DS) done really well so far and his diet looks relatively well balanced already ie not as restricted as I was expecting. I don't think there's much point comparing portion sizes etc with other kids as they're all very different with different weights, heights, activity levels etc and diet does fluctuate from day to day to create an overall balance. From what you've said so far I think it might be worth increasing the variety at breakfast ie try different cereals, different breads/pastries, maybe try continental style brekkie ie meats & cheeses, cooked breakfast ie sausage sandwich, beans on toast etc? Also agree probably needs a bit more protein and calories at lunch so try fish/meat/cheese filling on s/w and maybe a small 'treat' eg malt loaf, pancake with jam, frozen yoghurt 'tube'? Hope these suggestions are helpful. You're doing great!

It's been 2 days of trying to get more calories into him without scaring him off and it's going really well, he's just getting on with it, no questions asked
However I'm having a wobble because it all feels much less healthy than before! What do you think? -

Yesterday -
B - toasted cheese muffin (ate about 3/4) and half an apple
L - fishfinger wrap (2 fish fingers, lettuce, cucumber & grated carrot in a wrap) & a yoghurt
S - milk & a cereal bar
D - bowl of pasta & meatballs (3 ladles of pasta with 3 large meatballs) & a slice of garlic bread
B - milk & grapes

Today -
B - toasted buttered bagel (ate about 3/4) and 3 very generous chunks of melon
L - 1 sausage in a bun & a small bowl of salad (lettuce, cucumber chunks, carrot sticks)
S - milk & 4 more big melon chunks
D - 1/4 of a whole quiche, about 3 tablespoons of savoury rice & a corn on the cob
B - milk & about 8 grapes

See looking at that it looks like lots more doesn't it? But it doesn't feel it, and he doesn't appear to have noticed so this is good!
Any ideas how to make it healthier? Or is this ok? Struggling with lunches aswell if anyone has any ideas?

Looks pretty healthy to me, what are you worried about?

I think it sounds healthy and more variety than before. It sounds like you might be worried he is eating too much, but don't forget he needs to grow so he needs plenty. The only thing I would say is maybe dont rely on processed foods but try to use more natural food most of the time (you may do this anyway its just that your meals had several ready made products).

That definitely looks more substantial than what you started this thread with, plus there's lots of variety, so hopefully he'll gradually embrace a wider range of textures and flavours.

Apart from the cereal bar and the sausage I'd be happy to feed my DD that every day, and IMO there's still room for those in amongst other foods. It's only on MN where people have a fit of the vapours at baked beans being more than an occasional treat.