Is this a decent portion for a 5/6 boy?

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My ds, just turned 6 seems to think he should be getting more than this for dinner. I think it is probably too much already and certainly won't mind if he doesn't eat it all, though he may well do.

Am I right? What would your similar aged child eat?

My five year old would polish that off... then ask for cereal ten minutes later... then a banana... then a yogurt... then bread... you get the picture.

Other days, he'd pick at the tomatoes and ignore the rest.

I think we all have days where we have totally different appetites, so long as we're offering a range of healthy-ish food, and our kids aren't hungry, we're doing okay aren't we?

It looks a bit dry to me, beans would balance it

Would you eat fish fingers, raw tomatoes and new potatoes together? It's an odd combo, perhaps your ds is particular though.

I bet if you calorie counted that it's about 350 cals max, only you know what else he's eating and whether that's sufficient altogether for a growing child. If he's genuinely hungry give him more to eat!

My 5 year old is a picker, she eats a lot but not much in one go. For tea she would have 2 fish fingers (would probably only eat one though) and the tomatoes, I would give her some cucumber and red pepper too. She wouldn't have eaten the potatoes at all. Her actual tea tonight was a sausage and about a third of a tin of beans. She had yogurt a banana and a tangerine later on.

DS2 is 5. He had 2 thin sausages, 4 small pieces of potato and about 1/3 tin of spaghetti for dinner tonight. It was a typical size meal for him. I'm trying to tempt him to eat more as he is slender and bird like. He's not underweight but he's been poorly and off his food.

My 6 yo would eat 3 fish fingers, maybe fewer potatoes as he isn't a potato fan but then a lot of veg or beans. Would also have a pudding of fruit salad with cream, cake and custard or yoghurt perhaps. Also would then probably have a snack before bed of maybe bread and butter. He has hollow legs but as far as I am concerned (barring food issues) if children are hungry and aren't just pestering for junk, then I am more than happy to feed them!

Agreeing with others- less potato, more/different veg and it's about right. My DC similar-ish ages would definitely eat 2 fishfingers, 3 if hungry, and I'd serve with peas/sweet corn/broccoli (or more salad veg otherwise - peppers, carrot sticks, cucumber). Then yoghurt & honey, with or without fruit depending.

Perhaps he needs a bit more variety on the plate but smaller portions so it's the same amount of food overall? I get bored of just one veg on the side of my carbs & protein so would naturally prefer two or more.

Interesting! It probably is a slightly odd combination , but we all had leftovers hence using bits and bobs up. I'm surprised a lot of you say your kid would eat more. Actually, after the moaning and me taking the pic, he left two potatoes.
He eats a similiar amount to me and I'm a size 14 . He also measured overweight on the govt height/weight school measuring thing but doesn't look fat at all, just not skinny. Hence me not wanting to give too much. He had a yoghurt for pudding. He also had baked spud for school dinners though he always moans the portions are too small there also!!

If he is hungry try giving him more protein, less carbs. Will fill him for longer.

Fewer spuds and more veg. Three fish fingers seems a lot to me. My 9 and 7 year old have 2 each.

My son would've eaten less but there would be more green veg and less potatoes. Followed by fruit. My DS would never over eat and I just regulated according to what he wanted. His best meal was breakfast.

At that age I would have served 1-1.5 fish fingers, 3 potatoes and the rest all veg.... but then I always knew DC wouldn't eat more due to small appetite.

I think if he's asked for more I'd give it. Cut out the puddings instead. I usually do a third of each protein carbs and veg. On your plate you don't have enough protein as fingers are half bread so maybe change to fillet of fish? Don't worry about perceived strange combos, I do this all the time and it's always well received.

Try giving it to him on a small bright coloured plate it makes it look more. It's a tip I got from a slimming world rep years ago. I use the ikea ones.

Thanks for the tips!

My 5 yo would only eat 1/2 of that. If he wants more I'd give it

Carbs are not an enemy for a child. They need the energy. I would say more veg though. As a rough guide a portion is what fits inside his/her hands. Baked beans are great as they are not only one of your 5 a day but are protein based too. Sweet potatoes if you can get them.to eat them are also 1 of your 5 a day.

Are they are mushrooms not spuds on that plate?

It looks quite a lot to me. it's the type of portion I'd eat but then I'm in my 60s....

Did he want more or was it enough?

My 12 year old eats about that much. But she's quite small...my 8 year old would eat less. But kids are different....it doesn't look too much to me.

Put it on a sideplate, its the gaps from the food being spaced out across a big plate that makes the portion look small.

Looks fine to me. I would probably offer more veg too, but realistically the amount you have put on the plate is the absolute most the 5 year olds here would eat (I'm a childminder)

I think more veg and less potatoes and only 2 fish fingers at your ds age. The plate is large so makes to difficult to judge.

www.cwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CHEW-5-11Years-PracticalGuide.pdf

I find this is a really straight forward document, with clear age related guidelines. Plate size is discussed as a smaller plate makes the food look more and leads often to greater contentment.

The amount is fine as is the combo and the guesstimate of Kcals for one meal for a young child.

It is just a standard sized plate! my plates are not huge!