Bit worried

[Astrid34]

Hi everyone. Just looking for a bit of advice or tips. My daughter is 6 years old and seems to be eating an awful lot. I’ve tried forever to try and get her to eat fruit and veg…she will stretch to peas in a pod and apples and strawberries but trying to get her to eat a healthy diet is proving very difficult. School says that she eats all her dinner which is great, it’s a tiny school she goes to and the dinners are fantastic

its just i noticed that I bought some clothes today in a size up and very tight across her tummy

it doesn’t help I’m an appalling cook. Would it be a good idea to maybe buy a recipe book ?. I would never ever make it an issue, I have dealt with an eating disorder way before she was born, went to therapy and have a good relationship with food now

please no hate,I’m just a worried mum who could do with advice on how as a parent I can help try to better the food!

Kids often grow out before they get taller! Maybe a growth spurt on the way.
What does a typical days diet look like?

Breakfast is a bit of a non starter normally as she’s never hungry in morn however she did have a dippy egg this morn with a slice of toast then asked for another egg which I made, she then had snacks of 2 yogurts, strawberries, a bit of dairy milk and a tuna sandwich for lunch. In the space of 10 minutes she said she was hungry again and had another tuna sandwich.

late afternoon before tea she had some crisps (tried offering more fruit or suggesting tea wouldn’t be long)..then tea was mashed potatoes with fish and peas (she wouldn’t eat the peas) then 2 yogurts

shes now hungry again! Am I over reacting?

Oh and a cheese scone!

What yogurts are they? 4 in one day seems like a fair amount of excess sugar.

They are the munch bunch ones. She was having the petit fluer ones but has gone off them. It’s like she will happily eat certain foods then after a while just say “I don’t like that anymore”. When she says she hungry tho I offer loads of different things and she says no so I’m wondering if it is actual hunger she is feeling

I'm not anti yogurt (my kids have one each day if they want) but 4 is around 37g of sugar. Recommended is 19g for a 6 year old. Plus 340 calories for 4 not very filling yogurts.

She only needs the 1. That's an easy win before looking at anything else that she eats.

It's hard. I have a dc that presents with very challenging issues around food and eating but it's really important to try and set some sort of boundaries where possible.

At 6, what she eats is up to you. You can say no, you've had enough of those today but you can have (insert suitable alternative).
She might be bored or she might be thirsty.
This gives a nice easy framework of calories and foods.
www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/how-many-calories-does-a-child-of-7-10-need/
I would say 4 yogurts a day - as an example - is too many. I'd offer a yogurt either as a stand alone snack or after one meal. But after one a day, I'd probably refuse to let my DD have another.
It's really easy to fall into bad habits but habits can be changed. It's fine to have crisps some of the time, but maybe offer something like breadsticks as an alternative.
Cooking with her is a nice way to experiment with foods and try new things together. I used to have a book by Annabel Karmel that had some nice child friendly meals in. I still make the apple crumble now.

I would also avoid offering too many choices. I'd usually offer only 2 or 3 at the most. So fruit/plain biscuit/rice cake for example.

Focus on serving her balanced meals. Your job is to provide healthy food. Bare minimum of 5 portions of veg and fruit a day, ideally more. Not too much processed food and no food with lots of added sugar.

Try things like bolognaise with lots of hidden veg, Greek yoghurt with fruit kebabs.

I understand it’s my job but I can’t force feed her with foods she hates.

I understand it’s my job but I can’t force feed her with foods she hates.

4 yoghurts is far too much. Things like that don’t fill them up and are super sugary so they are obviously going to want more but it’s down to you to control her diet. Giver her 1 as a snack, she doesn’t get another when she’s finished.
A lot of the time kids complain about being ‘hungry’ but they are just bored and want snacky junk. Offer a banana or an apple only and the hungry soon disappears!

If it is actually close to dinner it’s fine to say no and not give crisps and say she needs to wait for dinner. She’s not going to starve waiting an extra 45 mins.
My mum never would have allowed us to have crisps right before dinner when she was working hard to make a meal for everyone.
Remember you are the parent, it’s not about trying to deprive her but there is no need to give into a child’s demands all the time.

I understand it’s my job but I can’t force feed her with foods she hates
You're not force feeding her. You're teaching her to make better choices and develop self regulation. These are incredibly important life skills and will benefit her health long term.
So when she asks for a second or third yogurt, you say no. Enough yogurt for one day, but you can have fruit/crackers etc. It's her choice then.
She refuses? Then she's probably not really that hungry.
It's really not unusual for a young child to eat a limited range of foods. At this age I probably had 5 meals on rotation with my DD. She still is quite restricted in what she has compared to her peers, but she good at knowing when she actually is hungry and stops when she is full.
I can leave sweets and biscuits out and she can help herself but she will have a portion of something and stop. (She is older than 6 now but would have been pretty good even back then). I've never had to put treat foods out of reach.

I feel your pain. I have a six year old who is hungry all the time, and who will tantrum, negotiate and argue to get the food she wants. It’s a real flashpoint for us. I’ve got a thread about it somewhere, because she’s also not very active and I do worry about her weight.

As PPs have said, you do just need to hold the boundary. Offer healthy, balanced meals (make sure she’s getting enough protein, because that really helps you feel full). And then beyond that, have a really clear list your mind of what foods you’ll offer as snacks - for me it’s apples and other fruit, breadsticks, hummus, sometimes digestive biscuit or a small Soreen bar but not before eating.

Then you have to hold really really firm to those being the options.

Of course my DC get treats too, and possibly more than the Mumsnet recommended amount! But a treat is a treat and it’s never offered in response to the usual whining about being hungry.

It’s really hard and exhausting.

And yes, in m response to the force feeding question, no, of course you can’t. It’s your job to offer the food you think is good for her. And it’s her job to eat it or not.

I have the opposite problem - my 5yo is also constantly hungry but so picky she barely eats. We are under a dietician but it's v stressful. I think people who have faced eating issues one way or another don't get how dominating it can be

There's a great Facebook page called 'my kids eat in color' (American). My 5yo and 8yo love to try to eat the rainbow and look at screenshot of that page to see what goodness the colours is giving them eg red fruits / veg are good for the heart. We also sometimes make a chart of squares, line power family member, stick it on the fridge and 'race' our fridge magnets to see why can get over 5 a day. Maybe we're weird...
Don't get me wrong my kids turn their nose up at all sorts of foods.
I also think girls clothes come up small.
Agree with pp's about those yogurts though. If she's hungry go for more protein maybe.

Does she normally eat this much or is it a recent thing?

I can’t Thankyou enough for all your comments and will be trying out these suggestions!!

I became a single parent a little while ago and just stressing over everything, I feel like I’m failing a bit as a mum, I’m going to order the cook book that was mentioned above also

I have definitely noticed a difference in the past few months

I second this recommendation. She’s on Insta too and is very friendly and supportive in vibe.

You're not failing. You're astute to your child's needs and trying to find ways to help her.
That's brilliant parenting.

You could be describing my 6yo D's with the constant eating. But my ds is well within the healthy range.

For DS I'd say no more than 1 yoghurt a day (and I don't allow sweetened ones - natural yoghurt with fresh fruit if it needs a sweetener) and crisps are a treat so only once/twice a week.

If he (or ds2) says he's hungry and doesn't want the fruit/buttered toast/drink that's offered then they wait till the next meal. I don't then allow them to eat sugary yoghurts or crisps.

As an adult I find that if I eat a lot of sugary/junk food I get a taste for it and fresh (healthier) food doesn't taste as good. You can change your tastes by eating healthier for a week or 2. To me, it sounds like this is one of the issues for your DD

If she likes eggs can you boil them
In batches and keep them in tuppaware in the fridge as a health snack. Eggs are protein rich so should be filling.

Agree with PP re yoghurts and sugar. One a day or two absolute max and only if that is her chosen desert. She will only crave more sugar
If she eats a lot of it.

The rainbow plate is a great idea.

Another idea is something like guosto or hello fresh, they have a wide range of meals which change each week and the ingredients get delivered to your door. She could choose a few meals then help you make them? It'll very likely encourage her to eat them too. You can cancel the subscription anytime and you get the recipes of the meals to keep once you've ordered it so if she likes it you could get the ingredients from the supermarket instead of online in the future. They have good deals on your first few orders and hopefully she'll find a few healthy balanced meals she likes you could put into a rotation.