Am I feeding my 8 year old enough?

[Eileen101]

What does an average day of food intake look like for other 8 year olds?
My boy is constantly saying he's hungry, even when he has not long had a full dinner in the evening. I am trying to work out whether I am not actually giving him enough or whether he is just moaning.
A typical day:
Breakfast:
Bowl of porridge or overnight oats
A weetabix or piece of toast
Water to drink.

School snack- breads ticks/ Jacobs crackers. I always pack apples too but he leaves them.

School lunch - he always has the hot dinner option with some form of cake.

After school - fruit at After school club or a biscuit or something if he comes straight home.

Dinner - if they're at After school club, a lighter tea - sandwiches/bagel (chicken, or tuna or cheese). The bread is homemade and relatively filling, along with tomatoes, cucumber, a fruit, a homemade biscuit/cake or yoghurt.
If there's a club on like swimming, I cook a dinner (vegetarian as I cook one family dinner) - spaghetti bolognese with a lentil base, bean and lentil chilli etc.
He has a really good portion of whatever - usually not far off what I'd have as a 5 foot 6 adult with an average BMI

This is with Water regularly.

Would it help if I switched to full fat milk?

He is small in height in comparison to his peers and he's slim - only just gone into 7-8 clothing at 8.5 years. Also his sister is petite too so i think it's a family build. I thought i was feeding him well, but I'm not sure now.

Is this average? Am I doing it wrong? Is this just it now as I'll have a teenage boy at some point?

My very petite just turned 9yo who still wears 7-8 clothes, could not survive on that, she’d be begging me for more food constantly.

If you know he dosnt like apples, pack something else, cucumber, carrots, bananas, berries….

My DDs (all petite) would come out of school ravenous, I’d always have something for them, especially if going straight to activity and they would still get a usual evening meal after and desert.

Is he allowed to help himself to food? All mine do, though my 9yo may ask for help. If they are hungry I let them eat.

Sorry but your list sounds very restrictive and not enough for a growing child.

Your daily menu looks light on protein. Could you include eggs or cheese with breakfast, or a home-made smoothie with full fat yoghurt?

This! If he’s hungry, give him healthy options. It’s pretty carby though and not much protein especially if you’re insisting on feeding him veggie, you need to do a much better job of protein. My almost 8yo will eat for example:

Eggy bread 2-3 thick slices using up 2 eggs (more than I would eat), bowl of fruit, 2 pieces of bacon.

small bagel and cream cheese
Half apple
spinach leaves
slice of ham

granola bar type thing (fruit and nuts only in it)
homemade small muffin made with yogurt
a handful of crackers

random raw veg (equivalent of a big carrot)
70ish g pasta
a cup or so of a homemade meat based pasta sauce
1/4 Parmesan cheese

She is not overweight and if she’s hungry, we will always offer healthy food, ie, yogurt (plain with a bit of jam), whole-wheat toast, veggies, fruit, crackers with salmon spread etc.

only drinks water or herbal tea

If a child tells you they’re hungry then they are. Have an open fruit bowl policy and a shelf in the fridge where you keep hummus/healthy snacks like yoghurt etc so he can help himself after dinner. I grew up with 3 brothers, they literally don’t stop eating. I can recall them having a cooked meal and then making sandwiches/cheese on toast at 9pm, so just let him! Autonomy over food is really important, no one should ask permission to eat in their family home. Not saying he is but it’s important he can help himself as well :)

That doesn’t really seem like a lot to me. My DCs are petite but do a lot of sport and they come home from school hungry every day and will have a snack followed by something substantial eg chicken sandwich and fruit, nuts, cheese bagel, plate of pasta or homemade burger. Then later in the evening will also eat a proper cooked dinner. If they tell me they’re hungry then I will definitely give them more food.

I quite agree with this.
He needs a full dinner every night @Eileen101 and definitely full fat milk.

You need to increase the quantity of breakfast, too.