Talk to me about feeding a 4 year old boy please

[FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010]

For the last few days he has been saying he is hungry a lot, he was crying at 9pm last night saying he was hungry but settled to sleep with a drink. He had had 2 helpings of roast dinner for tea and then food after that too. His appetite had grown once he started full time school last month but just lately he seems to asking for food a lot. He is 4 and 8 months.

Maybe he's having a growth spurt? My DS1 is 4.5 and he eats like a horse, despite having gone through a fussy phase about a year ago.

Does he have school dinners? Do you know how much of it he eats? The dinner ladies might be able to keep an eye on him if you are worried about this.

It might just be that he's finding school very stimulating and it's genuinely making him hungry. We get through gallons of milk and lots of bananas!

have a 5 yr old ds.

he has a 3 course breakfast (eggs, cereal, toast), then snack and dinner at school, snack when he finishes (hot chocoloate and banana)plus enormous tea and dessert and then drink and fruit/biscuit before bed.

think it's quite normal.

if he says he's hungry i feed him.

i would double check your lo is eating his lunch properly though?

He has school dinners and tbh the food is good quality but the amounts are smaller than I would like.

I always take him a snack to have as soon as he comes out of school and he has 3 other meals.

His feet have grown so it could be a growth spurt. He sometimes refuses the food offered though so that makes me question if he really is hungry.

Fab - I find ds's (4.10) appetite varies - somedays he has hollow legs, other days he eats more 'normal' amounts (ie about what I have at 3 meals, plus snacks!). On days that his evening main course has just been inhaled, we try to top up during the meal, but we fill him up with yoghurt with porridge oats on top to keep him going - he will quite happily eat 200g yoghurt, and on a hungry day will have this with, say, 4 dessert spoons of porridge oats and perhaps some grapes...

He has just had tea -

3 helpings of fresh pasta, carrots and broccoli.
Yogurt.
Mini pain au chocolate.
Still said hungry but seems to have vanished when I offered him bread only.

Yogurt with porridge oats sounds good. Can you eat the oats raw?

Yes - and we buy the 500g tubs of yoghurt rather than let him eat 4 - 6 of the pots

The porridge oats can be sprinkled on top and are fine to eat like that - they are the basis for muesli which is also eaten normally without cooking. He occasionally has other breakfast cereal 'sprinkles' but on hungry days its definitely oats, possibly with a small amount of another cereal - keeps the energy relatively long-burn and sustaining (otherwise we get woken up at 3am by 'is it breakfast time - I'm hungry' !)

I am definitely going to start putting raw porridge oats on top of his cereal and yogurt. I also have started buying the big yogurt pots. One normally does one meal with my 3.

always include some protein in the meal too - helps keep them fuller for longer?

New ideas for protein would be great, please.

If there is no worry about nut allergies, nuts are a good source of protein - ds likes to crunch up a brazil nut sometimes - but I normally get them in by stealth by mixing chopped nuts into his oats. Nut butters also good for spreading on toast.

Yoghurt - you'd also get some protein from that anyway.

Humous dips with veg or toast fingers to dip in - its a good snack too - we make our own humous with a can of chickpeas, some tahini (like peanut butter but made with sesame seeds) and whatever flavouring you want - we often add a little lemon juice and a bit of garlic and paprika - but sundried tomatoes might be more children-friendly.

Not great on non-vege things though (sorry) - ds eats meat but only what dh has cooked for him as I don't eat or cook it!

I want to start them on peanut butter as I think we would know by now if there was an allergy issue. On toast would be great as we all enjoy that.

I would love to make humous and I think ds2 likes it so that is a definate option.

Tonight we are having lamb with red wine and onions, mash and carrots. Probably green beans too. Can't wait. Making me hungry thinking about it.

Fab, I think many little boys can be like this! My ds is now 8 and eats me out of house and home. Shool dinners might be quite small - I do a snack as soon as they get home, toast, sandwich, wrap, and then proper cooked meal at about 5.30. Before bath at 7 he quite often needs a bowl of cereal. He is as skinny as a rake but very active.

Some people don't advocate it but I went back to full fat milk to drink and for porridge/cereals and cooking as he seemed to need the calories. At this rate, we might have to get a bigger house simply to accomodate the bigger fridge/freezer we will need to feed him at age 15....

I have kept mine on full fat milk as I think they can take the extra calories as they are all slim and eat well. I am a bit wary as I think sometimes he wants to eat as he is bored.

Ds has decided he doesn't like the cream on the full fat milk - it makes him wretch if in a mug or on his cereal - so we have to stick with the 1/2 fat - but mine would also probably be on full-fat milk if he drank it - and often has 'normal' rather than 'fat free' yoghurt (which I eat)

DS has days where it seems he cannot eat enough and then others where he isn't hungry much at all.

He goes through phases. Gets hungry, gets chubby, gets sore legs at night, then goes BANG and it is time to go buy him new clothes/shoes because everything is suddenly 2 inches too short and he is back to skinny again - happens every few months or so - is very expensive!

We don't do low fat here, we eat "normal" food interfered with as little as possible (without being obsessive about it). DS would down double cream as a drink if I let him.

Fab - both my boys are big eaters (2 and 4)

They usualy have either a bowl of porridge or two peices of taosta s wella s a peice of ruit and apot of yoghurt.

Morning tea is usually a mix plate of cutup fruit and veggies and cod meat such as ham or leftover chicken.

Lunch will either be salad sandwiches or two peanut butter sandwiches (with crusts).

Then afternoon tea is something along thhe lines of whatever i feel like cooking!! Plain popcorn, baked beans, soup and bread, another salad plate. Then they usually aso have another peice of fruit around 4.

Then there is dinner, which, in varying degrees is meat and three veg. They will eat a load of this. The meat and three can tk the basic form or lasagne, with hidden veg, spag bol with hidden veg, quesadillas with sausages inside (have a YUMMY recipe for this!), chicken kiev...depends on how tired I am at night!!

Hope that makes you feel better!!!

Oh! Just thought I would add, when i sent DS2 to school and he took lunch, he would take two pieces of fruit, two sandwiches a yoghurt and two biscuits and would come home ravenous!!

DS1 not 2!! LOL

DS will get up with DH in the morning at 6ish, have breakfast with him and then have second breakfast with me at around 7:30ish. Then there is fruit time at school at around 10ish, followed by a packed lunch (quite largish), followed by an afternoon snack when we get home, followed by dinner.

He is as thin as a rake and runs and runs and runs so needs the food.

Just had another thought....

Another great snack after school to get them through till dinner is cous cous. Mix with a little cinnamon and chinese 5 spice, fry off a little red onion and mix YUM!! Also try adding tuna to this as well. Lots of omega 3's (I also add chilli to mine)

Usually I take home made muffins or some crackers for their after school snack as they have tea between 4-5pm. No way could they wait until DH gets home and it would be too near bed time anyway. I think I am perhaps feeding them enough food but maybe not the right food in terms of what keeps them feeling full for longer.

Loving this thread as DS is 4.4 and can eat like a horse - when all I offer is fruit after a big meal/dessert and he takes it I know it is definite hunger - when he says no I think he trying it on for treats!

Its made me wonder now in terms of not giving him the right foods to keep him fuller for longer. He won't eat meat as in chicken/beef/turkey but likes steak mince so trying as much as possible for different things to make......will be watching for ideas on here

Protein is very important. Also if they are eating tea that early are they eating again before bedtime? DS would be hungry again by 8 if we ate that early.

His snack is at about 4ish and then tea about 6:30ish.

firstly, dose him for threadworm.

Secondly, check he eats lunch.

Thirdly, give him a wodge of flapjack when he comes out f school

He doesn't have threadworm

He eats lunch

And I wouldn't always give fruit as a pudding or snack. It's great for vitamins, flavour and fibre, it is actually a bit weak if what you need is extra calories.

chpped fruit with cream works well.