Forever hungry

likabu_2

Argh - wrote a big post and then it disappeared into cyberspace but the gist of it was -

My DS is 6 and is constantly hungry too. He can have a decent sized Sunday dinner then 20 minutes later he is "starving" (his words). The fact that he is asking for fruit, yogurts, toast or cereal and not rubbish means that I let him pick one of the above, after I offer him a drink, just to be sure.

It's a good idea to take your DD to the GP just to put your own mind at rest because as parents it's things like these that can seem little to other people but when we experience them we worry about until we are told otherwise.

Are you still in touch with your Health visitors? Mine are great and they were monitoring my DS's weight and height until recently as he had pyloric stenosis at 11 weeks old.

The fact that my DS's legs have gone all skinny and spindly and his knees have become nobbly, I am not worrying too much as he is happy and healthy seeming. Plus as the weather is pleasant at the moment, the boys have been playing out more often in the garden, on the trampoline and we have been taking long walks to the local country park - they are using up loads more calories.

Lisa

misty

If she's eating healthy foods as you say - could you try upping her portion size a bit (if it's not already huge!) My son 7 eats pretty large portions of meals - a big bowl of porridge, a large bowl of pasta etc. He doesn't ask that often for snacks and I think it is because he fills up on his meals.

sticher

is she is eating a good meal 3x a day then she doesnt really need anything inbetween

Sorry I disagree with this. Children only have small stomachs and need loads of calories, which often can not be supplied in only 3 meals. I have 3 children (oldest is 15 today!) and they are always snacking - on anything and everything.

Eldest would think nothing of eating 4-5 pieces of fruit as ONE snack and even as a toddler could eat a pound of grapes as one snack!

They eat their meals (youngest has a separate problem with food though) and I allow them to snack as and when they like (often on whatever they like as they don't really eat many sweets, although they do like cakes and crisps).

None of them are overweight and are all very healthy!

I do not believe in stopping a child from eating if they are hungry - especially if they are willing to eat healthy snacks and are not overweight!

aliasojo

As long as she isn't overweight (therefore IS eating too much) or underweight (perhaps isn't absorbing required nutrients despite eating a lot) then you just have a child with a healthy appetite.

Personally, I dont agree with restricting food. Junk, yes.....healthy food, no. Unless a child is obese of course, then you may have to think differently for their sake.

Kids have mental growth spurts as well as physical ones and her mental development needs fuel too.

I wouldn't worry about her tbh.


Edit: One person's view of what is 'normal' isn't another's. My daughter is 8 and is in the middle of her correct height/weight range. She eats well (unless she's been filling up on junk food supplied by a frined's Mum that is!) and we have no concerns with her appetite/development at all.

Her little friend on the other hand is obese. The Doc told her parents to put her on a diet as she is really quite big. The parents were angry that this was suggested as they say it's only puppy fat. (It's not, lol...the child IS obese.)

Anyway, my daughter was at their house for tea and the Mum phones to tell me my daughter is a picky eater. :rotfl: I asked my daughter what she had to eat and it sounds like their portion size would have fitted in well with the 'Supersize Me' program. No wonder she couldn't finish it. But to the other Mum, this was normal to her so it's not surprising she thought my daughter's appetite wasn't normal.

Mojisola

searching_me wrote: »

no health problems and shes a good weight 3 and a half stone and has been for about a year but she has grown quiet abit shes 1metre 14cm now

i feed her heathly and lots of fruit i do give her the odd treat but im careful

Children need to eat a lot when they're going through a growth spurt - on top of what they need to fuel their normal activities. Remember that what's considered a healthy diet for an adult is not the best for a growing child - they are eating (usually) smaller portions but need plenty of calories.

Look to foods that are very filling and don't give her low-fat versions of milk, yoghurts, etc - the growing body needs fat!

searching_me

thanks you lot your all diamonds xx

onlyroz

Wish I could get my boy to eat his dinner...

searching_me

my DD use to be really fussing about eating her dinner about a year ago once she realised there was nothing else apart from bed ...she ate it

crispeater

oh thank the lord its not just me!! although i have 1 of each, eat a lot & eat nothing.

my dd who will be 5 next month says she's hungry even when she's just eaten her dinner. twice a week she has dinners at after school club and generally tells me she ate it all and had pudding and then asks can she have some crisps or a biscuit or a lolly, all of these are followed with a no you cant but you can have some fruit when you get home. her packed lunches are either ham an cucumber wraps, tuna pasta salad, ham & cheese kebabs or a sandwich along with about 4 pieces of fruit. if you ask her if she'd like a drink she always asks for orange juice or water (because its full of minerals that help her grow! her words not mine! lol) i'm very conscious of her weight as i've been overweight since i was a teenager and really dont want her to be. i sometimes feel that i'm making her eat healthy and that when she lets go of the apron springs a bit that she will just pig out on cr&p iyswim so i do wonder if im doing right.. i do let her have treats but i mean the kid can eat for England!
then on the other hand my nearly 3 yr old son is such a picky eater. he doesnt like meat will only eat sweetcorn & carrots doesnt like potato not even chips. he will eat pasta in any tomato based sauce and will even eat a curry. he loves cheese, homous, grapes he can eat a whole bag in 1 day and has been known too! he loves all fruit especially blueberries he will eat a whole punnet of those without blinking. on the days he eats a lot he will balance that out by not eating for a couple of days.. he will go 2 days with just eating a croissant in the morning and that would be it. i'd offer everything and be met with a no.

i've now come to the conclusion that some days i will have to cook seperate meals if i want them all to eat and that i have a piglet and a rabbit lol and i love them dearly i just hope i'm eeyore and not pooh!

searching_me

the blueberries i have to hide or i never see them :rotfl: but yer any fruit and if theres strawberries i have to hold her back from charging and eating the lot in one mouth full... your not the only one ive had a weight problem all my life as well i was 13stone at 13 so you can imagine my fear of it happening to her but shes so hyperactive and is always doing something i pray she just burns it off xxx