Overweight/underweight child.

JodyBPM

I've got two children who are at opposite ends of the spectrum. DD is rather chunky (although I wouldn't call her fat, she's very solid built and I wouldn't want her to get any bigger), DS is a beanpole.

Both my children are good eaters, eating pretty much everything I serve up, including all fruit and veg. They have cereal/porridge for breakfast, a packed lunch at school (sandwich, fruit, veg sticks, yoghurt, penguin) and a decent evening meal - whatever we are eating - in the evening (typically spag bol, meat, veg & pots, sweet and sour, lasagne, cottage pie, stir fries etc, but sometimes fishfingers or turkey burgers etc) I'd say there portion is between half and 2/3rds of an adult one.

DS has started to say he's hungry and can't sleep at bedtime! He's pretty skinny and I've been happy to give him a snack at bedtime, but I feel that I should be addressing more what he eats during the day, rather than giving him a cereal bar to eat just before bed. Also, when he gets something, of course DD wants something too, and she really doesn't need the extra cals, she's eating 3 good meals, and is on the chunky side, so I don't think she needs a snack before bed. (dd is 7 and ds 6, so they have the same bedtime)

I have been slipping extra bits into DS's lunch during the term time, but in the hols, I won't even have the opportunity to do that!

Any suggestions as to how to up DS calorie intake without making DD overweight, and without her feeling like she's being deprived?

peachyprice

Just give your son a bigger portion of the same stuff your daughter is having.

Cunningly disguise this by putting her portion on a smaller plate so that hers looks like it's really full and his looks like it's not.

gunsandbanjos

Cereal bars are empty calories and are generally packed with sugar so I wouldn't be giving that as a bedtime snack. If my DD was hungry before bed I'd probably give her a glass of full fat milk.

mazza111

First of all, I'd like to say, I don't see your daughter as chunky, she looks like a healthy child. As for your DS. Well, I had the same problem with mine, it was like feeding a bottomless pit at times. My lass ate less and was still a better build than him. I think as long as they are both healthy, carry on with what you are doing. I spent years being referred to dietitians with my DS because they kept telling me he was underweight and it was a total waste of time and resources. He was and still is a naturally thin person. He's a beanpole! Looks even thinner now that he's all grown up and is taller than me, but again, he's got a healthy appetite, so I've given up worrying about his weight.

If they both want a snack at bedtime, why not have something low fat like a bowl of cereal. Encourage your lass to have this and maybe give your lad an extra slice of toast. I think boys and girls tend to have a very different shape, as long as you're giving them both a healthy diet you needn't worry :0

JodyBPM

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

Cereal bars are empty calories and are generally packed with sugar so I wouldn't be giving that as a bedtime snack. If my DD was hungry before bed I'd probably give her a glass of full fat milk.

Oh, I know that they're not ideal, he's just caught me on the hop the last few nights, and it was a quick and easy solution. Not sure he'd be satisfied with milk, as he wants something to eat, not drink. I could tell him til he's blue in the face that milk will fill him up, and he won't believe me, and it'll just create a pre-bedtime row (its already the danger point of the day where he's tired and struggles to hold his self control in the way he does during the day)

Might try the different size plate thing, but not convinced that will fool DD, and if we give DS the same size plate as us, she'll want that too!

Nan63

I don't see your DD as chunky either, she looks like a perfectly fit and healthy little girl.

What time do they have their evening meal? Is it too early? I only ask as my daughter realised she was giving her son his dinner at 4.30 pm ish and he wasn't going to bed until 7.30pm so of course he was hungry again by then.

She changed - giving him an afterschool snack (cheese, banana, yoghurt, occasionally biscuits/crisps) and then his dinner at 6pm. This with a glass of milk just before bed and he was fine. She also found he was sleeping in a bit longer in the morning, perhaps only half an hour or so but we all know how important a bit more sleep is!

Buttonmoons

There is nothing wrong with your DD at all. Infact thinking that she is a bit chunky will probably do more damage than if she was a bit. She looks like a normal sized, happy little girl to me.

Chakani

Both your children look a healthy shape to me. If they want a healthy snack, I wouldn't stop them, and I certainly wouldn't be giving your daughter any suggestions that she is chunky/large. She is at that age where she is about to shoot up, whereas her brother won't get to that stage for several years.

fannyanna

Your little girl looks perfect.

I know you would never say something direct to her about her weight but be very careful about letting any little comments slip. You don't want to give her a complex.

minimoneysaver

You could give your son full fat milk and your daughter skim milk before bed, that way they are both getting milk, just different calorie intake. I do agree that your daughter shouldn't be gaining weight, but I wouldn't consider her to be overweight. I did a study recently to discover the differences in movement between boys and girls on a playground. You may be interested to know that your son is probably moving around twice as much as your daughter during playtimes at school. Is your daughter in after school clubs such as dance and swimming?

raven83

Buttonmoons wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with your DD at all. Infact thinking that she is a bit chunky will probably do more damage than if she was a bit. She looks like a normal sized, happy little girl to me.

I was thinking the same, she isn't big at all! My DD1 9 is really small and very slender, but DD2 8 is bigger built and has more meat on her but is no way what i would call chunky. Sometimes my older dd will say she wishes she was bigger like dd2 and dd2 will say she wishes she was smaller like dd1, I am very careful at how I handle it and what I say as I don't want to give them a complex, saying that if DD2 did become chunky then I would address it. Your DD isn't chunky at all, I see girls at my DDs school who are "chunky". She just has a different build that's all and I certainly wouldn't want to make her feel as if she is big, because as said above that can be a lot more damaging.