Advice needed re: diet for 6 year old

MrsSippi · 9 October 2017 at 2:11PM

I have a 6 yo daughter and I am slightly worried about her weight. Maybe worried is a bit strong but you get the idea....

She has always been on the slim side anyway but now she looks almost skinny. She was weighed and measured a couple of years ago as part of the Reception Heights and Weights programme and it came back that she was a healthy weight.

I would like to know what other people with kids (esp daughters) of the same age eat so I can gauge if she's eating enough. I really don't think she has any issues with food or anything and will quite often say she's hungry but she just doesn't seem to put much weight on. I don't really want to take her to the gp or anything as I don't think it's needed yet. She is always quite active.

Generally she will have a bowl of cereal/boiled eggs/toast for breakfast. I have tried to give her more but she says she's full up. She will often have a piece of fruit on the way to school then she has fruit mid morning as well as a hot lunch (which she says she eats most of - i dont think she's lying about this and I know the school contacts parents if your child is consistently undereating). She has a snack of a sandwich or similar on way home from school then a cup of milk/crackers/yoghurt when she gets in then a cooked meal when DH gets home.

Is this not enough? I would love some advice on this ......

pinkshoes · 9 October 2017 at 2:40PM

This seems a completely normal amount for a 6 year old.

Mine (boy) eats 2 slices of toast or a bowl of porridge for breakfast, school lunch, then fruit for a snack, then dinner.

His portion sizes are quite big but he also does a lot of running about.

Lots of 6 year olds are skinny things! As long as she is not feeling tired and run down then she is clearly getting enough energy.

Is she very active?

PasturesNew · 9 October 2017 at 2:42PM

From that list ... it's possible she eats more than me some days! And I'm a bit older than 6 and in no way in danger of slipping into the cracks in the pavement.

Maybe you're just used to seeing fatter kids these days, that doesn't make yours skinny ... but "just right".

MrsSippi · 9 October 2017 at 2:54PM

Thanks for the replies. You could well be right and she is just smaller than her classmates. She does swimming lessons too and she always seems to be the skinniest one there. She also plays a lot in the park so she is quite active. I've asked the school nursing team to just do a quick weight check when they're next in school so that should tell me definitely if it is something I should be worried about.

Baby_Angel · 9 October 2017 at 3:00PM

That sounds like my daughter when she was 6. We used to worry as she was skinny and wouldn't want to snack on anything, like other children her age did. We made sure whatever she ate was healthy, but often encouraged her to eat more.

She is now 10. About a year ago she started having much larger portions although nothing had changed in her lifestyle. She is constantly hungry and I thought she was gaining a bit of weight, especially around her tummy. Now we don't encourage her anymore. She still eats healthy and looks much slimmer than her peers, but her meal portions are sometimes bigger than mine:eek: So we do control what and how much she eats now, though we don't tell her that. I don't want her to be conscious of her weight or even think about it, when she is a pretty healthy and active girl.

peachyprice · 9 October 2017 at 3:11PM

I have a very slim daughter, she's always eaten like a sparrow and would rather graze than have a large meal, she's just never had the capacity for a lot of food in one go.

She's always been perfectly fit and healthy, hit her milestones, had beautifully clear skin and strong hair and nails. Her periods came when expected etc., She did go through phases of looking more skinny when she got taller but then filled out again.

I've never made an issue of her weight or eating habits TBH, I think that's asking for trouble. She also likes crackers/yoghurt/cereal, lol. I would just keep and eye on her and let her know it's OK to be naturally slim. There's so much publicity now days about the damage in shaming larger girls, but slim girls can suffer the same abuse from peers, especially as they get older.

Loz01 · 9 October 2017 at 3:11PM

Sounds like me as a 6 year old! I ate normally but was always a bit of a twig mainly because I did gymnastics and football and later on karate! If she's eating "normal" amounts and 3 meals a day I wouldn't panic. Some people are just built smaller (or bigger, you get people also who worry about why their kids are big when they only eat normal sized portions)

onlyroz · 9 October 2017 at 4:30PM

My daughter is 8 and eats like an anorexic sparrow. I was the same when I was a child and my dad used to get very stressed about it - telling me that I had to clean my plate etc etc, which I don't think is a very healthy thing to encourage.

Your daughter's eating habits seem entirely normal.

FBaby · 9 October 2017 at 4:40PM

If she's classed as healthy, she is ok. DD was very skinny for years and was even referred to hospital when her height reached the 90 percentile whilst her weight didn't make the 10 percentile, but the Pediatrician said that as long as she was engaging in activities, eating something however little, and doing ok at school, not sleeping more than normal, then she was healthy and it wasn't a health problems.

She remained very skinny until she started secondary school and then gradually, she filled in everywhere. At 17, she is slim but not skinny any longer, 5'7'' and size 8 and can eat like a horse!

atolaas · 9 October 2017 at 4:43PM

It's difficult not to compare your child to others, but it sounds like she's eating well. Have you checked her height and weight on the growth chart in her red baby book?

rach_k · 9 October 2017 at 5:01PM

Sounds normal to me. You're likely to do more harm than good if you try to make her eat more. You want her to listen to her body, not what other people think of how she looks. Sometimes my 6 year old will eat very little, other times she will eat her own body weight just for breakfast. Kids are pretty good at knowing what they need if you give them lots of healthy options and don't pressure them.

If you're worried, you can weigh her at home (normal weighing scales are accurate enough) and plot it against her age in her red book or download the WHO charts. As long as her weight is increasing roughly in line with her height, I wouldn't worry at all. Don't weigh her often as you want the overall pattern, rather than to see that she hasn't gained weight for 3 months but then gained a load in the next month!

Advice needed re: diet for 6 year old

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free