Does anyone else have trouble filling their children?

[snugglebum]

I'm having trouble feeding my children at the moment especially my 8 year old daughter.
They have what I would call a fairly healthy diet. They have cereal for breakfast, a mid morning snack, a sandwich and crisps for lunch and fruit, then they snack all afternoon on fruit or maybe some biscuits if my oh is home. Then for dinner they have a meal and dessert.
But for some reason my daughter I always asking for more food. I just cannot afford for them to eat much more. And she eats a bigger portion and more than most adults I know.
Snugglebum xxxx

[Waxy Bean]

Some children just eat a lot - especially when they are going through growth spurts. S (at 17 months) eats more than me.

I just give him filling foods as snacks rather than fruit, such as fruit loaf or muffins (english ones toasted with butter and marmite or jam), and make sure he has porridge for breakfast.

[Bop]

Mine eat as much as me - in fact my nine year old eats more!!

I tend to let them snack on toast or weetabix (own brand) and bulk meals out with lots of pasta, rice and potatoes.

Bop

[kelly]

My 8 (nearly 9) year old is eating loads just now, I'm putting it down to a growth spurt.

[snugglebum]

I've tried the pasta and potatoe route and between them they eat a whole pasta bake. When I make cottage pie and Lasagne and such I have to use double of everything.
U wouldn't believe how much A eats as she is sooooo skinny she almost looks like she doesn't eat a thing xx

[Rez]

DD is driving me mad with this right now. She's constantly mithering for food and at friend's houses, it's particularly embarrassing. No matter how many snacks I give her, or how big the meals are, she'll just keep eating.

[Lilybett]

L is EXACTLY the same. It doesn't matter how filling or big her meals/snacks are she is hungry 10 mins later. I actually can't afford to keep up with her appetite!!

[lazymummy]

Ds#2 is like this-and is INCREDIBLY fussy so I'm really limited as to what he will eat. He wants cereal/toast/crisps ALL THE TIME and it drives me :loco:

[LibertyGal72]

What sort of cereal do the children eat? Porridge oats are relatively cheap and actually more filling than some other cereals.

[Dynamo]

My DS is like this too. a typical day is 2 weetabix (or bowl of porridge) followed by cereal, yoghurt and a cup of tea. Lunch of either cooked school dinner or soup and a roll or 3 or four sandwiches plus fruit and yoghurt. Cooked supper - pasta, stew or rice dish followed by yoghurt. He does not really get snacks besides fruit, but I reckon he is getting three proper meals a day and should be satisfied. But he would take any food offered at any second of the day and frequently eats a second cooked breakfast on weekends, an hour after the first!

I can't *wait* for teenagerhood.

[ChelseaHarvey]

Yes i do Alfie is constantly saying he is hungry

He has a good diet loads of fruit, he has the normal crisps/chocolate every day with his lunch but he also has about 3 peices of fruit through the day along with breakfast, tea & a pudding

For the past few weeks though all i get off him is "Im hungry" & he is eating more fruit or yogurts

[Mrs B]

I have one of these too, and do stick lots of cheese into him at times like this, the protein fills him up. Not a cheap route, but he's happy with supermarket value stuff!

[Chell]

MIne go through phases, my son was terrible recently but his appetite seems to have settled down again. He'd eat a larger portion of dinner than me and be asking what else he could have before he had even eaten it. I do tend to ask them to wait a short while before they get anything else. I've read that it can take a short while before your brain realises you are full.

[clowe74]

Oh my god, wait until they get bigger. Mine are 13, 12 and 9 and we currently go through at least 2 loaves of bread and 6 pints of milk a day and that is before any fruit/biscuits/crisps etc

I lose count of the boxes of cereal they go through

[L66TTY]

Have you tried offering them a drink instead of food to see if they are actually thirsty not hungry the thirst and hunger triggers are very similar and often confussed.

[Helski]

DD is only 4 (and really teeny) but is ALWAYS hungry! Crikey that girl can eat :lol:

[Faith]

At 8 she could be laying down fat for puberty- they need fat for oestrogen production.

If it's just a money thing I'm not sure of the solution, except to fill her up on pasta/bread/potatoes and other cheaper stuff.

As long as she's healthy, and a healthy weight.

[snugglebum]

Oh yeh A is perfectly healthy in fact i would say shes healthier than the 2 boys who are 3 1/2 and 19 months.

At least i know im not the only one who has problems filling my children.

Its just so hard xx

[Moffgal]

Defo not the only one! I posted a smiliar thread the other day. Both boys are eating loads at the mo. Breakfast today is 2 weetabix, 2 slices of toast, a yoghurt and a banana and a handful of apricots. And DS2 has just been swiping the toast off my plate as well!

[Nettie]

DS1 is like this - always has been. We just can't seem to fill him up in the slightest. I dread the days of having 3 teenage boys in the house and what the food bill will be like at that point.

[*kate*]

My kids are always eating as well, but tbh some of it is greed/boredom. I think if they aren't completely occupied then they eat (a bit like me!) When they have mates round the biscuit tin/crisp basket is always empty.

Providing some higher protein snacks does help, as well as filling up on cheaper stuff like pasta/potatoes at mealtimes. I sometimes make a tortilla with smoked salmon or chorizo and slice it (because if you don't slice it they just hack into it and take massive slices!) or chicken drumsticks. Or one of those daft "hedgehog" things that people used to make for parties, with cheese/pineapple/hot dogs!

My food bill is astronomical :faint: