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Every now and then I stumble upon a post that reminds me there are few parenting issues I have that some other mother hasn't also faced. In the mommy game, we are never really alone. In this case, I realize I have a shared dilemma with the anonymous mother who wrote: "Would you/do you feed your child more food after they just had a full plate?"
The truth is, my son has me a little worried. He's always hungry! Just like anon, we are a pretty healthy eating family; none of us have weight issues. But my 5-year-old kindergartner wants another PB&J, another bowl of oatmeal, another piece of chicken. I learned once from a nutritionist that it takes between 15-20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it's full, and so I never feed him a second serving of anything until that time has passed. Sometimes I don't feed him anything else at all. But it's happened where he literally cries.
Unlike anon's 5-year old who is 40 lbs and 42 inches, mine is 50 lbs
and 44 inches. You probably wouldn't look at him and say, "That kid is
overweight," but his BMI is creeping up and his belly is too big for
clothes that fit him in length. Instead of wearing a 6, my son needs a
7. His pants are rolled up at the bottom all the time. This issue with
controlling weight and appetite is honestly something I never thought
I'd deal with, and so I'm sincerely at a loss. Now I closely watch his
portions, and try to give him less juice and more water. It's a terrible feeling to
deny your child food when he says he's hungry--but in my mind, there's
no way you should be hungry all the time. I'm really determined to get
in front of this problem before it's a bigger (no pun intended) one.
But I clearly need help.
Is your child constantly hungry? How do you deal with it?
Comments (11)
try to give your child the most nutritious foods and it wouldn't bother you so much how much he or she eats,your on the right track, my kid is asking for food a lot too.
I truly believe that children's bodies 'know' how much they need. I saw something on the Discovery Channel once in regards to obesity and the short version was kids' brains are programmed to know how many calories they need. Now obviously, some older children may eat out of boredom, but each situation needs to be evaluated as it comes about.
As for not allowing seconds when a child says they're hungry; that seems rather mean to me even if your child is on the chubby side. I try to make meals filling, not fatty. Protein, vegetables, healthy choices will satisfy without adding bulk.
I'm not sure, Jessy. Well, let me state for the record that I'd never want to be "mean" to my child. Beyond that, I'm finding it difficult to understand how he can be that hungry after a dinner plate of a baked chicken thigh, a mound of yellow rice and black beans, and steamed broccoli. On a night like that, I'll usually give in to giving him another 1/2 piece of chicken, but I'm starting to feel like his constant eating is a habit more than a need. He loves food and I understand that, but I don't want him to have a "relationship" with food so early.
My children often say they are still hungry in hopes of getting seconds of their favorite part of the meal. I don't discourage them from eating more, I just limit their choices to more fresh veggies or fruit and often times I find they weren't still hungry enough to have more veggies or fruit they just wanted more meat or baked potatoe for example. Also, if they are still hungry, I have them drink a glass of milk or water. Often times this helps fill them up as well. We usually don't allow drinks until they are most of the way done with their meal because sometimes they will get full on the milk or water and not want to eat.
Kierna, I hope that didn't come off as rude and if it did I'm sorry. I like marbear's idea...a glass of water or milk afterwards!
Also, is this an everyday thing, a thing with favorite meals, or sporadic, like hitting a growth spurt? I understand not wanting to have a "relationship" with food, as my mother's side of the family is morbidly obese.
Most importantly, what does your child's DR say?
My 4 and 1/2-year-old boy is constantly hungry, too. We joke that every meal ends with "what else can I have?" Like he didn't just have a full plate of food, as you said!
If he wants more, I'll usually give him a little more of a protein or a veggie and steer him away from starches or overdoing it on the fruit -- he could eat it endlessly. So I try to monitor and not let him go overboard, but I will usually give him more if he wants it.
He has a ton of energy, is constantly running, and is pretty darn skinny now, so I'm hoping I'm making the right choices! Great post, Kierna, thanks -- and thanks to all of the moms, too! Good to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. :)
I agree with another mom that after a FULL plate of food, how on earth could a child still be hungry?! Josef is allowed seconds ONLY after finishing EVERYTHING on his plate and wating 15min before seconds. Most of the time he is just wanting food to have food on his plate, especially if it is a favorite.
My children always want more food right before a growth spurt. They just want to eat & eat & eat all day long. I let them because I know eventually they will go back to normal eating habits again. They usually have a period right after their growth spurts where they hardly eat anything at all but that changes back to normal to. So, I don't worry about it. They have been doing this since they were little and they are no 11yrs., 13yrs. & 15yrs.
This is all so helpful! Jessie, no worries! I think I'm going to take the advice of offering a glass of water or milk after dinner--and more veggies! BTW: My son's doc says,"Watch it." He knows we are a pretty healthy family, but is concerned about keeping my kiddos BMI in check.