okay i have an 8 year old, almost 9 and boy can he eat. How do you handle children that just eat too much. i hate to ride him, both his father and I are overweight, we make better food choices now that in the past, but oh well. So this is what my son has eaten today, a poptart, a cereal bar and a glass of milk for breakfast ( my other kids just had one or the other). We had watermelon for a snack, we ate lunch at 12:30, he had some mashed potatos, a chicken breast, and then some cereal because he was still hungry. I should have made some green beans, but I didn't. Anyway, so at 3 he has more watermelon, I catch him eating two large servings, then he has been sneaking cereal or bars since then, I told him no more till dinner and he is flipping out because he is starving. He hasn't had much today, but it has just been constant. There are days he will eat an entire pizza for dinner and then been hungry an hour later. We are trying to make sure he makes good choices, we don't drink sodas, we don't buy chips, we let him have all the cherios he can eat, I buy poptarts occasionally. If I cook eggs for breakfast he will eat three and then complain that he hasn't had enough. He is not overweight, but he is large, he weighs 80 pounds but is tall and wears a size 8 in pants a 10 in shirts for the length. So what do you do for your kids, how do you balance out what is good and what is too much. He goes to my dad's and literally ate 6 bags of chips yesterday in an hour (small bags), but come on!

By Vicki on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:31 pm:

Well, if he is hungry he is hungry!! Are you sure he isn't just "bored" and eats then?? I guess what I would try is to only have good things for him to have. Fruits and veggie sticks and stuff like that. Maybe when you have pizza, also make him a big salad to go with it so he might eat a little less pizza?? If he is really hungry and not eating out of bordom, I don't think I would not let him eat, I would just only allow healthy things most of the time which it sounds like you pretty much do!! Sounds like you just have a big eater!!

By Emily7 on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:48 pm:

If he isn't over weight & is active I don't see a problem with offering healthy snacks. He is most likly getting ready to grow.

By Amy~moderator on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 10:03 pm:

I agree with the others. Make sure there is no junk foods in the house, so he will only be eating healthy foods when he is hungry. His diet today doesn't sound too bad. Cereal is a very good snack, and watermelon certainly is too! If you are really concerned, ask the pediatrician what he thinks. But, if he is not overweight and is an active boy, I would just let it go for now - just keep junk foods out of the house. HTH

By Jodes on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 04:47 pm:

I can totally relate!!!! But, I have two boys who eat like that daily!!! I can barely afford to feed the both of them anymore! Is this your son who has JRA? Just curious...my son, age 9, he has days where he actually eats non stop. My 6 yr old son is the same way, they each eat a whole bag of microwave popcorn, just following a meal. My 9 yr old will eat two peanut butter sandwiches, then a whole can of chicken noodle soup for lunch, and then in about an hour, he will be hungry again! I completely understand, but also agree with the others, as long as he's eating somewhat healthy snacks, is active, and is at a healthy weight, then I don't think you should deny him food, I honestly think it's a boy thing! My 9 yr old is quite thin too, he's 4ft 4inches, and weighs only 60lbs, I don't know where he puts all the food he eats! My 6 yr old is more solid, but very healthy and perfect for weight and height according to his recent dr appt, he weighs 57lbs and is almost about 4ft tall. Now, all the money spent on food is my biggest concern, I can't imagine what it will be like when they are teenagers! UGH!!

By Irene on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 04:08 pm:

Sorry I’m a little late weighing in on this one. (Hey, I made a pun!) Anyway, while you don’t want to give your son a complex about food, I think it’s good to make concrete rules about how much, how often, and what type of food is eaten. For instance, snacks can be eaten at 3 pm, and can consist of a granola bar, or a string cheese, and any amount of fruit, carrots, rice cakes or sugar free Jell-O. Desserts are eaten after dinner only and consist of one scoop of ice cream or 3 cookies. Two slices of pizza (3 if they’re small) are all you can eat for a main course. Seconds on veggies are ok. If the rules are concrete and applied to everyone in the family, he won’t feel like he’s being singled out, and that these are just good, healthy, commonsense rules. I think it’s ok to say, “Hey, it’s not snack time, out of the kitchen.” Or “Hey, only 3 cookies for dessert.”

I think some people (and some kids) are just more focused on food than others. For some, breakfast is the first thing they think of in the morning, and snacks are what they think of when they walk in the house. Others forget to eat. If your son is really focused on food, then you’ll be repeating the rules to him more often than to others. However, if the rules are the same for everyone, then I think that’s ok.

The obvious benefit of setting down these rules now is establishing a habit of not overeating when he’s young, and if you start now you still have a bit of control. Coming from a family of people with weight issues, I often wonder what would have happened if our parents had set down more rules. Maybe everyone wouldn’t be struggling now. Just my humble opinion, of course.

By Kaye on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 05:07 pm:

LOL I went on vacation and forgot about this post. Yes Jodes this is the one with JRA. He is pretty sedentary because of it I think. Although he isn't overweight now, he is big and I think a lifetime of these eating habits will lead to an obesity issue. Irene I think your rules idea may just be what I need. Although I have them I am not as clear as I should be and tend to be too lenient on my youngest who barely weighs 40 pounds and needs some calories in his system. We don't have junk food in my house because of my son, my dad has stuff at his house, but he isn't there too much. I wish each kid came with directions that you could point to and say, "well because that is what your tag says, that is why..lol"

By Mommyathome on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 06:44 pm:

My kids are still pretty little and I haven't had to deal with this yet. I would guess that if he isn't overweight, and if he's getting a lot of physical exercise then it should be fine. As long as it is healthy eating.
However, if he is just sitting around, and not moving much then I would be more concerned for his health.

By Joshuasmom on Monday, August 9, 2004 - 10:30 am:

Hi

What does your son usually eat for breakfast?Maybe try to get him to have a wholegrain breakfast cereal, bran flakes are slightly sweet and really fill you up. Kids need plenty of healthy snacks because they are growing. Lots of fruit and vegetables are good, foods that are filling and healthy are good.

The problem with cereal bars or candy is that they give energy but its a quick sugar boost, many cereal bars are deceiving and not as healthy as thought.

I think, like Irene said, you have to limit him. Why not sit down with your son and make some agreements, put a chart on the fridge maybe.

Stuff like fruit and veg he can eat as much as he likes of.

Then a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner. Three snacks a day are also needed. Maybe just one dessert or snack that is cookies or candy or icecream, with the others being healthier.

It is difficult because you want him to develop healthy eatig without being to focused on food.

Good Luck(sorry my post got so long)

By Arnion on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 02:52 am:

I have 7 children, and I remember telling each of them many times that they can't possibly be hungry already! J

I have told each of them that it's good that they're hungry because it's nearly dinner time, and I had them wait.

I have allowed them to have a glass of milk if I was convinced that they were feeling genuine hunger a while before mealtime. Sometimes a slightly acidy stomach can feel just like hunger, so milk really did help. If they declined the offer, I was assured that they weren't really starving. J

Also, if you concentrate on the cost of the food while limiting them, it won't make food seem like the important topic to them. I made it clear that I couldn't buy expensive snacks if they planned to devour them like wild locusts! LOL They understood, ate reasonably, and were thankful for them - shocking! J

By Joshuasmom on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 08:35 am:

Encourage your son to drink lots of water, sometimes people are dehydrated and can make them think they are hungry.

Also water is just so wonderful for you. He should be drinking at least 2 1/2litres a day which is about 8glasses