My 3 year old is always hungry?

Question

The doctor is not worries about her size and weight but she is in the 95 percentile in both height and weight and is the height of a 5 year old. I worry about weight because our family is not all that skinny so I watch what she eats but she always complains she is hungry...any ideas

Answer 1

Trust your doctor. Also, make certain what she is eating is healthy. Drink plenty of water, not soda and not too much fruit juice. Make certain she gets plenty of exercise.

Answer 2

My 6 year old daughter is the same way and I was worried about her for years but her doctor keeps telling me she fine she just a big girl at 95 perdentile in both height and weight she is perfectly normal just a tall girl. I started to watch her more closely and realized that she is always hungeer because she plays hard and when she sits down to eat she has her meal and then gets up to play again. I try keeping healthy snacks like raisins in her backpack for school and I pre cut celery and put it in plastic baggies with little bowls of peanut butter amd leave them in the fridge for her so when she is hungry she has something she can munch on.

Answer 3

My family tends to be on the heavier end also. I have 4 kids, they are also always wanting to eat. I find that making sure that they eat their 3 meals a day, with a healthy snack in between lunch and dinner, and then a glass of milk before the brush their teeth before bed, has eliminated the constant eating. I always have fruit available for them to pick at during day, the junk food is hidden. As long as you know that they have eaten their 3 meals and had a snack in between that period thats the longest between meals, then you know that they are not starving, and that they are getting enough to fill their tummies. I also make sure that they are drinking alot of water through-out the day. Putting them into play groups and sports teams helped alot too.

Goodluck, I hope this helps, and dont worry too much all of my kids went through a period when they were heavier also and they thinned out with age.

Answer 4

My son is three and in the 98th percentile in both height and weight. My doctor says he's completely normal and healthy. For now, don't worry about it. If she is always hungry (like mine is) have her eat healthy snacks and drink lots of water. My son loves to snack on cucumbers, apples, carrots and raisins. I only let him have one sweet snack a day, which is usually a bag of fruit snacks. Growth spurts cause kids to eat more and it seems like my son hasn't ended his current growth spurt since he was born.

Answer 5

Try more water and for snacks give her fresh vegetables. Fruits are higher in sugar. Your doctor knows best but you have to trust your instincts. She doesn't need to be any kind of diet but you can give her better choices that have fewer calories. How long has she been like this. Mine eats alot when he is going thru a growth spurt. Good luck.

Answer 6

If she is not over weight, let her eat. You could do more damage by not feeding her. If you are worried about her becoming over weight, just make sure you feed her healthy foods. At that age they are growing so much they need the calories and fat, in moderation of course. But right now I wouldn't worry about it that much.

Answer 7

Ask your doctor about Prader-Willi syndrome, which is a condition that prevents the signal sent from the stomach from reaching the hypothalamus gland, notifying you that you have eaten enough. Only 1 in 15000 people have Prader-Willi syndrome so it is unlikely that your daughter has it. But it is always better to be safe, than sorry.

Answer 8

There are certainly foods that you can give her for snacks that are healthy. YOU must set the example. If she sees you eating fruit, raw vegetables (dip-- light ranch) and scores of other healthy snacks, she will want the same thing. Cookies and chips and etc should be a rare reward. SET THE EXAMPLE.

Answer 9

Keep doing what you have been doing. Just make sure she gets her 3 meals aday and maybe some healthy snacks, like fruit, or veggies don't give in we have enough obese children don't let yours be on too. Crackers are not a healty snack.

Answer 10

Since your family "is not all that skinny" there is no reason to be concerned. She is "normal" for her family background. She is only 3 years old she NEEDS the extra calories as she is a GROWING child not an fat assed adult.