Does my (nearly) 5 year old eat too much?

Question

I'm a bit concerned, that my little Girl eats too much for her age.
She is NOT fat at all, but I'm worried that if she carries on eating as much as she does we will have a problem on our hands.
This is what shes had so far today (It's 4.30pm)

BREAKFAST- A bowl of cereal, 1 Apple
SNACK (at school) fruit.
LUNCH- 3 Fishfingers, 2 Boiled Potatos, Broccoli

SNACKS-
Hoummus on 1 toast, Nutri grain bar, 1 pear, 5 (small chocolate) mini eggs.

For Dinner she will have Tuna Pasta, Ice cream for pudding.

She is very active, cycles her bike wherever we go, but is CONSTANTLY telling me she's hungry. (She doesn't have worms!!) Am I feeding her too much?

Answer 1

That doesn't sound like a lot for a 5 year old, about average. You can't look at what you eat and think 'we'll she's half my size so she should eat half what I eat'. Kids are growing and using huge amounts of energy - you ever try to take a whole day at a run like a little kid does - so need plenty of grub. It's pretty well balanced, she's fine.

It's a lot less than my boyfriend's 5 year old eats. Last time he was over he had
breakfast: cereal and milk, plus 2 scotch pancakes with marmalade, plus a Mullers corner yoghurt.
Snack; big bunch of grapes
Lunch: McDonalds kids meal and doughnut
Dinner - chicken leg (thigh and drumstick) with mashed potato, cauliflower, peas and asparagus. followed by a bag of sweets.

And he is skinny as anything.

It's all the energy they use up. They need plenty of fuel.

Answer 2

It's a phase. Both my nieces went through it and my 5 year old son is currently going through it. It makes you wonder sometimes how they are living because they eat so little. Try not to worry about it too much. Rather than worry about what she eats on a day to day basis.. look at the week as a whole. If she got a few half way decent meals in there, she should be okay. Have you tried PediaSure? My son also loves the NutriPals. And as always, a daily vitamin is good too. My son likes the gummy vitamins.

Answer 3

That diet looks good, though the dinner should have some vegetables added to it and I would cut out the chocolate eggs on a daily basis (chocolate 3 times a week is n ok treat). Make sure she is still getting 16 ounces of 2% milk a day - she needs it for her growing bones and to prevent osteoporosis in her adult years. The nutri-grain bars are not all that healthy...don't be fooled by all the marketing. She'd be better off with some Cherrios or oatmeal/raisin cookies.

Answer 4

That's not that much. She's probably hit a growth spurt and is relying on her body to tell her how much to eat. If you deny her, you're creating a cycle in which she does not rely on what her body needs to feed herself. At that point, people pick what they eat based on what people tell her to eat, no longer listening to her own stomach. That's where eating disorders come in.

I can tell you my six yo hit a growth spurt and eats nearly twice as much. She's skinny as a rail too. Just offer her more snacks, put out things that she enjoys and are healthy. We had a rule for a long time, that if you wanted seconds you started with seconds of veggies or fruits, then one serving of carbs and meat. All of my children have had freedom to choose when they eat, and they choose very well-rounded meals.

Answer 5

its not really that bad at least shes not eating alot of sweets and its mainly healthy stuff so shes getting all the right energy and the reason shes probibly hungry is shes using all the energy to run around like a normal 4 year old so ur obviously a good mother good on u, give her more things like bananas grapes tangerines and carrot sticks or leave a fruit bowl in easy reach so she can grab an apple or something when shes feeling peckish

Answer 6

Your daughter does not sound like she's eating too much. She sounds like a normal 5 year old girl to me and she is very active too. That's wonderful. But if she is telling you that she is always hungry and it goes beyond the 3 meals and snacks per day then to be on the safe side, I would take her in to the doctor for a check-up, especially to check for any diabetes.

Answer 7

No. Your child may be eating frequently because she is very active and her body needs more food for energy. Continue to feed her healthy snacks and meals (I would however cut down to one dessert per day rather than two or more). Monitor her fliud intake as well to make sure that she gets plenty of fluids (she will also eat a little less if she drinks a cup of water before each meal)!

Answer 8

I don't really think that's too bad, especially as she is very active and also, most of the foods on that list are very healthy.
Maybe you can cut down on some of the unhealthy snacks a little if you are that worried but she's a growing girl and she requires plenty of energy and nourishment.

Answer 9

it sounds like you are giving her healthy foods so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Kids go through these spurts - my daughter would go a month and eat like a pig, the next month eat like a bird! As long as she stays active and her weight is not an issue (health issue, not social issue) I would keep up with what you are doing.

Answer 10

if you daughter is not overweight thats a pretty good sign that she is eating the right amount for her age/size. Clearly she is very active, so all that food is being burned up and she is using it to grow. Dont obsess about her weight she is only 5, and you might send her a message that she needs to diet, and you could incur a whole other set of problems (i.e. anorexia)