Advice for child overeating

Ginger83

Our daughter always seems to be eating or looking for food. She is not overweight but I am concerned it might go that way. I am happy she eats well but some things have me thinking for example she will always want a bowl of cereal at bedtime.

I would like to cut down on the sweets. What can I do to improve it? What snacks are considered healthy?

Sponge25

A childs behaviour is a direct reflection of their parents behaviour IMHO. How old is she? If she's 9-12ish she should be eating like a horse so long as she's eating healthy. Sweets are alright as part of a balanced diet although I would keep her away from carbonated drinks which are packed full of sugar and habit forming. If she likes cereal look for a healthy option as they can be full of sugar too. Get her involved in some sort of physical activity like football or something she's interested in.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122390015#Comment_122390015

She's almost ten.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058360048/advice-for-child-overeating

cereal at bed time is just a bad habit, what time is dinner and what time is bed? and whats she having for dinner?

fits

Children eat like their parents? lol

Op my kids are like this too. They are just constantly looking for food. I think there’s a growth spurt at the moment. Always looking for food at bed time as well.

Just make it easy for them to have healthy options and that’s probably all you can do.

The snack choices in our house are fruit/ cheese/ yoghurts. Occasional crisps but not every day. Protein rich foods are more filling but kids don’t need a lot of protein so don’t overdo it.

custom_build

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122392010#Comment_122392010

This, all day long.

Ginger83

Dinner today for example at 6.30pm was lasagna with chips.

She is fond of fizzy drinks so we are encouraging her to swap for water with Miwadi etc.

antfin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122393893#Comment_122393893

Pasta and potato together? Sounds like a very carb dense meal! Are you filling the lasagna with veg at least and making your sauce with heavily reduced down tomatoes? It sounds like a very carb dense meal to be serving pasta and potatoes on one plate. Refined carbs can lead to sugar spikes which cause further hunger. You've actually three sources of carbs hear depending on how much bechamel sauce you're using.

fits

heaven forfend a healthy weight child eats carbs!

The main thing I watch here is sugar levels. So we buy big pots of full fat yoghurt with lower levels of added sugar. Avoid the 0% fat ones. They are less filling and higher in sugar.

Offer veggies all the time eg last night here we had baked salmon with stir fry veg and noodles. One child ate everything but the salmon. Other child ate the noodles and a bit of salmon but left veggies.

You can sneak stuff into lasagne too.

fits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122393912#Comment_122393912

by the way this glucose spikes thing is largely a load of sh1te for anyone who isn’t diabetic.

antfin

I not talking about just eating carbs but I find it surprising that people eat such an overload of carbs that translate into sugars ie glucose! I don't see the point in eating carb heavy food like rice and mashed potato together or rice & pasta, pasta and potato etc. I generally pair just one starchy carb, protein and veg and I'd tend to avoid eating something like a baked potato and spaghetti bolognese because the sugar from the carbs causes more hunger.

fits

what’s good for you isn’t necessarily what’s good for a ten year old though.

I had to look up some nutrition advice here this week as my kids were swiping my kvarg yoghurt that’s high in protein. Turns out a 25 kg kid shouldn’t really be eating yoghurts with 18 g of protein in them.

Sponge25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122392010#Comment_122392010

Considering kids are literally doubling in size at that age do they really not need much protein?

Alf Veedersane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122396799#Comment_122396799

(a) its a child

(b) 'carbs are bad' hasn't been a thing for a while now.

OP, as others have said, it's more likely a habit rather than a hunger. Have some healthier snacks at hand but she may not actually want them because they're not cereal so the habit may fade.

I wouldn't worry about having a yoghurt with a lot of protein either.

antfin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122427331#Comment_122427331

A) where did I say it wasn't a child?

B) where did I say carbs are bad? I said carb overload can cause hunger... not carbs are bad. Its a scientific fact that excess sugars can lead to hunger. I'm in no way saying "don't feed a kid carbs" and I don't know where you read that in my comment! I just think pairing pasta with potato is a bit heavy on the carbs. As with all things, proper portions and balance are the main aim. I wouldn't feed my kid spaghetti paired with mashed potato or rice paired with a baked potato because I prefer to balance the veg/meat/carb elements more.

Alf Veedersane

Their entire day's diet is not one meal. So there is little point in pointing out what they shouldn't do for one meal.

And the point about sugar from carbs isn't entirely correct.

antfin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122430655#Comment_122430655

The question was why they feel hungry again after dinner. I gave a reason based on my knowledge of nutrition. I was just surprised to hear of someone pairing pasta and potatoes as I would consider a serving of pasta to be a sufficient for the carb portion on its own... apologies if I offended you and I'll end this back and forth now.

essdee

Is there a chance that your daughter is eating at bedtime to delay when she has to go to sleep? That might be worth discussing with her to ensure she gets a good night’s sleep regularly.

It would be good to look at overall patterns of your daughter’s eating. Does she snack at weekends the same as she does on school nights? Does she snack on days when she is more physically active or when she eats less during the day (maybe skipping breakfast, for example)?

She is probably more likely to follow your example and advice now than she will be when she enters her teens. It's also the case that she will most likely only eat whatever is in the house already so if you want her to avoid certain foods, then it would be better not to have them too convenient.

Healthy snacks could be foods like fruit (apples, oranges, berries etc.), vegetables (e.g. carrot sticks), unsalted nuts or nut butter (in moderation), cereal with no sugar, plain yogurt.

It can be hard to get children to increase the amount of fruit they eat. Youngsters tend to eat vegetables with main meals but because fruit is a “between-meal” food, it would be good to encourage her to eat more fruit if she’s hungry.

Water or low-fat milk would be better pre-bedtime drinks than juices, chocolate drinks or other drinks that have lots of sugar.

LambshankRedemption

Dinner today for example at 6.30pm was lasagna with chips.

What time is bedtime?

I would like to cut down on the sweets

Then stop buying them.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122459699#Comment_122459699

Bedtime during summer is ten