Kids constantly hungry?

[dwaddict]

my 5 year old son is just like this, but I know that he is growing! He is getting so tall, but that kid is thin as a rail!!!!! He eats more than I do, but he is very busy with activities and such. He burns every thing he eats! He is going to be a very tall boy! MY hubby is 6'6" and he said that when he was in junior high/high school, he would go through a gallon of milk in less than 2 days!! GASP!!!!!

Oh yes, My DS( is 17, athletic, runs 2 miles a day and plays baseball) he is an all out eating machine. He goes through a gallon of milk and a gallon of OJ in 2 days all by himself. That boy can put away the groceries. I don't see how he can make it through school. You just don't know a huge grocery bill until you start feeding teenagers(and of course they ALWAYS have a friend with them)

To the OP I have to agree with other posters to the fact that if you are taking food with you and your kids are turning it down in hopes that you will stop and buy things, just keep driving. Don't stop, and don't be bothered if someone hears your kids say they are starving. You can tell a neglected child from a dramatic child. My kids have done this also.
You know you are not starving your children.

 

[WDWHo]

i go thru this with my kids. Here is what I think. They are in school the whole year. And they manage pretty well with just breakfast, lunch then a snack after school then dinner. During the summer, my kids want to eat all the time. I think some of it is boredom. Also whenever I run errands they want snacks. Its the gimmees I think. Just yesterday I took them to lunch at Costco, they were so full they couldnt even finish. MY little one didnt eat as he wasnt hungry...so about an hour later, passing a Burger King he was hungry. I pulled over to get him a kids meal and then my 13 DS declared he was hungry. It makes me mad as I know there is no possible way he could be hungry..but what can I do. So I get him a kids meal too and he finishes 90% and says he feels sick, he ate to much. We had a big talk about being greedy and over indulging. Needless to say, I think sometimes you have to say no. I am going to keep some apples in my car in the future! I worry too that they will get bad eating habits and get heavy.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

My kids are 14, 12 and 7. I've gotten to the point when I can tell true hunger from boredom "hunger." When they are really hungry, they are allowed endless fruit, veg or even slices of wholewheat bread w/ or w/o cheese (no pb--allergies). When they are bored, I make them first drink an entire glass of water and wait 20 minutes. If still hungry, then I'll give them a few options. Usually the "hunger" has disappeared and they have forgotten about it!

We only pack snacks in the car if we'll be gone over a meal time. Due to dd12's allergies, it's difficult for us just to stop somewhere.

 

[JoiseyMom]

LOL, my 22 year old, I used to refer to him as an eating machine. He was always eating, and no, he wasn't overweight. When he went away to college, I realized I had no one to finish off the leftovers!!!

They are growing boys, just have healthy snacks in the house. My youngest DS6 is ALWAYS hungry, and STARVING. He knows he can have carrots, cheerios, fruit, and other healthy things, that the junk snacks are once a day. I can go through lots of carrots and watermelon here .

 

[shortbun]

My nearly 12yo goes through spurts. He gets healthy meals and there are always healthy snaks available in the house. He's a physical hurricane so he can eat anytime he wants. It's WHAT he eats that I monitor. He has a friend who seems to stay pudgy even given their activity level. This kid drinks juice and milk all the time instead of water. He also has pretty junky snacks-candy bars, potato chips. His mom 'can't understand why he doesn't slim down.' I could tell her but she's a very smart woman who has a private trainer to keep in shape. I think she knows how to eat healthy and has blinders on to her son's habits and what she keeps for him to eat. He's asleep here right now and when he wakes up he'll be wanting to drain my milk jug.

 

[writersblock42]

I agree with what most people said
#1 They might just like the taste of the snacks-try offering stuff like raw veggies and see if they are still starving.
#2 They might be bored. Kids aren't bored when eating because they are fulfilling a need-even an imaginery need.
#3 Kids have smaller stomachs, higher metabolism, and higher energy levels than adults-they do need to eat more often
#4 They might have had their sugar drop if they ate something that had a lot of sugar in it a couple of hours ago.
So basically like everyone said. A few things that I do with my son is make sure he gets a snack an hour before bed and then the kitchen is closed for the night, offer him things like veggies and fruit, make him make his own snack (if he has to make his own pb and J sandwich it isn't as appealing), make sure that he gets fiber in the morning (this is supposed to regulate blood sugar), we also have a rule about no eating while watching tv except for the occassional popcorn during a movie.

 

[pigletof4]

PS for your DS it is just started, be ready for the day he takes the entire box of cereal and a mixing bowl sits down and starts to eat breakfast!

My dh still does this. He can go through and entire box of cereal in one sitting.

 

[Kimkimba]

Our ds (9) is like a stick, and can eat tons of food constantly throughout the day.

We're pretty sure he has a wooden leg, since he has to be putting it somewhere.

 

[powellrj]

we pretty much allow eating at home whenever they want. I always have fruit, veggies, bread, lunch meats, cheeses and peanut butters, cereals available to eat without asking during the day. We have never had a problem with the kids filling up and not wanting meals.

I have to be honest. My kids have never asked for a snack when we have been out. The only times we ever stop at fast food places is for meals when we are traveling, so I guess it never occurred to anyone to ask to stop for a snack because we have never done it before. We have also never taken snacks with us when we are out for the day. We will eat before we leave and then if we have plans for a meal while we are out, we will have one, but I can never remember a time where we had to have a snack for an outing.

It really sounds like more of a habit than a need. Growing up we never stopped for snacks when we were out, so I guess thats why my kids really don't ask for snacks when we are out.

 

[tracys2cents]

If you're worried about their weight, I think I would phase out the "3 substantial meals per day" and just let them graze and snack whenever they're hungry. I don't mean that you should stop at McDonald's 3 times a day instead of cook at home....but scale down the breakfast lunch and dinner portions since they're obviously getting what they need throughout the day.

 

[hsmamato2]

I agree with others, it sounds more like boredom,and sometimes my kids will whine b/c they want McD's,but not the bag of pretzels I always have in the back of the car....oh well,that usually means they want some junkfood- I always say(I sound like MY mother ) if you don't want something healthy,like carrot sticks,then you surely do NOT need any junkfood!
And if a drink of water from the gallon in the back isn't enough,then I'm not buying more,just b/c you want sweet stuff-
I always have a nonperishable snack and a gallon of water in the car, it saves a ton of $$$ when we're out and about....
My kids think I'm just an old meanie anyway,so what's one more thing?

 

[me again]

I agree with others, it sounds more like boredom,and sometimes my kids will whine b/c they want McD's,but not the bag of pretzels I always have in the back of the car....oh well,that usually means they want some junkfood- I always say(I sound like MY mother ) if you don't want something healthy,like carrot sticks,then you surely do NOT need any junkfood!
And if a drink of water from the gallon in the back isn't enough,then I'm not buying more,just b/c you want sweet stuff-
I always have a nonperishable snack and a gallon of water in the car, it saves a ton of $$$ when we're out and about....
My kids think I'm just an old meanie anyway,so what's one more thing?

Well, that's why I carry bottled water and some sort of snack in the van (need to use a cooler in the heat here or you could make coffee with the water). No, we're not gone that long or through meal times, but one does get thirsty and would like an ocassional munchie, I find I get grumpy if I get hungry/thirsty, so do the kids, but no one is starving here!

The kids can't be that hungry. A bottle of water and a small snack, like pretzels, can tide us over and keep us from hitting the fast-food drive throughs. But I stopped going to fast food drive throughs months ago, just went by one the other day, haven't been there in so long they've changed the menu!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Sounds like you are going in the right direction by giving up the fast food stuff. Many kids just love the idea of going there and do not even really care if they are hungry or not. I agree that while many kids can eat you out of house and home ( I have one) sometimes you have to be sure that kids are really hungry and not board. Sometimes they also learn that certain phrases ( I am STARVING) can get you roused up so they do it just to see what happens.

My suggestions:

Keep only healthy snacks in the house and then do not make a big deal one way or the other about when, what or how much they are eating. If you want to keep some things for special occasion snacks, put them in the freezer and get them out only for a special family snack or what ever.

Keep the kids busy and active with summer activities that keep them active and do not involve food -library programs, swimming, park trips, playing ball etc.

Keep that cooler in the car with water, fruit or whole grain crackers etc. If they are hungry it is much better to eat those things than the high sugar- fat-cost mall snacks.

Cheat sometimes- It is summer, Go out for ice cream just because you love them.

 

[gottaluvdis]

I've noticed this with DD10 too. She loves to snack. Sometimes it's out of boredom or the power of suggestion (we're at the Mall and passing Cinnabon, for example). Most of the time, it's just how she prefers to eat. She eats smaller portions at meals but snacks in between (on healthy stuff). She's growing, but she has always preferred a bunch of small "meals" throughout the day rather than 2 or 3 big meals. I think it's probably healthier in the long run, provided she doesn't eat junk (which we won't allow if she hasn't had her quota of protein, fruits, veggies etc, and then only in small quantities). She's really good about always asking for food rather than taking it, but the asking can get monotonous when she always seems to be hungry. I can definitely tell when she's in a growth spurt vs. not by the number of times she asks for snacks!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Some kids are snackers, and your kids are at a "growth spurt" age. So, some of it may be legitimate. However, if they refuse the car snacks, then they can't be that hungry. Also, suggest they bring their own money to spend at the mall. If they really want that ice cream or order of fires, let them pay for it. Certainly, they're old enough to take some responsibility/ownership here.