Should you limit how much food your child eats?

B

brat

New member
I have a problem with both my 6 and soon to be 2 year old eating like they might starve to death. They are both small for their age and skinny. My oldest has a different father than my 2 year old and his dad has fought with weight problems his whole life. I am afraid that allowing them to eat more than most kids their ages will set them up to be obese. What should I do? My 6 year old eats more than the most men. He wants seconds and thirds at dinner time, and my almost 2 year old can eat as much as a normal adult also. Like I said they are both small. Should I worry? I posted before that I have to cut out bad carbs from my 6 year olds diet. Last night he ate at least a 6 oz steak for dinner, cottage cheese, and fresh fruit. When I refused to let him have more than that he had a cow. My almost 2 year old ate an adult serving of ravioli, crackers, and berries for lunch today. I feed them a lot of protein they just don't seem to get full.
My oldest is being tested sugar problems so that all goes with that test. My almost 2 year old will skip or pick at meals but then when he eats he turns into a bottomless pit. My oldest has to have 5 small meals a day and I explained to the doctor that he has turned that into eating all day long. I mean he eats and eats. He is 6 and is only in 10% for height and weight.
My almost 2 year old cant survive without a drink all the time. My 6 year old drinks probably half as much as he eats. With dinner he can have 3 glasses of whatever we serve to drink. Then he also wants a drink before bed.
 
I agree with the previous answer to get them tested.
Also, you can give them unlimited amounts of vegetables - green leafy ones, not corn/carrots/starches. If they claim they're hungry but won't eat their salad, then they're not really hungry. Also give them whole grains - fiber fills you up faster. And water to drink at the same time.
Good Luck.
Marie
 
I think that limiting how much they eat is probably a good thing to do. I would probably limit the sweets and increase the fibrous foods.

But I would also pay attention to how much physical activity that they are getting. If you see them eating a lot and then going and setting on the couch a lot or sleeping, this should(to me anyway) raise a red flag. Then I would set limits to what and how much they can eat at one time.
 
Little kids need carbs and fiber to feel full and for energy. Giving them a low carb high protien diet is going to make them more hungry and keep them thin. Just stick with whole grain breads, brown rice, and lots of veggies along with whatever else you are giving them and they will be fine. I would only worry about obesity if you are feeding them chips, McD's, ice cream, candy, etc all the time.
 
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