4yo wants to eat all day!

[1stimer]

From the moment DD is up she is hungry or starving (her words). Shes gotten a taste for junk that im not too happy about and DH has a sweet tooth so there is often lots of snack cakes in the house. For breakfast ill give her something as healthy and filling as I can possibly conjure up. But without a doubt she will be asking for more food or a "snack" shortly after. We have always done meals and snacks and I try to do as healthy as possible, some days are better than others. I once googled the signs and symptoms of a tape worm bc I was convinced dd had it, now I think she just wants to eat crap all day. She will usually take fruit as a snack but she goes through it so quickly I cant seem to keep bananas, grapes, strawberries, blueberries etc stocked. And unfortunately we are on a tight budget so we can usually only buy these things once or twice a month. Any suggestions on how to get these junk food cravings out of her mind? Does anyone elses kid just seem to want to graze all day? im at my wits end with it bc she is CONSTANTLY asking for food and I feel I need to draw a line somewhere but im afraid to not feed her if shes truly hungry! Ive tried putting peanut butter on just about everything at this point!

[trimbler]

Wow sounds just like my DS! And my DH also buys too many sweet things... I don't deny him sweet things completely but he's always angling after something, I said no sweet things before 10am so of course at 2mins past 10 today he was asking for a sweet and DH said yes I think it helps that at this age they can at least understand that sweet treats will only give them a boost for a short time, and they need to eat foods which will give them energy to last - not that that stops the asking, but at least we can use it as a teaching opportunity. Have you tried things like flapjacks or trail mix bars containing oats, nuts, seeds, fruit etc - depending on what you have in stock, she can help you make them too - they can help keep some of that hunger at bay. I wouldn't worry about her snacking, it's supposed to be good to keep blood sugar levels more consistent, and if she's active she'll be using up that energy plus of course growing Will be interested to hear what others have to recommend... (Hope you're ok, missing you on BC...)

[zeri]

I think that eating sugar just triggers a craving for more. What would happen if you gave her vegetables instead? Would she still devour them and ask for more? If so, maybe she is going through a growth spurt

[We Three]

  At that age we put a cookie tray into the fridge with cut carrots, cut up celery (standing up in a cup of water) yougurt, cheese slices, an orange, an apple, turkey slices, some hard boiled eggs, etc.   These things were free to dd at any time, without asking. If it was on the tray, she could have it.
  I am very sensitive to saying "no" when dd asks for food.  TBH I don't even like to be asked, it makes me feel uncomfortable to be "asked" to eat.     So.....the tray was hers, any time (although I'd remind her if I was, say, cooking dinner, "Choose something small ok? Dinner is in 20 minutes." ) No asking permission....you just listen to your body.
 I think it's great when you can give kids control in that way. The bonus is that you'll find out if she is in fact "hungry" or does she just want sweets. If she is truly hungry than what's on the tray will work out for her.
 She may overindulge with the tray at first because of the novelty, but that will stop.  I highly recommend removing yourself from any struggles over food, as much as humanly possible. My dd eats like a lumberjack....I remember posting about how much she eats, and how fast she looks for more! The tray is hers, and I really love leaving it to her.

[zeri]

Anne, that is a fantastic idea! as soon as we have a fridge the kids can reach (right now it's freezer on the bottom but we are changing it) I am totally trying that.

[creations]

Love the tray idea.

What sort of thing does she have for breakfast? Does she eat eggs? maybe eggs and sausages for breakfast for a big protein portion would help to satisfy her? meat/fish/eggs/beans are more filling than fruit.

[trimbler]

Aah the tray...wish we could do that, same problem as Lisa but we can't change it

[michaeljacknnugg]

Make sure she has protein with everything - that should fill her up!

For DS's school run I take a box along for him to munch on...no reason why she couldn't have an insulated lunch box somewhere in reach, is there? I give him a slice of ham and/or cheese, two portions of veg and a portion of fruit and something more 'junky' like a couple of sweets or some cheese biscuits. It's amazing how it disappears, and it's a great way of getting him to try new foods in small doses (the latest was blueberries, which he'd previously decided he hated, and cashew nuts). It also gets protein and veg into him.

He still eats a full meal!

[deb]

Carbs, including fruits, don't keep them full for long. Protein and good fats, on the other hand, last a lot longer.

Will she eat eggs or yogurt for breakfast? Something with more protein and less carbs to start with, then top up with fruit. If you do fruit, maybe mix it into full-fat yogurt to help stretch it.

[:: ANA ::]

I myself just began with the tray thing yesterday because DS (4yo in a week) has been eating a lot lately, the minute he wakes up, his first words are "I'm hungry" and he was pulling and pushing chairs to reach cookies and candies from the top shelves in the kitchen...
So it started more because of safety issues, but then I thought I'd give this idea of him regulating himself and listening to his body a more serious try...
For sure, he and DD visited the bottom tray (drawer?) in the fridge several times yesterday but I was in shock when they didn't reach for the candy bucket I just moved to the bottom of the pantry too, not even once. It was like it didn't even cross their minds that it was there...
Instead, they snacked on grapes, edamames and milk.
I'm planning to add much much more to that bin. I also relocated in a lower shelf in the kitchen the almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts, cashews and this kind of stuff so that they can snack on those as well. Maybe that could work if the fridge idea isn't possible?

[trimbler]

Your DS sounds much like ours in that regard, Ana! Good idea about relocating non-perishable food, I wonder if we could do that... Tiny kitchen though so only two bottom cupboards available which are already stuffed with cooking equipment...definitely worth some thought though, I'd love DS to just be able to sort himself out when he gets the munchies!

[deb]

How about a designated basket or tray on the counter or dining table that they can pick from? Fruit basket/candy dish (only with healthy stuff instead of candy) kind of thing? You can still limit what items and how much/many go into it.

Also, as they get better about the snacking and so on, you can involve them in making maybe one more complicated snack a day, like mixing herbs and spices into sour cream to make a veggie dip, or using a corer/segmenter on an apple (one of these: http://www.pots-and-pans.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/450x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/o/x/oxo-32681.jpg), or spreading nut butter on toast.

[Katet]

Around that age DS1 was a challenge with junk etc & so I had a "two sugar foods limit" & I went through & explained all the foods that fitted into that & how he could choose what he wanted in the day & when he wanted it, but other than that he could only have 2 (sometimes 3 on a weekend etc)

Now that DS1 is almost 12yo he has actually started reaslising how much sugar is in things & he's starting to try to count how many grams he is taking in & working out the food he'd rather eat & those he wouldn't . I have found with DS1 that him understanding a limit works so much better than any other way of stopping him.

[1stimer]

We have tried the tray/drawer idea and it seemed like it backfired in that she cleared it out rather quickly and we stopped trying. I may give it a go again bc I don't think the novelty of it had worn off so she did over do it but that was all she had for the day. Shes not a big fan of eggs but the yogurt I know she likes but all the yogurt ive found has tons of sugar so I wasn't sure how that would work in there. I never though about edamame...I use it in cooking and she eats it but never tried it alone. I guess I need to try some new things with her and maybe if shes really hungry enough shell try it!

[creations]

Often here the yoghurt without sugar in it is the natural one (not a flavoured one) like a greek yoghurt and often they are in a large tub rather than an individual pot.  If you are concerned about sugar in yoghurt one solution is to decant a small portion into an individual lidded container and add a little fresh fruit or cooked fruit (without sugar added) or add a small amount of honey which although it's sweet is better than sugar.
Another alternative is cream cheese slackened down by just stirring or stirring in a little milk. Again add fresh or home stewed/steamed fruit for flavour.