How Much To Eat?

[JoseyJo]

I would absolutely limit her.

Seconds here means a 1/2 serving size. Eg. If we have sandwiches and someone wants seconds I give 1/4 (under 5) and 1/2 sandwich (over 5)

They can have as many veggies as they will eat, fruit is limited to 1 1/2 servings, and milk is limited to one serving.

I always have carrot and celery sticks cut up for myself, and I offer 2-3 at a time to those who finish all of that ^ and want more food. I've never had a kid finish those, so it is obviously NOT hunger.

We do 1/2 servings for seconds and thirds here too.

The closest we have ever had to the OP problem is a 3 yo who will eat 3rd or 4ths of his favorites, not picky so he happily clears his plate to get more- BUT if he eats too much he complains that his tummy hurts so I limit him to 2nds since he obviously is not listening to the "full" signal if it is getting to the point of pain before he stops.

I was thinking about this post and what I would actually do if a child could/did eat 4 WHOLE sandwiches in a setting. I think I would offer age appropriate serving of each food for firsts, a 1/2 serving of each for 2nds, then move on to raw veges until she was full, or meal time was up

[WImom]

If I were serving this exact meal to a child that age, they would get one HALF of a sandwich, one half of a large apple or one small apple, one her size portion of green beans and carrots total, and one her age serving of milk.

I understand her parents may not care, but as a mom I would be horrified if I found out my six year old was eating that much at a meal.

I stick strictly to serving sizes. There enough obesity and I'm not going to contribute

This is what I would do too. I also only allow the kids seconds once. When they get seconds it's less of everything as well. Otherwise I'm throwing food away and they don't finish it. I also only give water after they finish their milk.

[m.kids1301]

not too much!

Wow! That's a lot! I have 4 siblings that like to eat quite a bit, but that exceeds what they do. I limit what the kiddos eat because I don't want to contribute to obesity. Sometimes kids eat too much because they aren't getting the proper balance and their body is craving something they aren't getting. I certainly wouldn't give a 6 year old any more than 1 sandwich. Tell her to wait just a little and she won't feel hungry; gotta give the brain time to get the message! If she gets in a habit of eating that much food it will grow and so will she!!!! I've had a problem most of my life with wanting to eat more than I need, so I try to restrict my daughter from getting too carried away. She pays better attention to her body than I did at 15 and she's in great shape too.

[countrymom]

I have a 6 yr old who can eat a box of ritz crackers in one sitting. But like the one poster above the child wasn't eating at home or lunch. The home rule was that either you ate or you got nothing till the next day. Thats a long day for a child. Even their school lunches were gross, that I would never pack them.

so I would limit. Its good that she likes to eat. But limit her intake.

[youretooloud]

I understand her parents may not care, but as a mom I would be horrified if I found out my six year old was eating that much at a meal.

I stick strictly to serving sizes. There enough obesity and I'm not going to contribute

This! The child is the one who has to live with obesity, all those who gave her the food don't have to do the work to undo it, she does.


There are entire groups set up to get schools to serve healthy foods because they claim that school lunches contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic in America. So, it stands to reason that daycare providers are also contributing to obesity in America.

On the other hand, I know how hard it is to send a child away from the table still hungry. But, I think it's something that needs to be done, she may not know she's full.

[laundrymom]

"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"

[JoseyJo]

"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"

[MarinaVanessa]

"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"

Here vegetables are always endless. If the kids are still hungry they'll eat vegetables after eating their meals and snacks.

[Familycare71]

"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"

This is what I would do! And I never give seconds of milk... 8 oz and your onto water. Fruit and veggies are a free food here- if you are hungry and it isn't a meal time or you've had enough those are your choices! But I would also limit the choices in this instance like stated above...
Poor girl tho! I hope parents take to dr to get her checked out...

[Play Care]

Some posters are saying don't limit her, but there is no child that needs to eat 4 sandwiches in one sitting. That's eight pieces of bread! I'm sorry but that's excessive and unhealthy in my opinion.

At 6, a sandwich and a half is sufficient. One milk, then a half, then water. There's no way her tummy wasn't full by the second sandwich, which means she's overriding her fullness and that's not a healthy habit for her to have either.

I have two boys in my care that would eat me out of house and home *if* I let them. They are healthy, active kids. But it's not my job to provide an unending source of food. I let them have seconds, but if they are still hungry I offer the vegetable portion. Some times they take me up on it, and sometimes they decide they are not as hungry as they thought.