Friends 7 Yr Old Girl Eats More than My Husband.

that actually doesn't sound any different than what my older children (ages 6, 9, and 10) will eat. My 9 year old (who is painfully skinny and very short) can easily eat 3 servings of meatloaf with side dishes. All of my kids will eat 2-4 sandwiches when in the mood. My personal feeling is that as long as she is eating healthy food and staying active (which she must be if she is doing dance and cheerleading and teeball and soccer!), it's best not to worry. Children can have very large appetites--especially as they go through growth spurts. Many children who are chubby in younger ages will "grow into themselves" when they hit puberty. Also, your friends' pediatrician will offer suggestions if he/she is concerned from a medical standpoint When my 3rd child was getting a little too thick, my doctor suggested very small changes (skim milk, and limit school lunches) and did not recommend limiting her food intake as long as it was healthy food.

While you're watching her see if you can get her to drink a full glass of water before the meal. This will increase her feeling of fullness without adding calories.

My niece is very heavy and has been for a few years. She can out eat her overweight father as well. Part of it stems from emotional issues and part of it is genetics. Her therapist is treating her for an eating disorder and suggests this as well as smaller more frequent meals with pared down calories. This will be better for your son and the rest of the family as well. It will also help her gain better nutrients for any growth spurt she may be experiencing.

You can check out Dr. Phil and Jay McGraw's book Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge for Teen's from most libraries and even get it on tape/cd. In it you'll find better foods to feed her to keep her metabolism high while encouraging her to exercise/play more than the urged 1 hour a day.

I agree that it really doesn't sound like so much food to me. But then again, I am overweight and have fought it all my life. My weight problems started when I was just a little older than her. I too eat tons of vegetables and still struggle even now after years of all kinds of exercise and so many diets of all kinds.

When I was about 8 years old people started telling me that I couldn't have 2nds of anything. I think it really caused me a lot more harm than good. I wouldn't say I snuck food really. But it did start a life long habit of being obsessed about food. This is actually why I am so determined now to learn how to garden well and change our eating habits permenantly.

Just push those fruits and veggies and lots of water. She will hopefully grow out of it.

Suzi

I don't think you should say anything to her mother. You are not with her all time and you don't if she is just going through a growth spurt or eating in reacton to something, maybe to the change of child care. You don't know what she eats when not at your house or if she has always ate like that or if it is new. There is huge potential here for anything you say to be taken badly. If her daughter is really overweight then I am sure the mother already knows it. I am sure the girl knows it too. It could be very damaging to know that her care giver said something to her mother about her weight. She would be humiliated. The only thing you can you do is set a good example at your house by offering only healthy food and encouraging physically activity. Do not deprive her of food but only offer something healthy. It also sounds like you might not be providing as healthy of food as you think you are. You said you only give her healthy food but grilled cheese depending upon how prepared is not really a healthy food. Was it 100% whole bread with low fat cheese? Did you use butter or margarine? Or was it white bread, full fat cheese and grilled in butter? Meatloaf traditionaly prepared is extremly high in fat and calories as is mac and cheese. After lunch you gave her berry applesauce which you might want to check the amount of sugar in. A better choice might have been more apples or carrots. You said she ate ceral later. Was it a sugary cereal? Or something like whole grain Cheerios and soy milk? I was also wondering about her being lactose intolerant but you gave her grilled cheese for lunch and mac and cheese for dinner. It looks like from your menu she did possibly(you did not go into detail about preperation or all the serving sizes) have way too many calories that day. But it was because that is what you gave her. It sounds like a typical American diet and at amount at which a adult might eat but not really "healthy" for anyone. It seems like you are giving her some healthy foods but possibly also some not so healthy . But I do get the impression that no one in your household is overweight at all so I wonder what your level of commitment would be to change the way you live for this girl's possible health issue. I would suggest just doing the best you can when you are with her and leaving it up her mother and her doctor.

Is she a big girl because of genetics or because of her diet? That is what it boils down to. It sounds to me like the girl might need to be hungry for a bit. If she has been fed too much over a course of time, her stomach is probably bigger than it should be. As long as she gets her recommended daily calories and vitamins and minerals then she really shouldn't be allowed to eat anymore. It's a shame this has to be done for a 7 year old, but if action is taken now it can save her a lot of hurt and heartache later.

I would just try to redirect her eating habits while she's in your care. Try not to tell her she can't have something to eat or seconds/thirds of a certain food. Just have fresh veggies on hand, maybe even make a hummus dip instead of ranch in case she like to "dip" her veggies.

Offer her plenty of water through the day. Sometimes we think we need to eat when really we are thirsty. Also if she just has eaten get the food put up and out of site. When she says she wants something to eat redirect her to an activity. If she's still asking for a snack then offer her the veggies. Just plain slices of deli meat are too.

I wouldn't bring it up with her mom. What about doing a "what I did today" paper listing what she ate for the day and of course activities.

I too have a hungry 5 year old. He's 49 inches tall and weighs about 65 pounds. So he's pretty big, but is still on the slim side.

Hi D.,
I would say handle it at your house for awhile. Serve healthy things for meals and snacks. You know you might even do some reasearch on lactose intolerant, does the weight coinside with each other ?? I wouldn't say anything because it might cause hurt feelings (for now anyway). I don't know anything about lactose intolerant so can't give you anything to go on. And when you say over weight, how overweight ?? Sometimes less is more if you know what I'm saying. So instead of her having 3 meals a day, maybe 6 meals a day the are more like snacks. And I would try and be active with her at your house also. At the sametime if she does want a cookie or something like this I would limit how much she can have. Maybe in a few weeks bring up the weight issue. It won't do any good if her mother is allowing her to eat whenever and how much anytime she wants. Sometimes kids eat out of bordom so make sure when she is eating she isn't bored. Also some kids use food to comfort themselves when they are upset. I would talk to her make sure nothing like this is going on. And you are right it doesn't do any good to have her doing all these outside activities if she is over eating. Sometimes it's not what you eat but the amount you eat so portion control. So a portion size acceptable for her would be the size of HER fist. Sometimes also kids over indulge themselves because the food they have in front of them looks so good. Might be an idea. Well I don't know what else, you might keep a food diary for you buit for her just to see how much she eats and do it for a couple of weeks, this way when you do talk to her mother you can tell her this is how much she has eatin here.

Hope this helps W.