Afraid my daughter will follow in my footsteps. :(

ninerbuff

Wow, I can't believe this mentality that Americans have of eating being a SOCIAL event? REALLY?!?!?!?

We eat for nourishment and survival, not socialiazation. Right there lies a HUGE problem with the obesity epidemic.

It's not just Americans..................practically every culture in the world has occasions where eating is a social event to an extent.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

VelvetAcidVixen

Please do not put your 4 year old on a diet. Let her eat as much food as she wants when she wants as long as it's healthy and not junk. That would be the best way to keep from passing along your issues with food. Make yourself an example for your kids by keeping junk food out of the house and eating healthy and normally yourself. You put her on a diet, you are practically guaranteeing body issues and/or ED later on in life.

ArroganceInStep

I don't think there's a problem with designating a specific time for eating, but if that's the case I think it would be good if you followed those rules as well.

There's always going to be a risk of developing an unhealthy relationship with food, she could get that by being denied food when she's hungry too.

I think most important is to feed your child mostly healthy food and make sure they stay active.

And some kids just eat a lot.

zombilishious

Young kids are programmed to eat at odd times. They're metabolism is different than ours, and they have a hard time sitting through a meal. Stress healthy foods over junk food. My kids love fruit smoothies, yogurt with granola and berries, apples and peanut butter ... and I never worry about how much they eat because kids are better at self-regulating their hunger than adults are.

DawnieB1977

Thanks for the great advice everyone! I will start to offer her more water. I never thought about that. I know that when i get the munchies or feel hungry after I ate, its because Im thirsty. Having scheduled eating times and eating together is also great. Something I should give a try. Im sure shes just a little girl with a big appetite and a fast metabolism. :0) And youre right, parenting is hard!

My 18 month old daughter is a bit like your daughter, she wants what everyone else is having, although she'll only have one bite if you offer her some. I think girls can be like that. My 3.5 year old son has to be bribed to eat!

We always eat together, and the kids have what we have most of the time. I'm not cooking separate meals! I always make sure they have a drink with meals. Both know to stop when they're full, so I don't think overeating would be a problem.

Both my kids are slim - my son is 98th centile for height but only 50th for weight - but I am slightly paranoid that they will end up with my slow metabolism and gain weight. Chances are though that they'll end up like my husband who was really skinny as a child.

DawnieB1977

Wow, I can't believe this mentality that Americans have of eating being a SOCIAL event? REALLY?!?!?!?

We eat for nourishment and survival, not socialiazation. Right there lies a HUGE problem with the obesity epidemic.

It's not just Americans..................practically every culture in the world has occasions where eating is a social event to an extent.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I would say that in countries like Spain, Italy and France eating is an important, social, family occasion, yet there doesn't seem to be an obesity problem in those countries, does there?

It becomes a problem when people sit in front of the TV shovelling microwave ready meals down their throats without paying attention to what they're eating.

ahamm002

I would be careful about projecting your own experiences and insecurities on to your daughter. It is very possible that she is growing and needs more food. You say that she is not eating junk food, what she is wanting is healthy....then I would give it to her. You also don't want to set up a dynamic at home where she is hungry, and you do not give her food. That could lead to weight problems further down the road as well. If she says she is hungry, believe her. Just make sure what you are giving her is healthy.

^^this

If she gets overweight later on then you can deal with it then. But the more you make food and "issue" now, the more it'll be an issue later. At this age don't worry about her wanting to eat.

Firefox7275

Hello all! So I have a daughter who is 4 years old and for the last few months I've been noticing that she always seems to be hungry. She has always been very small for her age and even as an infant, her pediatrician told me that I had to offer her food often throughout the day so that she can gain weight. They even told me to put butter, mayo, avacado, and whole milk in her foods. She was considered "failing to thrive" because of how under weight she was. But she was just tiny! She took after her dad because my mother-in-law told me that my husband was the same way when he was little. But of course the Dr.'s only went by their charts. Now I notice that she gets "excited" about food. Or if she sees somebody eating something, she wants to eat too, even though she just ate. Like right now for example, she had just finished eating almost a whole bowl of oatmeal but she saw me eating and wanted what I had. I told her that she just ate and then she starts crying saying that shes hungry. Theres no way she could have been hungry. Am I just being paranoid? Maybe shes just growing? Shes not chubby, but Im afraid she will be. I started gaining my weight when I was about 7 and stayed that way the rest of my life. I had kids call me fat in elementary school and I remember how hurtful that was. I dont want either of my kids to go through that. Should I deny her food when I know there is no possible way that she can be hungry? Or just give her what she wants? I dont keep junk food in my house but as Im going through this process myself, I do give in to junk myself and my kids end up eating it also. I still struggle with food and am working on my relationship with it. I have gotten a whole lot better and my family and myself eat a whole lot healthier. I just dont want her to have a love for food like I did and still sometimes do.

What was in the oatmeal, just oats and water or a quality source of protein and healthy fat, some low sugar produce? Carbs alone don't fill everyone up, protein and fats play key roles in signalling to the body that it has had a proper meal, and carbs alone don't supply all the nutrients that a growing child needs. If your daughter has been underweight for some time she won't have stores of nutrients to draw on so her body may well now be demanding more food. People who don't love food can often end up ignoring hunger signals and underweight, it's just as unhealthy long term as being overweight. Not looking to the past but the future.