Discussing serving sizes with kids???

I understand your worries but she may be like my daughter who eats a lot early in the day and is not such a big eater later on. Kids tend to be good at controlling their calorie intake without having to really think about it and if she is doing sports and dancing she will be burning off a lot too. As long as her weight is ok I wouldn't worry about it.

That can be tough. But being 13 years old, your daughter should probably have a good grasp by now on what is and is not healthy eating. Instead of focusing with her on the calories that she is consuming, I would take a look with her at My Plate (myplate.gov), and talk about eating a balanced diet. So, instead of 3 or 4 servings of cereal in the morning, what would a balanced breakfast be? Cereal, sure, because that's grains, but adding fruit like you suggested, and making sure that she is eating from all the food groups throughout the day (and also in the proper quantities- because if one is going to consume all of the fruits/veggies/proteins they need, they'll have to leave room for those instead of filling up on carbs, etc).

On one hand she is still growing, and sounds pretty active, so I wouldn't worry about it. On the other hand, It's never a bad Idea to ask your kids to have a piece of fruit or some veggies with a meal. My kids get one or both on every plate. For the most part though, as long as kids are active they can get away with eating whatever they want, it's just a good idea to instill good habits at an early age.

Rigger

Don't worry too much about what teens are eating as long as they are active. Most kids can pound down thousands of calories and as long as they are playing sports and living an active life they won't get fat. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them when I was a teen. But now, I'm going to be turning 23 soon and can pretty much eat anything as long as I am sticking to my workouts.

You might also want to explore if she'd be willing to add or sub something to her cereal to make it more filling. Cinnamon Toast Crunch (CTC) has very little protein (1-2 grams/serving maybe). A lot of the more popular cereals have little protein, which is why she is eating so much of it. Maybe introduce adding a teaspoon of chia seeds into her bowl of cereal, or mix CTC with a cereal with more protein, like Kashi Go Lean (the Cinnamon Crumble flavor is great!) or Barbaras Bakery.

As long as you are having the discussion about balanced nutrition, you might also discuss how it takes about 20 minutes to feel full, so encourage her to eat slowly, really chew and taste her food with each bite.

I would try to address the issue with broader strokes- like try to explain nutritional needs to her overall, rather than saying "you shouldn't have more cereal" or whatever (not that you said that). Give her an overview of how and why you want a balanced diet of different foods, and explain that it's better to choose a fruit instead of more cereal because it's part of meeting all your nutritional needs.

Use the resources here:
http://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/adolescents/tweens-and-teenshttp://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/adolescents/tweens-and-teens

or maybe get her a book on teen nutrition so she can read it for herself.

I've been dealing with this with my 5 year old stepdaughter. When I met her at 4, she was a little taller than average but she was much bigger than she should be at her age. She is currently a size 12-14 in girls, which is the same size as my 12 year old sister. I realize all kids are different, but she was showing serious signs of a weight problem and having dealt with this myself all my life, I don't want her to eat unconsciously. Her dad was a single dad and not paying attention to her serving sizes- he basically gave her as much as she wanted of everything. Now, She sees that at dinner, dad gets the most, because "he's the biggest, he works on his feet all day and his body needs more energy." Then I have 2nd most and she has 3rd most. She seems to understand that it's about how much energy your body needs. We tell her if she eats too much, her tummy will hurt, which is generally true.

I don't want her to be counting calories at a young age, but I also don't want her to have to deal with the kinds of crap I did, and she's substantially bigger than I was. She's beautiful no matter what, but it's our job to help them to understand what she is putting in her body. That said, at 13, I think it's perfectly fine to discuss calories, because she is learning what calories are, etc. in health class about now, and she has the ability to understand the "in and out" principle. It's more about the approach. You didn't come at her and say you didn't want her to become overweight, you just said she should make a different choice. That's awesome.

Just focus on providing nutritional choices. My husband eats at least three servings at a time, but he chooses cereals that are high in fiber and even protein (kashi). Kashi even has a wonderful cinnamon harvest wheat that we don't even buy because either one of us could eat the box in a sitting, and my husband doesn't even have a problem with over eating!

If you could find a cereal she likes with dried fruit in it (or add dried fruit to something she likes) she would be getting the mixed health benefits with each bowl (no matter how many servings are in the bowl).

This is tipping awfully close to you projecting your own insecurities onto her. she's 5'8" and 145 pounds which is a perfectly healthy range for her to be in. Yes she had three bowls of cereal, but I remember many a day (I'll insert here that in 5th grade I was 5'6", taller than most of my teachers, all classmates, and 103 pounds) where I ate more than one bowl of cereal. As long as she is active she IS healthy. She could have eaten 3 bowls of m & m's. Take a step back, check out your own issues (ie she's eating three bowls of cereal, so she's going to get fat like me) and just let her be. Promote healthy eating, certainly, but dont project your problems onto her at 13, you could end up with a Anorexic 16 year old.

I'm 26, and I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I wasn't never largely overweight but certainly carried a few extra pounds. I was also very active and ate whatever I pleased, so while I continued to gain weight luckily it wasn't as much weight as I should have gained because of the activity. I would eat terribly. Usually would have breakfast but not something healthy - see cinnamon toast crunch, toaster strudles, etc. I would eat however much of it that I wanted. I would have maybe a sandwich for lunch, fruit snacks etc, and would come home from school and eat. eat. eat. I would have multiples of anything I could find. I would eat pizza pops, froze pizza, toast with butter, grilled cheese sandwich, cookies, chips any sweets I could find.

In hindsight, I wish someone told me what eating crap like that can do to your insides. I hope they'd told me how it's much better for you mentally, emotionally and physically to stay active and eat healthily. That it's okay to eat sweets but moderation is important. I wish someone explained why nutrition was important. I wish someone explained why drinking water is so important.

So, as someone who still vividly remembers being your daughters age I say, educate her. You don't need to tell her about calories, but about nutrition. About the benefits of eating good food. You'll save her from the crash that will happen when she stops being so active.

I would try to address the issue with broader strokes- like try to explain nutritional needs to her overall, rather than saying "you shouldn't have more cereal" or whatever (not that you said that). Give her an overview of how and why you want a balanced diet of different foods, and explain that it's better to choose a fruit instead of more cereal because it's part of meeting all your nutritional needs.

Use the resources here:
http://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/adolescents/tweens-and-teenshttp://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/adolescents/tweens-and-teens

or maybe get her a book on teen nutrition so she can read it for herself.

totally this...frame the conversation around proper nutrition. My eldest boy is almost 4 and we regularly talk about nutrition and why he's getting either fruit or vegetables on his plate at every meal.

This is tipping awfully close to you projecting your own insecurities onto her. she's 5'8" and 145 pounds which is a perfectly healthy range for her to be in. Yes she had three bowls of cereal, but I remember many a day (I'll insert here that in 5th grade I was 5'6", taller than most of my teachers, all classmates, and 103 pounds) where I ate more than one bowl of cereal. As long as she is active she IS healthy. She could have eaten 3 bowls of m & m's. Take a step back, check out your own issues (ie she's eating three bowls of cereal, so she's going to get fat like me) and just let her be. Promote healthy eating, certainly, but dont project your problems onto her at 13, you could end up with a Anorexic 16 year old.

I did not get this impression at all from the OP, it sounded to me like she wants to raise nutritional awareness in a sensitive way, so she doesn't impart any insecurities on her daughter. I think you may be projecting your insecurities and/or experiences on this OP.

Children under the age of thirteen eat to their metabolismic needs. My daughter is four, and she can consume an easy three bowls of cereal every morning. She eats all day, and I was actually trying to restrict her, because I thought the sugar would be unhealthy for her, but the doctors back in TN and my current doctor in VA all say the same thing, she is growing, and she will stop eating when her body tells her she is full. She can eat two grilled cheese sandwiches, and still have a belly growling. She is four ft tall, and weights 45-50 pounds. Very tall for her age. My little cousin Blake is six months older than her, and he hardly eats anything, but he is much smaller than her. I think about 32 pounds or so, and much shorter. I would consult the doctor just in case though. I would hate for you to get the wrong info from my experience lol. Good luck!!

I wish my parents had the knowledge to have these kinds of conversations with me when I was young enough, before I developed an unhealthy relationship with food (it tastes good, so I eat lots and lots!)

My son is 8, 4'6 and 65lbs. He does tae kwon do 3 nights a week and 4 hours of gym class a week (he's the kid that goes full out and comes back sweat). He lives for the outdoors, bikes, runs, climbs, etc. He is active as anything.

I do explain to him that he needs to eat good foods to be healthy and strong, and he understands.

The benefits to a healthy, balanced diet is the best way to explain! At 13, maybe you can mention about insulin spikes from the cereal, and why veggies/fruit/protein are needed to balance things out inside the body.

Is the 3-4 serving thing new or is she a big eater (that comes with being so active)? If it's new, it could be a growth spurt!