Starting our kids off WRONG

Metabolism for a child is different from an adult. While it would be better to have that big meal in the morning and afternoon, and a light dinner, because of the growth rate of the body, kids don't (normally) store fat at anywhere near the rate of adults, thus can eat a lot more calories (proportionately) then adults in one sitting and not put on much (if any) fat. There are, of course different situations and every child is different, but as a whole this is generally the case.

This does NOT mean you can give a child whatever, and they won't get fat. Especially in children, I feel it's far more important to feed them the RIGHT food, then too much food. I.E. if they are eating large meals, but they are at least nutritionally balanced and don't have much saturated fats and/or simple sugars and carbs, then I feel like it would take a LOT to make one (assuming normal health) gain excessive weight.

As to the 6 meals and kids, I don't think it's anywhere near as important. Child metabolisms are ramped up to such a high level that, anywhere from 3 meals to 6 meals will give them what they need (as long as they are healthy).

Bank, I agree, but my whole thing is that we get them in a routine that they do for 13 years, then they change
and they way their process things change, and they need to change they way they eat, but when they been eating a certain way for 13 years its hard for them to break the 3 big meal a day habit and switch to 6 smaller meals. So then even if they eat 6 meals 3 of those still end up being big meals (because breakfast, lunch and supper have always been big for them). Therefore over all they end up eatting excess calories.

That seems to be the pattern I see

3 large meals with 3 small snacks is not bad either. Kids are different, just like banks said. I know my kids schools have mandatory PE all the way through high school so they get at least 40 minutes of exercise built in to their day.

My kids eat a big breakfast (they have all day to burn that off!), then 4 hours later they have lunch, 4 hours later a decent size after school snack (usually fruit and nuts), then 3 hours later they have dinner and sometimes a small snack between dinner and bedtime.

The 6 meals a day plan is to help keep the grown ups from not eating. Kids are usually on a better schedule than adults because we make them stick to one but then we let ourselves continue with bad habits. The small meal plan is to eat between 4-6 smaller meals a day. If our kids get in 4 meals that is great, that is a good habit builder.

If you don't like what the school lunches are, pack their lunch. My kids take their lunch everyday and I think most parents would be surprised how little kids need for lunch. My kids are 10 and 14 and a 1/2 sandwich, a snack size baggie of grapes and a bottle of milk are about all they need, or have time to consume with the chatter amongst kids.

I signed my daughter up for the gym this summer, she just turned 14. She asked to go and I said I would sign her up and followed that with if I sign you up you are going. I also told her that this was one of the better lessons of life I could teach her and that was to get to the gym for at least 30 minutes everyday, to schedule it in, let the kids cry in the kiddie gym or whatever but that she always needs to remember to take care of herself so she can be a better her and take care of her own family someday!

The schools are not the problem. Think about the time your kids eat breakfast and how many hours between breakfast and lunch, lunch and snack, snack and dinner and even one more snack. Most schools even have snack until 4th grade between breakfast and lunch. If your kids are over 13 they are old enough to pack a snack and eat it in between meals if they are hungry.

(don't do it Marla-- don't do it)

Well, okay, here's what I think-- I think our "obesity" epidemic is because our kids are either in school all blinkin' day on their behinds, in after school programs, daycares and on video games instead of being outside playing and riding their bikes like we were as kids.

I wasn't a fat kid UNTIL age 10 when my mother went back to work fulltime, turning me into a latchkey kid who ate unsupervised, and sat around and watched TV 'cause no one was there to tell me get my butt outside and play.

I think it's less about what the kids eat. Heck, all the skinny girls in school when I was a kid still ate Twinkies, but they were active so it all came out in the wash. Me? I ate a Twinkie and got fat. It's about the supervision they have and what they do with their free time.

I think it's outrageous my kid CAN'T get a soda in school if he wants one because the schools are so nutty about this topic that all sugar and fat is off limits. It's madness. I think the schools job is to teach Readin', Ritin' and Rithmetic, not dictate what our children eat. That's my job.

I some what agree, but I don't think kids shouldn't get to just have soda it should be something special they get only occationally, and I do feel that the school does have to teach kids about nutrition, because hell the teachers there see my kids 8 hours a day. After they sleep 9 hours and are in transport another 2, that leaves only 5 hours they are with me, of which time they are doing chores, homework, and bathing. Also there are a lot of kids in this country that the only nutrition they get is at school, and there are a lot of kids that eat 2 out of 3 meals at school. So the school is the main place they learn about nutrition

Please don't take this wrong because I think your heart is right, but NO! You are the parent. You get to decide. Schools are for academia and with all the bogus nutritional teaching done in the schools systems in the last 30 years. My goodness...

Take a close look at what those kids get for school lunch. Really, most of them are not great and loaded with sodium. There are so many healthy choices that would be better for the kids. You are the parent, do you really want that teacher (who probably has different values than you do) teaching your kids the things that are clearly important to you - to your little ones? You are on this site because health and nutrition are important. You can teach the kiddos so much by your example of daily life and healthy conversations at your dinner table.

You can teach them this most vital information!

Hmm...
My elementary school kids
6:30 a.m. breakfast
morning snack
11 a.m. lunch
afternoon snack at school
afternoon snack after school program
dinner
after dinner snack about 1/2 hour before bed

At my children's school they can have a little snack at their recess. We pack their lunch and include enough for morning and afternoon snacks.

Even without changing anything about the school I think many children can eat many times a day. If you are concerned perhaps you could gently ask the teacher if a snack could be worked into the day.

If you dig around there may be some study on whether having snacks increases student performance...then the schools would all sign on.

Good luck!

Well my kid's school don't serve the snacks to the kids, and as far as I know the older kids don't get to just carry snacks around and eat them when ever they want. They go to a pretty small school (my daughters 6th grade class has 25 kids in it, and there is only one 6th grade class), so it is pretty easy to monitor what goes on in the halls, and they only get 2.5 min between classes.

I do my best to keep our kids healthy, It's the society as a whole I'm really worried about. We live 8 miles out of town (pop 300) and 14 miles from the town where they go to school (pop1000), but we drove both girls into town twice a week all summer to go to basketball, and our son twice a week to go to baseball. We don't have any TV and our kids have to help with all cleaning and animal chores. Now that school started (which we live in such a rural area there is no choice what school to go to). They do have PM twice a week and my 12 and 10 year old girls play after school and weekend volleyball.

We home school, but at a co-op that is technically part of the district (and I am on staff there), so...

Your tax dollars are at work here. If at any point you don't like something for your kids or want a general input, your principal or district superintendent should meet with you. Same with the teacher. Without good quality help and input a school district can't do a lot. They are restricted by state regs and, unfortunately, due to funding issues (yes, most have $$ probs) they are on red alert in other arenas.... Go get involved YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE...

I agree and I also agree that kids are not as active as they used to be. It is partly the school's responsibility to feed them correctly when they are there, and to encourage healthy activities. But it is also the parent's role as well, to encourage their kids to be active. My sister and I were always in some kind of sport, starting out with little kiddie softball to cheerleading to gymnastics and school sports. I totally sucked at them, I am far from coordinated or athletic, but it didn't matter, it was fun and it kept us healthy. I think schools and parents need to really work together. You know, that saying it takes a village to raise a child...

I also believe in feeding my kids when they are hungry. I have never really put them on a strict eating schedule. I don't schedule myself when I eat, and I don't think it's fair to do that to kids either. I realize that's kind of impossible to follow in a school setting, though.

Okay I have been reading a book called, "Disease proof your children". It is all about feeding them healthy foods so that their immune systems are healthy and they don't develop horrible diseases like cancer at 30. On the chart of what our kids consume (and this is a little out dated) they consume like 60 + % of processed foods!!! They only consumed 17% fruits and veggies, that is scary. So even though I gained weight I am a closest junk food junkie and I have always been very aware of what my kids eat. (Well most of the time) It is just training them toward a healthy life style. I have been trying to change it more and more toward healthier foods. Because they still would eat only bread over veggies or pasta over salad. So it is just lots of work and modification.

Now on the school I have lots of issues with the public school system, thus my decision to home school my kids. I know not everyone can do this, so I think you will just have to keep after the school systems. But they have already done a lot to change the schools for healthier eating like removing the coke machines and offering more healthy choices. But like my book says if you start healthy eating habits at home then the kids will take it with them and be more likely to make healthy choices. Like this doctor pointed out one day his young daughter was going on some sort of field trip and they had to pack lunches. The daughter later asked him why the others kids parents hated them. Surprised he asked her why? She said that the others kids lunches were full of junk food and she wanted to know why their parents hated them and didn't want them to be healthy. He was a little taken back but explained to her that the parents loved their children they just didn't understand the significant healthy benefits of healthy eating.

I am one of those parents and I get lazy sometimes!! It is so much easier to whip a snack out of a package then have to plan a healthy snack or meal. It isn't easy and I have kinda ruined my kids because when I was sick and on chemo I feed them whatever because I was to tired to care. Now my daughter thinks everything should be chicken or bread and I am having to slowly break that habit. I try to give them a fruit snack in the morning between meals and veggies snacks between lunch and dinner. Dinner is my biggest struggle.

Banks is right that children need to consume more food and need more calories. However it is advisable to spread it out with three meals and two snacks. That keeps them from over stuffing themselves and forming bad habits and keeps the nutrition they need in their bodies to grow. But the point is not to let them get in bad snacking habits and fill up on snacks, that is what my three year old would do if I let her.

I don't know if I helped any, but there is my two cents :happy: .

Hey, GoGetter-- another homeschooler....there's at least three of us, now. Cool!

I agree and I also agree that kids are not as active as they used to be. It is partly the school's responsibility to feed them correctly when they are there, and to encourage healthy activities. But it is also the parent's role as well, to encourage their kids to be active. My sister and I were always in some kind of sport, starting out with little kiddie softball to cheerleading to gymnastics and school sports. I totally sucked at them, I am far from coordinated or athletic, but it didn't matter, it was fun and it kept us healthy. I think schools and parents need to really work together. You know, that saying it takes a village to raise a child...

I also believe in feeding my kids when they are hungry. I have never really put them on a strict eating schedule. I don't schedule myself when I eat, and I don't think it's fair to do that to kids either. I realize that's kind of impossible to follow in a school setting, though.

One of the main things I still remember about school (which was quite awhile ago) was being so hungery in 5th hour (right before lunch) that my stomach was growling and I could hardly concentrate.

Exactly why more good parents should be involved and asking questions - we need input in our school districts!

It's not so much meal frequency as it is the CONTENT of the meals. The thermic effect of digestion doesn't increase with meal frequency; it correlates with meal size. A big meal= more calories used in digestion, a smaller meal= fewer calories used in digestion. Eating 4 meals a day is by no means unhealthy, and really just serves to prevent bingeing, which is easily controlled as an adult who can monitor calories. I eat 4 meals a day, and my fasted glucose is ~70 and I'm not overweight.

However, when you look at WHAT the kids are served...it's garbage. I haven't been out of the public school system long enough to forget what I had to live on.
Breakfast: Sausage wrapped in pancakes or honey buns
Lunch: Pizza, Fries, Stuffed Breadsticks, "Hot" Lunch (usually spaghetti, chicken fingers or a burger), and the one "healthy" item-- breaded chicken salad. Dressings? Ranch.
Snacks: Chips, cookies, muffins, snack cakes, vending machine. Or an apple.

Granted, I became health-conscious at a fairly young age, so I generally tried to pack my lunch or peel the breading off the chicken for the salad (seriously, I did). But when you put a kid in a candy store, what do you think they're going to buy? No one wanted the apple, they wanted the pizza, fries, and a Nutty Buddy bar. Whether they're allowed 1 meal or 5 meals, if it's crap, it's crap.

We all know that eating 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big meals is so much better for you, but once our kids hit school age it seems that we try to mold them in to the 3 meals a day pattern, and it's no wonder that we have so many over weight kids turning into over weight adults. I particularly worry about this because I have a husband that was always "chubby" and now have a son with the same problem. And it breaks my heart to see so many young girls on this sight with weight problems, some of them very severe. I personally didn't have any major weight issues until after I got married and had badies.

When my kids were little, I ran a daycare in my home and I would serve breakfast, 10:00 snack, lunch, 3:00 snack, which I thought was a great schedule for the little ones. Now my kids are in school and they eat breakfast (which I have to force down them), a big lunch, a snack and a big supper. Which they will do for 13 years (k-12) That's a 13 year habbit that they will then have to break in order to be "healthy" later in life.

What are your guys' thoughts on this?

I don't think 3 meals a day is wrong. Look at the European countries and their lower rates of obesity. My wife just went on a teacher's trip to a few countries there, including Poland, and she noticed how she felt like the heaviest one there (though she is not as overweight as I am) same for the other countries, and in each one it had nothing to do with how much money one has, etc. She observed, and noticed 2 things:
1) That most people walked a lot.
2) That "snacks" were more of an American thing. The people in those countries didn't snack or have more than 3 meals a day. They generally ate a small breakfast, a regular-sized lunch, and a small dinner. Each meal was definitely not diet-like foods or low-calorie foods, except for the ubiquitious soup that was eaten with lunch and dinner to add to a sense of fullness.
They seemed to really enjoy their meals, and interesting enough, many ate outside, enjoying the atmosphere.

I think we have much to learn from other countries. This isn't new, obviously. Most of us heard of the "French Paradox" but it's easy to forget.

I think in America, our eating habits have had a few decades to get to this point, that even those my age have never known otherwise...but when my parents were kids in the 50s, people ate more like the European countries do today.

I think the answer is to try, over time, to revert to our older ways.

I was a foreign exchange student for Belgium and my husband worked over in Italy for quiet a while. So some of what you say is true. However weight watchers in big over in Europe too and I personally knew European woman who were on the diet. They have just as much junk food because I shopped their grocery stores. Sandwiches is a big part of their diets as well. Now the walking is a huge factor but it will never be the same here in west Texas as far as eating outside (because it is to dang hot) or walking to the grocery store because we are to spread out. You have to remember that these people live in house crammed next to each other. The home I stayed in was 300 years old! And it was one of the newer ones. We tear down homes and buildings older than 50 years in America and we like lots of acreage to go with it. In Europe it was easy for me to walk to the sandwich shop, or grocery store because it was just right there and the weather was always gorgeous except for rain or colder days. Kids in Europe are more conscience about their weight and the girl I stayed with worried about her weight and watched it just like American teens. But she had better eating habits then I did. Like chocolate was on every corner there in Spa Belgium but she would get some and eat it in a weeks time or so, I would eat all mine that day. Big difference. Oh, plus we did snack, maybe not as often but we did. And the schools do have snacks available, they even had mild beers and wine available...I KID YOU NOT!

Now the Italians eat lots of pasta. The kicker is it usually has fish and olive oil sauces which are much healthier than our sauces and beef or chicken toppings. Also their food isn't severely processed like ours and loaded with TONS of corn syrup. My husband actually gained weight while working in Italy because their food was so good. So it still goes back to portions. Plus I know you heard it takes them like two hours to eat their meals..this is true! It is usually a five course meal and it takes them 2 + hours to eat. My husband when he stayed in Italy said a lot of the restaurants would not even open till like 8 pm. These people love their social eating as well but they have healthier choices and they don't cram their faces full like we Americans. But they have Mc D's and pizza joints just like we do. Again it is just life style and their choices. Now they don't have Mexican food and that could be what is hurting us Americans!!! :laugh: I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!!
Oh btw my husband lost 15 pounds while working in China because their food is AWFUL. My husband said his food was always looking back at him, he would always come back from China skinny as a rail. And I kid you not before he left he would fill a back pack full of those snickers power bars and that is what he would live off for 5 weeks because the food was so terrible in China. SO...we could all move to China and be super skinny in 10 weeks!!! :laugh:

So anyways from some one who was immersed in that culture they are generally skinner people but they work at it just like everyone else who is skinny. Yes it is easier because they will get more exercise because of the close distance and there are healthier food options when they choose to eat out. I loved Europe and their culture..but people I gained 15 pounds over there so it is very possible to gain weight with bad eating habits not matter where you are at and no matter how often you walk a day. (I walked everyday just about while there). Oh plus I drank my fair share of beer, it was awesome to be able to legally buy alcohol and drink it and I am sure that contributed big time to my weight gain! Ha!

Plus don't give the Europeans a bigger head then they already have. All I heard while I was there was how stupid and lame our President was, I was kinda getting pissy about it. I wanted to ask them..."So how many times was it that AMERCIA saved your rear end?? This could be Germany you know if it wasn't for AMERICA and our stupid presidents." Sorry..off subject.