My daughter is constantly eating!!

DD is 4yrs old. And she is constantly asking for food. I know it's pretty normal for kids to graze, but DD will eat every hour, without fail. Just this morning, she's had 2 slices of toast with peanut butter, dried banana chips (my heaped handful), an apple (a whole medium sized apple), some milk and now she's asking for some crackers (rice crackers). She had breaky at 7.30am. She will eat like this allll day! As well as having her meals. I have checked for worms, and I am pretty sure she doesn't have them. I often tell her to have a drink if she's asking for food again, just in case she's thirsty, but she will usually come back and ask again in a few minutes. Is there something else it could be, or is she just a piggy? I don't necessarily mind her eating so much but I don't wnat her to get into bad habbits, just eating for something to do, and when she's bored, rather than telling me she wants something to do. Should I be worried, or just go with it??

We had a dietician (sp?) come to playgroup one day and she said that kids will eat as they feel to. Her body is obviously craving something. Some multi vitamins may help.
Good idea with the drinks. Hunger and thirst often have the same symptoms and its hard for a child to tell the difference.
I'd go with it for a little while, but if you're concerned please take her to a doctor.
Good luck

She has a multi vitamin. I am just a little concerned for the amount of food she eats! It's almost always healthy stuff, but my gosh she can eat! Though when it comes to meals, she will only eat one portion. And she's not chubby or overweight in anyway. Actually she may be smaller than average. Maybe it's silly to worry! I just don't want food to be an issue for her.

my girls eat ALL day!!! DD2 eats more than me

I am always amazed at how much food my boys can put away. My 4 year old ALWAYS comes back after a sandwich and tells me he is still hungry, then he has a museli bar, then some fruit. After they get home from daycare they eat like horses, even though the book at daycare says they ate everything offered to them during the day, which I assume should be enough for a 'normal' child :lol:.
I wouldn't worry if she is not overweight. Just keep providing good food when she is hungry and not junk food.

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my girls eat ALL day!!! DD2 eats more than me

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Ok that's reassuring! She is such a piglet!

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I am always amazed at how much food my boys can put away. My 4 year old ALWAYS comes back after a sandwich and tells me he is still hungry, then he has a museli bar, then some fruit. After they get home from daycare they eat like horses, even though the book at daycare says they ate everything offered to them during the day, which I assume should be enough for a 'normal' child :lol:.
I wouldn't worry if she is not overweight. Just keep providing good food when she is hungry and not junk food.

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Mine are the same after day care. But I don't mind so much then! I know they've been busy and running around alot more than they do at home. At home they don't do so much, plus I run out of healthy options of food to feed her! I try to give her something different each time so she gets variety, but she eats so often, I run out of options!

So far she's eaten, 2 slices of toast, banana chips, whole apple, milk, 8 rice crackers, a whole cup of water (and 1/2 of her brothers!), 3 corn thins with peanut butter, a small tub of yogurt, a slice of cheese, a slice of ham, some small pickled onions and a small blueberry muffin we made together. Me on the other hand have had some water, coffee and 4 corn thins with low fat cheese, avocado and tomato. Oh and a cup-a-soup! Where on earth does she put it all!

I wouldn't worry, my DD is the same. She's having a nap now but by midday she'd eaten two pieces of toast with a glass of milk, a bowl of ravioli, 22 grapes (yes I counted :rofl:), a packet of mini rice crackers, calamari and chips, and a sandwich :o

If I ate as much as Olivia and Rebecca I would be huge! I assume its pretty normal for growing bodies! If youre feeding them healthy food then it shouldn't matter:)

Kell, Darcy eats more than me too. She's been really bad lately but I have noticed her pants are shorter (again :wall:), so I'll put it down to that. But even regularly she eats a lot.

Mine eat all day too - but more so when they are bored. When they are heavily involved in something, they will not ask for food for an hour or so...
Maybe experiment...do an activity with her, take her outside, look at the flowers, play hide n seek etc...see in that time span if she asks for food ...more often than not i reckon its just coz they're bored.

I have always thought DD1 would be at her happiest if I set up a las Vegas style buffet and just kept refreshing it all day.

Ok so it sounds normal. I mean I know it's normal for them to graze alot, but she just eats and eats! And yes, when she's busy, she doesn't eat so much, but I can't occupy her all day! It's usually when I try to sit down myself, or when I'm feeding DS2 that she's asking for snacks. I will give her her meals, and then in between she will just constantly want more!

LOL, Little Chicken, I actually thought to do something like that, well kind of! Just put a heap of food in a box for her to munch on all day so I didn't have to always be making stuff for her. I feel like all I do is prepare food!

Dd1 is the same, she is 4 in July. Since she stopped having milk she grazes all day. I let her have access to the fridge she just has to ask first she can choose from cheese, yoghurt, apples, sultanas etc. Biscuits and junk food like chips are a treat. I have trouble keeping up with her now but she was always slender so hopefully she is catching up now.

Sounds like a typical 4 year old.. They're so busy doing what they do so they just need to refuel frequently.
My 4 y.o is the same - always wanting food but i think she just likes to eat when she has nothing else to do.

Just wondering though, does she pee heaps as well?

The only "bad" thing that comes to my mind about little kids who eat constantly, drink alot and pee alot is diabetes.
Totally unlikely but as a nurse who works in paediatrics i cant help but think of the normal and abnormal of things like this!

Karina is right about the refueling.

It might make you feel better to know that they don't "pack it away" at all.

In fact - children burn the same amount of energy in one day as we adults burn in one week!!

My dd eats more than me..... It worries dh- not about dd but about me (mind you I've packed on 12 kgs).

Definately keep offering water first- it's good habit. Im struggling to get dd to drink enough at the moment. it could also be why she eats small amounts often. She is filling up on water- eating a Little rather than a lot. Thats not a bad thing either. It's what adults are recommended to do particularly if they are trying to shift some weight.


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Thanks everyone!

Karina, I had never thought of diabetes, but I don't think she has it. She doesn't wee that much really, pretty normal I would say, not more than me, maybe less even, lol!

Mummy Duck, I know that these are good habbits, it's just the phenominal amount of food she can put away! She eats way more than me most days. Thanks for that info about them using more energy than adults, I suppose they do, with all of that growing and learning and running around they do. I think DD might be having a growth spurt actually, we went for a drive yesterday after not having used the car for quite a while and I had to extend her carseat straps. And she no longer fits into some clothes she used to!

I'm not so worried now everyone has said their kids are the same, lol. Just a couple of well-meaning people had said things and I was getting a complex. I should know better than to listen to people who don't know my child like I do!

I dont believe a child of 4 eats because they are bored. She is growing and learning as long as most of the foods you offer are healthy then i say let her eat. If you are sick of making stuff all day, pack a lunch box and let her eat when she wants :)

Miss 3 asks for food all day, doesn't eat it, leaves it down in low places (or outright lines it up on the carpet - argh!) and the baby comes along and hoovers it all up, fluff and all.

Sometimes she skips the middle man and asks for food and goes off and feeds it straight to the baby ...