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sddaycare 09:21 AM 07-14-2013
I have done daycare for over 10 years and have never had this issue before, I'm hoping someone can help! I have a 6 year old dcg who can eat ALOT if I let her. Should I let her? i try to keep everything at serving sizes and that seems to fill up the others, but this girl will keep eating. The other day she had 4 whole pb sandwiches, 2 whole apples, 3 servings of green beans and carrots, along with 3 glasses of milk and she wanted more. This seems like alot to me,but i also dont want her to be hungry. Any suggestions?
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itlw8 09:30 AM 07-14-2013
That is far more than an adult eats so yes you need to cut her off. 1 whole sandwich. 1 whole apple 2 servings of veggies and 8 ounces of milk then water is more than enough
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Angelsj 09:55 AM 07-14-2013
I would talk to her parents before cutting her off.
There are medical issues she could have that would need to be addressed. That is a LOT of food for a little 6 yo, but I wouldn't just tell her no without knowing what is going on first.
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kathiemarie 10:28 AM 07-14-2013
During the school year I had a 1st grader like that. I quizzed her on what she ate at home and it was NOTHING. Ok not nothing but very little. Her mom was super busy and sometimes the little girl would just get yogurt for dinner and her lunch was carrots and humus.

At first I would let her eat until she was full but then it was just to much. I would tell her that she has had plenty for a snack (I would let her have 1 to 2 servings plus all the veggies she wanted) and she would have to wait until dinner at home. I would also tell her she had to tell her mom she was hungry if she "forgot" to feed her dinner. I felt bad for the girl but she isn't my child.

Oh, and the offer of more veggies was never taken. lol.
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Starburst 10:30 AM 07-14-2013
I would look up what an appropriate serving size (or portion) is for someone her age and try to limit it to no more than 2 servings. But talk to the parents first to see if she has any health concerns that may make her hungry that you aren't aware of (such as low blood sugar).You can also try to get one of those plates with the serving size dividers. Or the placemats that go under them so kids can have a regular reminder.

http://www.buildhealthykids.com/servingsizes.html
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/gu...s-and-portions

How she eats could also affect her appetite. It could also be that she eats too fast and doesn't give her stomach enough time to send the "I am full!" message to the brain. That's how tummy-aches and bloating happen, eventually it stretches out the stomach and it becomes a habit. Maybe try to encourage her to eat a little slower or to chew her food more thoroughly (the old wives tale about chewing 20-25 times). Also make sure there is no TV or fast music playing during meal time, that can cause her to eat faster or to "eat mindlessly". The color of a plate or the room could also make her hungrier (colors such as red, orange, or yellow make people more anxious and hungrier).

My Psych teacher (who was a vegan and major health nut) said that you shouldn't drink anything during a meal because it dilutes the food in your stomach and takes longer for your stomach to get full. Apparently we are supposed to drink something about 1/2 hour after a meal to avoid this. I have also heard from weight-loss/ healthy eating segments on The Doctors and Dr. Oz that if you drink 2 glasses of water within a 1/2 hour before a meal to make sure you actually are hunger and not just dehydrated and confusing thirst for hunger. Though these might be hard to do on a food program (if you have to offer milk or water with a meal).
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MarinaVanessa 10:36 AM 07-14-2013
One of the reasons for the food program is so that providers serve healthy meals to the children in their care, another reason is for portion control. If there are no medical reasons why this child should be eating that much (I couldn't possibly even eat that much) then I would limit her portions. It's okay to give some extra especially if she is eating everything including her veggies but I wouldn't go overboard or I would be encouraging her to overeat. Healthy habits start at a young age ... if she is average build and just highly active she could possibly simply be burning off her food quickly. For example, my 8yo DD is ADHD and can eat large adult portions however she is extremely active and so needs to eat more than the average child.
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blandino 11:10 AM 07-14-2013
Originally Posted by itlw8:
That is far more than an adult eats so yes you need to cut her off. 1 whole sandwich. 1 whole apple 2 servings of veggies and 8 ounces of milk then water is more than enough
I would do this. I limit my kids to a reasonable amount of food. I only have ages 4 & younger, but when they get to an entire sandwich , etc, I will cut them off. Fruits and veggies I will serve until they are gone. Also, I wouldn't give her second servings of milk - water only. My kids never gets seconds of milk, water only after they finish their first serving.
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Cradle2crayons 11:16 AM 07-14-2013
Originally Posted by sddaycare:
I have done daycare for over 10 years and have never had this issue before, I'm hoping someone can help! I have a 6 year old dcg who can eat ALOT if I let her. Should I let her? i try to keep everything at serving sizes and that seems to fill up the others, but this girl will keep eating. The other day she had 4 whole pb sandwiches, 2 whole apples, 3 servings of green beans and carrots, along with 3 glasses of milk and she wanted more. This seems like alot to me,but i also dont want her to be hungry. Any suggestions?
If I were serving this exact meal to a child that age, they would get one HALF of a sandwich, one half of a large apple or one small apple, one her size portion of green beans and carrots total, and one her age serving of milk.

I understand her parents may not care, but as a mom I would be horrified if I found out my six year old was eating that much at a meal.

I stick strictly to serving sizes. There enough obesity and I'm not going to contribute
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JoseyJo 03:06 PM 07-14-2013
To me it would make a difference if the child was overweight or not. If the child is not overweight I would not limit her food at all. She must need the extra food as it is not causing her to gain weight. She would have to try everything to get seconds and eat everything on the plate to get thirds, fourths, etc. So she would be getting a balanced meal (albeit a very large one!)

We do have a time limit though- the last person eating is excused from the table (even if they are still eating) when the second to the last child was done pottying/washing hands.
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Cradle2crayons 03:11 PM 07-14-2013
I'm kind of wondering what's the point of feeding them healthy when you give them four sandwiches,multiple apples, and four glasses of milk. Abalone is more calories than an adult should eat in an entire day! Yikes!!
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Hunni Bee 07:53 PM 07-14-2013
Some posters are saying don't limit her, but there is no child that needs to eat 4 sandwiches in one sitting. That's eight pieces of bread! I'm sorry but that's excessive and unhealthy in my opinion.

At 6, a sandwich and a half is sufficient. One milk, then a half, then water. There's no way her tummy wasn't full by the second sandwich, which means she's overriding her fullness and that's not a healthy habit for her to have either.
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Willow 08:40 AM 07-15-2013
Originally Posted by Hunni Bee:
Some posters are saying don't limit her, but there is no child that needs to eat 4 sandwiches in one sitting. That's eight pieces of bread! I'm sorry but that's excessive and unhealthy in my opinion.

At 6, a sandwich and a half is sufficient. One milk, then a half, then water. There's no way her tummy wasn't full by the second sandwich, which means she's overriding her fullness and that's not a healthy habit for her to have either.

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MarinaVanessa 09:22 AM 07-15-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:
I'm kind of wondering what's the point of feeding them healthy when you give them four sandwiches,multiple apples, and four glasses of milk. Abalone is more calories than an adult should eat in an entire day! Yikes!!
Originally Posted by Hunni Bee:
Some posters are saying don't limit her, but there is no child that needs to eat 4 sandwiches in one sitting. That's eight pieces of bread! I'm sorry but that's excessive and unhealthy in my opinion.

At 6, a sandwich and a half is sufficient. One milk, then a half, then water. There's no way her tummy wasn't full by the second sandwich, which means she's overriding her fullness and that's not a healthy habit for her to have either.

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daycarediva 09:51 AM 07-15-2013
I would absolutely limit her.

Seconds here means a 1/2 serving size. Eg. If we have sandwiches and someone wants seconds I give 1/4 (under 5) and 1/2 sandwich (over 5)

They can have as many veggies as they will eat, fruit is limited to 1 1/2 servings, and milk is limited to one serving.

I always have carrot and celery sticks cut up for myself, and I offer 2-3 at a time to those who finish all of that ^ and want more food. I've never had a kid finish those, so it is obviously NOT hunger.

I have a young SA boy in care now (5, starts kindy in fall) and he eats like a grown man. He is SUPER chubby though, and has terrible eating habits at home. Everyday he downs his grain and requests more grain. He refuses to touch a fruit or vegetable, so he always turns down my carrot or celery stick option, too.
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kimmills 11:09 AM 07-15-2013
It would not be possible to feed her in that manner each and everyday. So, You should have a talk with her parents and know about what she eats at home and in what quantities, or if there is a need to consult a doctor.
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JoseyJo 11:45 AM 07-15-2013
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
I would absolutely limit her.

Seconds here means a 1/2 serving size. Eg. If we have sandwiches and someone wants seconds I give 1/4 (under 5) and 1/2 sandwich (over 5)

They can have as many veggies as they will eat, fruit is limited to 1 1/2 servings, and milk is limited to one serving.

I always have carrot and celery sticks cut up for myself, and I offer 2-3 at a time to those who finish all of that ^ and want more food. I've never had a kid finish those, so it is obviously NOT hunger.
We do 1/2 servings for seconds and thirds here too.

The closest we have ever had to the OP problem is a 3 yo who will eat 3rd or 4ths of his favorites, not picky so he happily clears his plate to get more- BUT if he eats too much he complains that his tummy hurts so I limit him to 2nds since he obviously is not listening to the "full" signal if it is getting to the point of pain before he stops.

I was thinking about this post and what I would actually do if a child could/did eat 4 WHOLE sandwiches in a setting. I think I would offer age appropriate serving of each food for firsts, a 1/2 serving of each for 2nds, then move on to raw veges until she was full, or meal time was up
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WImom 11:58 AM 07-15-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:
If I were serving this exact meal to a child that age, they would get one HALF of a sandwich, one half of a large apple or one small apple, one her size portion of green beans and carrots total, and one her age serving of milk.

I understand her parents may not care, but as a mom I would be horrified if I found out my six year old was eating that much at a meal.

I stick strictly to serving sizes. There enough obesity and I'm not going to contribute
This is what I would do too. I also only allow the kids seconds once. When they get seconds it's less of everything as well. Otherwise I'm throwing food away and they don't finish it. I also only give water after they finish their milk.
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m.kids1301 06:01 AM 07-17-2013
Wow! That's a lot! I have 4 siblings that like to eat quite a bit, but that exceeds what they do. I limit what the kiddos eat because I don't want to contribute to obesity. Sometimes kids eat too much because they aren't getting the proper balance and their body is craving something they aren't getting. I certainly wouldn't give a 6 year old any more than 1 sandwich. Tell her to wait just a little and she won't feel hungry; gotta give the brain time to get the message! If she gets in a habit of eating that much food it will grow and so will she!!!! I've had a problem most of my life with wanting to eat more than I need, so I try to restrict my daughter from getting too carried away. She pays better attention to her body than I did at 15 and she's in great shape too.
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countrymom 06:11 AM 07-17-2013
I have a 6 yr old who can eat a box of ritz crackers in one sitting. But like the one poster above the child wasn't eating at home or lunch. The home rule was that either you ate or you got nothing till the next day. Thats a long day for a child. Even their school lunches were gross, that I would never pack them.

so I would limit. Its good that she likes to eat. But limit her intake.
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youretooloud 09:45 AM 07-18-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:

I understand her parents may not care, but as a mom I would be horrified if I found out my six year old was eating that much at a meal.

I stick strictly to serving sizes. There enough obesity and I'm not going to contribute

This! The child is the one who has to live with obesity, all those who gave her the food don't have to do the work to undo it, she does.


There are entire groups set up to get schools to serve healthy foods because they claim that school lunches contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic in America. So, it stands to reason that daycare providers are also contributing to obesity in America.

On the other hand, I know how hard it is to send a child away from the table still hungry. But, I think it's something that needs to be done, she may not know she's full.
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laundrymom 12:30 PM 07-18-2013
"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"
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JoseyJo 12:57 PM 07-18-2013
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"

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MarinaVanessa 01:15 PM 07-18-2013
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"


Here vegetables are always endless. If the kids are still hungry they'll eat vegetables after eating their meals and snacks.
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Familycare71 08:43 PM 07-18-2013
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
"Sally, if you're hungry you may have celery sticks or carrots. Which would you prefer?"
This is what I would do! And I never give seconds of milk... 8 oz and your onto water. Fruit and veggies are a free food here- if you are hungry and it isn't a meal time or you've had enough those are your choices! But I would also limit the choices in this instance like stated above...
Poor girl tho! I hope parents take to dr to get her checked out...
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Play Care 04:20 AM 07-19-2013
Originally Posted by Hunni Bee:
Some posters are saying don't limit her, but there is no child that needs to eat 4 sandwiches in one sitting. That's eight pieces of bread! I'm sorry but that's excessive and unhealthy in my opinion.

At 6, a sandwich and a half is sufficient. One milk, then a half, then water. There's no way her tummy wasn't full by the second sandwich, which means she's overriding her fullness and that's not a healthy habit for her to have either.


I have two boys in my care that would eat me out of house and home *if* I let them. They are healthy, active kids. But it's not my job to provide an unending source of food. I let them have seconds, but if they are still hungry I offer the vegetable portion. Some times they take me up on it, and sometimes they decide they are not as hungry as they thought.
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Tags:dietary needs, serving seconds
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