S/O: Do you "cut off"?

[Inspired by Reggio]

....They are active, they are burning, ok, why not give them less food, but more often. This, to me, would make more sens!

I already feed them every 3 hours

We are going to have to agree to disagree in regards to caloric intake and daily exercise cause IME it is VERY relative .... a body that has a high muscle mass because it is 'active' burns more calories in general and even more so when they are active and therefore NEEDS more calories to sustain it verses a body mass that is low in muscle mass and higher in 'fat' .... my spouse was a body builder when he was in the army and when he was training he would eat 3 times a 'normal' person at a sitting just to sustain himself...even now that he no longer active he still eats more than a 'normal' person however is muscle:fat ratio is still very high - he burns more calories so if he does not eat hearty at meal time he 'looses weight' just doing nothing - drives me nuts!

So in comparison a child who is ALWAYS active and therefore has a very high muscle mass verses body fat in their metabolism is yes either going to have to eat a normal meal EVERY HOUR which lets face it is not possible in a group setting or is going to need LARGER SERVINGS at their normal meals/snacks every three hours .... honestly I am not exaggerating when I say my crew is very physically active - we are outside 2-4 hours out of our 9 hour day almost every day and they are not just active in daycare but they are in extra curricular activities like swimming, soccer, karate, gymnastics and so forth ... some of the poor things are in something almost EVERY NIGHT ... so their appetites are normal for their activity level - they need that many calories to just maintain ... when they hit a growth spurt they eat MORE on me!

[Sarah]

Well who knows? I am not ALWAYS right! Almost always though! hahahahaha!!!

No seriously, I am not a specialist in the question, so I will take your word on this!

And it would drive me nuts as well to be around your husband (or whatever hi title is!) lol!!!

[Momof4]

I do agree that 3-4 servings for a child is outrageous when they are all approximately the same size and most of the other children don't even completely finish their first serving. I make sure the children receive plenty of food from all the food groups (except chocolate - which I consider a food group for me, heehee). I give them breakfast at 8am, lunch at 11:30am and snack at 3pm. Sometimes it seems like all they do is eat! But as Reggio said I also keep the group very active, outside most mornings from 9am - 11am, then active again after snacktime for the children who are still here. I spend a fortune on food for these little ones but I know their parents sometimes give them junk food for supper because they are busy so the children are getting most of their nutrition at daycare.

[sunnydays]

Wow! Reggio...really three bananas for one kid? You must spend a fortune on food! I agree that if they are active they need more, but I have actually reduced how much I serve at snacks a bit and I personally, actually limit the fruit a bit because it makes my group poop like crazy! Plus, it is a lot of sugar, even though it is natural sugar and healthy in the right amounts. Now, I do serve fruit usually twice a day, but I wouldn't serve more than one banana per child or the equvalent serving of other fruits plus a grain or yogurt, cheese etc. I tell them, it is a snack, not a meal. At lunchtime I serve repeatedly, but it is because I give small portions so I don't end up throwing food away. I actually do have kids who will ask for more and more and more broccoli I keep serving until it is all gone. I get Reggio's point about activity level, but I also get Sarah's point about teaching them appropriate eating habits. It's a balance and I am sure both of you are doing well with it

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya - balance and knowing your crew is key ... last year I had a picky eater who ate like a bird ... and some days they will eat 4 servings and the next day they eat next to nothing depending on how active they were or how they are feeling and I ended up with leftovers out the wazoo .... but between them all yes I spend a fortune in food ... I have Celiac so a lot of my food served is gluten free to boot so that I can eat with the kids at meal times ... to be honest between the daycare and personal groceries for my spouse and I - last year I spent just over $18,500 on groceries which is so depressing to see add up.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Well who knows? I am not ALWAYS right! Almost always though! hahahahaha!!!

LOL - just wanted to add I think in this case we could actually both be correct

I do agree feeding certain children 3-4 servings at every meal is not healthy ... had a kid in a daycare years ago who 'over ate' because from infancy no one paid attention to his hunger cues ... children typically naturally will eat more leading up to a growth spurt but than 'slow down' and sort of 'yo yo' back and forth in appetite innately as they 'need' more under certain time frames .... however his parents in those HIGH APPETITE times assumed that was what he 'needed' so when he would slow down as an infant they would PUSH him to eat the same as he did going into a growth spurt cause they were 'worried' he was not eating enough ... they did not TRUST him to know how much he needed and follow his lead so his innate ability broke ... as a result as he grew he did not trust his own 'gauge' for what he needed and would eat what made his parents 'praise' him ... than on top of that his lifestyle was sedentary ... his parents were stay home and watch TV types verses get out to the park after dinner types ... he did not get a chance to burn off those extra calories he consumed and so he was obese as a result ... this is where balance and knowing your child comes into play ... so with him we WOULD limit his foods at daycare - at least the higher calorie higher carb foods to one child size serving and replace the rest of his options with low calorie high fibre options to fill his perceived 'hunger' from years of being overfed.

Balance and reflection on common sense for sure.

[mom-in-alberta]

Once again, thanks for your input. I think if this little fella went through the typical "phases" of eating that you mentioned above, I wouldn't question it. My own kids eat like birdies some days and horses others!!
But you are right, striking a balance is key. I was looking at him the other day, and (as I mentioned) he is a sturdy boy. Understandably, he eats more than some kids. But I will continue to use my own judgement, at least a little, when serving him.

[Sarah]

I have 2 twin boys here, when I first got them 6 months ago, they would eat like crazy and they were so over excited all the time (I do not mean active) and pooing all the time. They were not "fat" per say, but were heavy as hell and still had what I thought was what I call "their babies belly."

When I say they would eat like crazy, it is not a joke. They would get here right after their breakfast to find my sons having their breakfast, so they would cry for food. Eating the same amount of food my own did. But this was their second one! And I did ask their parents what time the ate, what they had, etc... Then, I serve a snack à 9:15am. They would double, triple (for exemple 2-3 sometimes even 4 bananas along with yogourt, or 2-3 glasses of milk, etc..) Then same thing at lunch at 11:30, then snack at 3:00 doubling, tripling all the time!

And one day, I noticed that when mom and dad were picking them up, around 4-4:30, they had a snack ready in their car seat. Not healthy, by the way. I asked them if they realized their kids just had a snack about an hour ago. Their answer was yes but they are big eaters. Really?

From that day on, I stopped doubling or trippling their snacks, and I offered 1 or 2 portion for lunch (My portion being what my own 9 yo son eats and he is a good eater!!!). I do not give them another breakfast when they get here, unless the parent dropping off tells me they were so late that they gave a really quick breakfast (happened once!).

Over the months, they changed so much! They went from excited kids to behaving kids, from running everywhere kids to running everywhere when it is time to. Their belly, after 6 months, is gone. Friday, their mom asked my if I noticed. Of course I did, I have to pick them up everyday! They are lighter. Their poop schedule is now stable. And their poop itself is not diahrrea anymore (one of them was always diahrrea). When they go for nap, they probably feel better because they don't move, they just fall asleep right away. But when I was trippling their portions, they would roll, sit, stand, lie down again, roll..... I figured, but might be wrong, that they were feeling too full.

So yes Reggio, we both might be right here! Guess knowing your crew and your crew's eating habit is necessary to judge this!

Sometimes parents want to by peace (like the treats in the car seats) but they give bad habits to their children!

I am a really overwighted person, and I became that way from really bad habits and not it is difficult to get out of the circle! I don't want my kids to overeat, to expand their stomach. I want them, and the ones I care for, to eat well but what I want the most is for them to KNOW when it is enough

I can say that after 6 months, they now will stop by themself in the middle of their second portion, pushing their bowl away. So I now thrust them to know when they really are finished!

[Inspired by Reggio]

....So yes Reggio, we both might be right here! Guess knowing your crew and your crew's eating habit is necessary to judge this!...

Yup - in your case above I too would have wondered if their inability to 'focus' or 'relax' when circumstances dictated was due to high glucose levels from too much food consumption!

I should clarify that here once you reach your Canada's food guide serving of GRAINS for a child you get cut off regardless cause I personally think our food guide is stacked to HIGH in grains for political reasons verses health reasons - I would not be letting a child eat 3 full bagels or 4 x a 1/2 cup serving of pasta at a sitting like I would with the 3 bananas or 2 kiwi serving sizes or 3 cups of salad ... I only make enough GRAINS for 1 serving per child and just serve them 'small' so they think they are getting more - aka I cut a bagel in half and than that half into 1/4's when serving so if they ask for 2,3.4 servings of everything they are still only getting a 1/2 bagel by the end of the snack or meal - but they got LOTS of fruits / veggies and other healthier choices ... and once the bagel is gone if they are 'hungry' all that is left as options are the fruit/veggies/protein being served.

I also empathize with the fear of creating poor eating habits ... my father was a 'clean your plate' type who if it got put on your plate you ATE it even if you were not feeling well or just not hungry (many a time I finished my plate only to go to excuse myself to go to the bathroom and vomit it up cause I really was not hungry - nice way to teach a kid to be bulimic ) and flip side mother taught me to emotionally eat - everytime I was hurt or sad as a kid the answer was 'here is a cookie it will make you feel better' .... and my parents separated when I was 2 and my dad was abusive so my childhood was often 'sad'

I was able to 'balance' those habits when I was young and ACTIVE in sports and extra curricular activities because if I binged on crap when upset I could work it off skating or running laps at track or what not ... my weight as a child was fine and as a teenager it yo yo'd that 10-15 pounds all my adolescent life as I fought for 'balance' over bad habits like that as teenage years were also emotional ... than in 1998 I herniated my disc at work and when I hurt my back and suddenly was sedentary for nine months not able to walk more than to the bathroom and back or to the fridge and back - I gained 80 pounds cause everyone was bringing 'comfort food' cause I was in pain and that was how my family dealt with 'emotions' bury them with food ... as I healed enough to 'exercise' again working out to the extent I did before was not possible but eventually I got that weight back off after a year doing 2-3 hours a day of low impact stuff at the gym - only to have a medical hysterectomy shortly after that and the hormone treatments caused me to gain it all back PLUS in extra weight and the other treatment fried my thyroid and since I have not been able to get that fricken weight off either ... I no longer HAVE 2-3 hours a day to spend at the gym cause I work 12 hours a day and with the thyroid even eating a diet of 1000 calories which should allow a normal person to loose 2-3 pounds of a week it will take 9 months for me to notice 2 pounds on the scale - so here I sit 100 pounds over my 'ideal' weight just sort of 'accepting' this is my lot in life

This experience definitely affects my 'nutritional philosophy' with kids for sure!

It is why my serving sizes are small to start - so that if they do not eat at one meal I and not feeling the need to make them clean their plate to avoid frustration from waste and expense - cause I can freeze untouched leftovers for another time.

I also only serve 'treats' in moderation on birthdays or special occasions and even then they come with 'healthy' sides.

You do not fill up on pudding or cookies or brownies cause you are having a bad day and you do not get a fudgecicle cause you bumped your knee and it will shut up the crying ... you can cry if you need to no shame in that and I will give you some TLC and ICE for your knee ... but nothing goes in your mouth just cause you are sad or feeling hurt!

[Sarah]

I would say we have reach a complete agreement with these extra explanation (or maybe I didn't notice it in the other posts!!!) on grains (which by the way I SO agree with you that the Canadian Food is being too political about it, and I would even say they do the same for milk products)

I kind of do the same thing for the portions (such as cutting bread in 4, and serving 4 times but it stays 1 bread!)