S/O: Do you "cut off"?

[Momof4]

I have a skinny little guy in my daycare who can east 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, but I usually cut him off after 2nds or 3rds. I'm not sure he can tell when he is full. His parents are both very large people and I think he is used to larger portions at home than he is at daycare. But when I put the children's plates in front of them they have a lot of food on there and one serving is enough or too much for the other 4 children. I guess some children must have really high metabolism.

[playfelt]

One of the reasons I dole out the food instead of letting the kids serve themselves - besides the fact I have mostly little ones - is that I can then manage who gets a little because that is their appetitie and serve more to the hearty eaters. It saves a lot of money as there is much less waste. And it isn't necessarily the oldest that is the biggest eaters either.

[Momof4]

I get very frustrated with the amount of food I have to throw in the garbage so tend to offer very small servings to some of the children, but still I'm giving them a plateful because for example today at lunch we had pork chops, corn, carrots, bread and potatoes. One little girl doesn't like carrots and one little girl doesn't like corn but the boys all had everything. Oy! Then my boy who is the big eater asked for more pork chop and more carrots. I usually eat the leftovers for my lunch so when I cut him off it's because I need a little food! But I serve organic produce and bread products which are very expensive so that's what ticks me off when I have to throw those things in the garbage. Sometimes when a child won't eat their food and I know for sure they haven't touched it or sneezed or coughed on it I give it to the boy who eats a lot.

[playfelt]

I would not be putting bread on the plates if I had some that were not good eaters. If I know they don't like a food they get 3 carrot coins and that would be it for instance - enough if they wanted to try it again but not enough to be wasteful. My gang won't chew a pork chop - even the 3 year olds so I would have to cut them off and make them smaller pieces - I have done a pork loin/pork roast and then simmered it in water to heat and soften then drain and stir in a bit of sweet and sour sauce to encourage eating and that works but alone they won't touch it - too much effort.

For vegetables I almost always use the frozen mixed veggies and just the store brand for cost. That way I don't have to worry about who likes what and the pieces are small enough for the toddler finger feeders.

I would offer toast with a hint of jam as "dessert" - jam makes it a sweet treat right.... at least my kids think so. But since it is an earned treat ie eating the food on your plate first the meat has to be chewed before you get the bread. Usually the only one that ever gets this far is the hearty eater cause he just eats and the others play and delay the inevitable of that is all there is to choose from so pick something and eat it and then pick another pile and eat that too.

With a group that is good eaters if I make the morning snack bigger that seems to help and there you can use the cheaper starchy foods to add to the regular snack.

[Momof4]

Playfelt, my bread item is always minimal, a small croissant or 1/2 slice of bread or a few crackers. I'm a person who doesn't eat bread because it does fill me up too fast so I see your point.

I don't serve frozen veggies, always organically grown, freshly peeled and chopped by my hands. It's odd that your children don't like to chew meat, but I serve chicken breast, pork chops or tenderloin, steak, roast beef cut very small to the children as soon as they start at 10-11 months. If they won't eat I admit to resorting to a tiny bit of ketchup or mustard to get them to finish. Jam is pure sugar, but once a week we have a treat day so that's a good idea for a different treat.

[mom-in-alberta]

Thanks for the input. I have to admit that I usually say "no, I think that's enough" after the third (or so) plate. And he's not "filling up" on the carbs, alone, either. We have the same rule, in that you eat EVERYTHING on your plate first and then you can have more veggies first, then meat/protein. He just eats a LOT!

[playfelt]

You also have to be careful that the child isn't trying to fill up on the kid friendly noodles an chicken nuggets so it will tide them over so they don't have to eat the supper that mom cooks which might not be as child friendly. I know often the opposite is more likely to be true.

Just because a child can eat a certain amount of food and it doesn't look like it is showing on the child now I don't allow any child to eat more than an adult size serving which is equivalent to two child servings so seconds maybe and then that is it. And if I have a child that is constantly wanting more I make sure there are more foods on the plate that require them to slow down and chew and swollow instead of just wolfing it down.

[Sarah]

I think, and don't get me wrong, I am not saying this to save money on food, not at all, but I truly beleive that if the FIRST serving was an adequate portion for a kid, I would serve one more, and only one more of it.

3-4 portions of food is giving bad eating habits to kids. Even if it is healthy. Eating too much is not a good thing! And certainly not necessary. When they get to the third bowl, they are NOT hungry anymore, no one will ever make me beleive this. On the other hand, if they ask me 3-4 servings of carrots, cauliflower, spinach and asparagus, I would GLADLY give them some! But in a weird way (pfffff) THEY NEVER DO! How hungry is that!



So I start my meal with a soup, or a veggies juice. I give them one or two serving of the main dish. And some fruits and yogourt. Along with some water.

I do the same thing with snacks. One banana is enough! But one of the kids here would eat 3. Tehre is no way I will give him 3 bananas. So it is one banana, along with some cereals, some milk, or a muffin (you see the idea I guess!)

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya I think ultimately you have to know your crew and which ones eat due to true appetite because they are active and burning a lot of calories and need it to sustain them and which ones have 'lost' their ability to know if they are full or eating cause they are bored and so forth.

I have two kids who often eat 3 bananas with at least 2 bowls if not 3 full bowls of yogurt in the morning - between my crew when I serve yogurt they eat two large containers - if I cut them off at two 1/2 cup serving by 10:30 in the morning I would be dealing with 'hungry behaviour' like aggression / irritability and so forth and we would all be 'suffering' with that as a result ... I know cause there have been times where my spouse ATE some of the yogurt and therefore I did not have two full containers to serve

My kids are fruit hogs ... they will eat the entire melon at one sitting - watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe. I have to buy a dozen kiwi cause they will each eat two, two bananas per kid is common, pound of strawberries and grapes easy, two pints of berries like raspberry, blackberrie, blueberries and so forth ... seriously fruit HOGS!

But veggies too ... Monday afternoon they ate the entire bunch of celery done up as 'ants on a log' with peanut butter and chocolate chip and raisin ants .... those huge containers of cherry tomatoes at Costco - easily gone at a lunch unless I hide some to have in a salad another day. Fresh French green beans are popular here - cold right out of the bag either as snack or with lunch!

[Sarah]

Reggio, their activity level don't interfere with the size of their stomach.

I mean, 3-4 servings of a meal is NOT NORMAL for a kids stomach. This is teaching kids to overeat, this is knowingly stretching their small stomach.

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