6 Y/o DD Big Appetite, Gaining A Lot

amother

Thu, Feb 28 2013, 11:56 pm

since last spring dd has put on a lot of weight. she went from being bony to having tons of abdominal fat, round cheeks & just husky in general. Can a growth spurt last so long? any ideas what mightve caused a change in appetite so suddenly? is this something that has to be checked out? I am concerned that she is ALWAYS hungry!!!!!! & that she might be at risk for obesity being that its in the genes (I'm thin, most of my sibs are obese)

Mrs.K

Fri, Mar 01 2013, 8:39 am

Here are a few things I do.

1. Every meal is served with lots and lots of vegetables in the form that they enjoy. Raw, cooked, salad, etc. When they ask for more chicken I offer then more vegetables.
2. Supper is structured, I give them a plate so I can control their taking seconds and thirds.
3. When they want more I tell them to wait a few minutes and take a drink because it takes time for the feeling of fullness to settle in.
4. Make sure they aren't drinking calories.
5. There's always cut of veggies plain or with techina, chummus and cut up fruits on the table. The kids see it and grab it instead of junk and fill up on it.
6. I ask my daughter to work out with me. She loves Zumba and walking with me.

Bringing it up often is extremely counterproductive. You can talk about everyone being healthy with all your family members without singling out this child. I tried to limit my daughter's Purim junk but she didn't feel any more limited then her skinny brothers. As a chubby child, my Mom did lots of things with the best of intentions that ended up being entirely counterproductive. In my house now, nothing is "bad" or "fattening", just unhealthy or junky. I'm certainly not putting a child on a structured diet. Mommy is on a diet but they know I'm trying to be healthy, not skinny. That's a very clear message.