What to pack for my 4 year old?

amother

Tue, Oct 31 2023, 10:49 pm

My 4 year old's morah has been telling me that he's complaining each day that he's hungry. Apparently, he's the only kid who finishes his entire lunchbox every day. It's a big problem that he eats everything I pack him at their first snack time of the day, and seems to have trouble spacing it out over morning snacktime, lunchtime and afternoon snack.

He normally eats a big breakfast before he leaves but occasionally he won't if he isn't in the mood. At the moment I pack him a whole fruit, a veg, a protein (hard boiled egg or yogurt), a carb snack like pretzels or corn chips, and lunch which is normally a whole wheat sandwich with protein like egg/cream cheese/cheese/tuna, sometimes avocado. Sometimes I'll send pasta or couscous/orzo.
He also gets sick of things very quickly so I don't have a whole lot of options.
Does this sound like a reasonable amount of food for a 4 year old? And if not what else can I add to it? I try to only send healthy foods.
He also doesn't eat nicely at dinnertime so I sort of want him to be a bit hungry by then, but obviously not hungry all day since 11am.

myname1

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 2:07 am

amother OP wrote:

Sounds like a ton of food! Could it be he's not eating it all, and really throwing something away because he doesn't like it? Like the sandwich... You said he doesn't always eat breakfast and dinner nicely, so it's surprising to me that he's eating all that at once. Are you sending a full sandwich with 2 slices of bread? How could he physically eat all that in 10 minutes or whatever at 11 AM? That doesn't make sense to me. Maybe ask his morah to check on him during that first snack and see what he is actually eating. Seems like something else might be going on. (Could he be trading his apple for a potato chip or something like that? Those kinds of trades would leave him hungry.)

amother

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 2:12 am

myname1 wrote:

She's telling me he's eating it all, except rarely when he doesn't like something. Yes, I pack him 2 pieces of bread - I eat that and I'm an adult, I can't imagine he needs more?!
His morah is the one who tells me he eats it all first thing, even though I've told her she needs to regulate it for him....

myname1

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 2:38 am

amother OP wrote:

So maybe she could tell you how he does it. He eats his whole sandwich, then his yogurt, then the fruit and vegetable, and then the corn chips? I guess this does sound like a whole lunch, which would make sense for him to eat as his first "meal," even if that's snack time. Especially if he didn't feel like eating at home that day.

What do other kids bring and when do they eat different things? My kids do not eat that much by a long shot, but other kids are definitely bigger eaters than them!

If he is finishing it all then I think I'd pack him two meals in separate containers. Maybe a sandwich, yogurt, fruit in one and a sandwich, egg, and vegetable in the other? If he wants to eat all that healthy food, I don't really see why you should stop him at this point. Unless he's making himself sick or something. Good luck! Feeding kids is so tricky, especially at school!

lucky14

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 3:31 am

Maybe pack another fruit and veg and a baggie of cereal? Put his snack in separate containers than his lunch box and ask his teacher to hold on to afternoon snack and lunch box for him until it’s time to eat those.

My daughter’s lunch & snacks for today: cream cheese on a smallish bagel, Chobani greek yogurt, Dunkaroos, cucumber, appricots, applesauce.

MyUsername

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 4:46 am

I always pack snacks and lunch in different bags. So my child knows what to eat when. This helped her not eat it all in one sitting.

But also, some kids need 2 sandwiches, so just pack an extra one. Pack an extra fruit and an extra veggie as well. That should cover it. Split all the food into 3 different paper bags, have him draw on each one so he knows which is what.

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 4:51 am

Wow!! He’s eating a LOT of food
My kids who are much older don’t eat that much, and that’s WITH refusing breakfast most days
His morah needs to give out or regulate snacks- like she should tell everyone to get their healthy snack and eat it then, etc
I don’t think he needs more food, but it needs to be spaced out normally

amother

Snowdrop

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 5:20 am

That’s definitely enough food
I would pack it separately in 3 different bags
And tell the teacher to hold 2 of the bags for later on
For that age 11am should be lunch
I would give him the most food at 11
Then the 2 snacks
For snack make sure there’s a protein and a carb, apple with cheese stick, pb with pretzels, chumus with crackers. I think these types of snacks are the most filling.

amother

DarkRed

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 5:20 am

Hungry is a code word for bored for a lot of children.
She should give him as much as everyone else is eating and then ask him if he wants to read a book or play with a toy.
Could be he eats it fast because he's hungry and everyone eise is still eating. Some kids eat really slowly.
Sounds like a normal amount of food.
If he doesn't eat breakfast and supper nicely, you can always an extra piece of bread and see if he eats it!

amother

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 4:41 pm

amother Honeysuckle wrote:

My 4 year old eats two fruits, a ‘treat’ snack like popcorn or chips, pretzels, a combo of crackers/rice cakes, and then lunch in addition.
Seems like more snacks?
Maybe get the colored baggies and tell him what color is when.

Thanks, that's a great idea!

I might try that, also putting in separate bags so he knows to eat separately.

amother

Brickred

Wed, Nov 01 2023, 4:47 pm

I think he may need help knowing what to eat when. Can the morah take control of his food & hand to him the appropriate foods at the right time?

My 3yo eats whatever I pack him while waiting for the school bus- this is after a big breakfast! Maybe your lo just hasn't reached the required maturity.

The amount of food is about what I pack for my pre-teen. I doubt that's the issue.