my 4yr old son is hungry every hr (literally)

[wondermom3]

im not understanding why my 4yr old is always hungry. i mean every hr on the hr hes sayin mommy im hungry and when i feed him hes eatin a great amount . everyday after school he'll say he's hungry so ill feed him sumthin like a sandwhich with some plain chips grapes and water or somtimes a little juice box this is at 3pm at 3:30 he'll come and say mommy im hungry and i will say no u just ate and he'll literally cry if i say no and this goes on and  on until its time for him to go to bed. can someone please tell me why???

[cattmom]

I'm no doctor, but I do know that a lot of people whose children have Type I diabetes had stories like this shortly before they were diagnosed. Really hungry, really thirsty and losing weight. I have no idea if this is the case for you but Type I can be very serious if untreated and if this were me I would make an appointment with a pediatrician or even go to an emergency room to be evaluated. I would call the pediatrician right away to see what they advise.

[SubliminalDarkness]

Keep a food log for a week or so. Write down everything he eats and drinks and what time. Also write down what took place... When he woke up, when he went to school, and so on. And be honest. If you made a sandwich but he only ate half, make sure you record that he ate half a sandwich.

My 4 year old eats nonstop, but his portions are not usually all that significant. He's kind of just a snacker, and he's also in the middle of a growth spurt. I've noticed lately that his pants and his shirts are starting to be shorter on him, and yesterday it was remarkable how differently his raincoat fit. He hasn't worn it in a few months. 

Usually when a kid is diabetic, they are just ridiculously thirsty. Consuming huge amounts of water without stopping. 

[kiwiva]

Is there enough protein and fat in the snacks and meals? I assume the sandwich has protein in it, but grapes, chips and juice or cracker-type snacks are just simple carbs and if those are a lot of his snacks he will be in a sugar crash cycle all the time and will be hungry every hour. My 4 year old tends to ask for snacks when she is not being stimulated enough (we haven't gotten out or whatever) and once she has one then she is likely to ask for another when the inevitable sugar crash happens, if there wasn't enough protein with the carbs in the first snack.

Is he eating a good breakfast and lunch (with protein)? I know if I do not do so, I will want to snack for the rest of the day. So that is also something to consider.

He also may be having a growth spurt. My DD goes through periods of a week or 2 when she eats and eats and eats but then the next week she will be back to normal patterns again. If this hasn't been going on too long, that could be it.

[JudiAU]

I would watch his height and weight and see if he is undergoing a growthspurt. And also make sure that is snacks are more protein-rich to see if that helps.

[wendyland]

All three of my kids were like this at that age.  Food seemed to go right through them and they were all average height and weight.  I think that that there just certain times in their life that a lot is going on in their bodies and they are ravenous.  My older two aren't doing this as much now, but still go through periods of "bottomless" stomachs.  My almost 4 yo is currently driving us crazy all day long with wanting to eat. 

[peaceful_mama]

My 4 yr old is like this too.  Just turned 4.  I notice too it's worse when she's bored.  I think it's the age.

[RoViMama]

Today my 4 yr old said, "I am never going to stop eating until everything is gone."  I think it's a growth spurt!!  I also make sure the foods are full of good stuff (most of the time)