She can't stop eating!

[rosebudsmom]

My daughter will not stop eating. Does anyone else have a 5,6 year old like mine? All day, even directly after meals she says mommy I'm hungy. We feed her healthy meals and try to keep sweets and carbos out of the picture. I'm starting to feel like there may be a medical reason. I mean she's not chubby or anything, in fact she has been looking particularly slim. If I let her she would eat all day long. Is this a normal thing for a growing child of this age or should I consider this unusual?

[Linda in Arizona]

Has she always been like this or is it a new thing? My DDs both go through times when they can't seem to get full. They then outgrow all their clothes. And then they seem to go a a few weeks and not eat much of anything. Maybe she is just growing.

[lucina3]

My 6 year old is like that! She will eat twice the amount an adult does at a meal and literally within 10 minutes of leaving the table she is asking for food. She's always been this way, ever since she started eating table food. Sorry I have no advice... Just wanted to let you know my daughter is the same way!

[rosebudsmom]

She has always been a really good eater, I would say normal kind of good eating habits, but there are times that she is so incredibly hungry that if she doesn't get more food it changes her emotionally. I have always considered it to be growth spurts until the last couple of months, its become out of control. Maybe her body is just gearing up for a really, really big growth spurt! Just in case I'll take her in for a visit to our naturopath to see if everything is aok. we are do for a checkup anyway.

[Pynki]

I have always eaten alot... And i am not really a big girl at 5 ft 6in.. I weigh 115. I have been this weight give or take 5 lbs since jr high.. When i was in high school my friends parent would have to go grocery shopping before i got there and then after i left i would eat soo much...

Maybe she is like me and has a roadrunner fast metabolism... Getting it checked out for your own peace of mind is always a good idea...

Best Of luck.. Dyan

[13moons]

My dd also goes through periods like this--she' in one right now, but it concerns me also b/c she does have weight issues. In general though, I've noticed it does coincide with a growth spurt but in the last year or so (she's 8 yo) I have noticed a correlation with stress.
Right now, she is trying to adjust to school and is showing signs of stress and also is wanting to eat constantly and gets upset b/c she is "sooo hungry" if she doesn't eat right away. So, this is something else that I have noticed now triggers the constant eating.
I also have a friend who frequently has stomach aches from food allergies and she is inclined to want to eat very frequently when her stomach hurts.
In any case, it's probably nothing but there's no harm in getting things checked out for peace of mind!

[lilyka]

I worked with high school students for a while and we have a family like this. Three incredibly skinny girls, with super ampounts of energy and the eat like maniacs. the first time we did something with one of them the 11 year old ate everything on her plate, everthing on everyone elses plate and then ordered more. we were concerned about her but she is 18 now and still slim and her appitite natrually settled down although she still eats more than your average high schooler could without gaining weight.

My friends son would eat like this before and dring growth spurts. It would drive me crazy when he came over because he was a picky eater but he seemed just fine.