12 YO Boy Eating Everything Not Nailed Down!

[JumpyTheFrog]

We've been joking that our 12 yo is back on the baby feeding schedule. Yesterday he needed another meal about every 1 1/2 hours. The longest he went without eating was three hours, and that was only because he had gymnastics practice. He ate a protein bar and yogurt during practice and then ate a quadruple decker sandwich on the way home.

He wants me to take him to a buffet so we can get a "good value" out of this growth spurt. If the big teenage growth spurt is worse, I'll just have to hook him up to a feeding tube of heavy cream or cheesecake!

[Jean in Newcastle]

He's using all of that fuel to grow! 

[Katy]

I was going to laugh and say to restrict snacks to a certain time... but if he's in gymnastics too?  Yeah, I'd take him to a buffet. Let him get good and stuffed once a week.

[Kassia]

10 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

Trust me, it only gets worse!

 

Yes, it does!  My sons are in their twenties and they still eat enormous amounts of food!  It's amazing how much these kids can eat!

[cjzimmer1]

I remember when mine grew 9 inches in 10 months.  Meals were something like 5-6 cups of oatmeal for breakfast (since he slept in this was like 9 -10 in the morning) by noon (or sometimes earlier) 4 dinner plates (the 10 inch size) piled as high as they could go for lunch, the entire afternoon spent eating every piece of fruit in the house by 5 we had to be eating supper because he was so ravenous.  Another 4 dinner plates piled with food.  And bedtime "snack" of any leftovers in the fridge and it didn't matter how much he hated the leftover he would still eat because he was that hungry (I remember him eating a 6 cup container of mushroom risotto and normally this kid would fast before eating mushrooms but he was too hungry to be picky).  I'm not joking when I say he could he 5 pounds of mashed potatoes for a meal (along with meat and veggie).  The sad part is my kiddo is not athletic in the slightest.  He consumed this while sitting in front of computer all day every day (and still manged to be underweight for his height).  It's probably good he wasn't athletic, I really couldn't imagine how much he would have put away then.

[Bootsie]

My next door neighbor has a newborn and was saying she couldn't wait to be finished with 2am feedings.  I have a college aged son--I said the 2am feedings don't end....

[gardenmom5]

high quality protein.   even higher quality bread.

 

dh used to make a really heavy whole wheat bread.  his nephew was here, and hungry. I asked him if he wanted a whole sandwich or half (i would only eat half), made from dh's bread. "I want two". . . .. "i'll make you a whole one.  if you're still hungry, I'll make you another." . . . he was full.. . for hours.

[Pawz4me]

DS22 still eats an unbelievable amount. And he's short (like me) and never had a truly big or rapid growth spurt. He works out a lot, though, and apparently must have a naturally high metabolism. There's no worry about food going to waste when he's around. ? 

[KungFuPanda]

If you’re eating regular oats for breakfast, switch to steel cut. They make a real difference for feeling full longer. You can crockpot them overnight too. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

He came and told me that he made his protein shake with cream instead of milk. Then he ate half a stick of butter (and he doesn't even really like butter normally). I think 14 hours of gymnastics practice per week during a growth spurt means a high grocery bill.

[Tanaqui]

Lots of fiber - steel cut oats, barley, brown rice, lentils, some of this with every breakfast and dinner - and lots of protein - eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt (get your cheese and yogurt full-fat if you can), peanut butter. That will help. (And yes, plenty of meat if you're not vegetarians and fruit and vegetables! But those things cost more.)

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

4 hours ago, Margaret in CO said:

And if you think girls eat any less, you're in for a rude shock. Mix growth spurts with major sports, and well, I'm glad we raise some of our own food. 

Yes. My poor parents. We are big eaters in my family already but when I was about 14 I started eating a ton. I ate pretty much all day. I’m short though and was only around 100lbs as a teenager. One specific night for dinner I ate three hamburgers with the works. My dad had planned the extra two for work the next day and was horrified to learn I had eaten them. Mostly because I have 5 younger brothers. If no one had warned him that teenage girls eat that much how much must teen boys eat?! He decided he better start working a bunch of overtime to save up for when my 7 younger siblings hit their teens. 

[regentrude]

Btdt. At times, my athlete teen ds consumed 4,000 calories per day. It will slow down in a few years. Unt5then, just feed him

[Katy]

Baked potatoes are one of the most filling foods, both per dollar and per calorie.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Baked potatoes are one of the most filling foods, both per dollar and per calorie.

 

Yes!  My kids love potatoes (white and sweet), they also eat a ton of brown rice and whole grain pasta.  Cheap and filling.  

[Katy]

I was telling DH about this last night. He laughed and said when he was in a growth spurt (he thought maybe 14?) his dad took the family to a buffet.  Most of the people stopped after 1-2 plates.  He went for 6 and only stopped because no one else was still eating, but he still felt hungry. Then he joked with DS about buying an annual pass to a buffet with his next growth spurt.

[....]

I have 3 teens and one of them is doing track club + preseason football training.  Yeah, they're like a swarm of locusts after I get groceries.  ?

[Kassia]

What used to bug me was when I was still cleaning up from dinner and my sons were already rummaging through the cabinets looking for more to eat!  

[SarahCB]

My boys don't eat very much, comparatively. My 18 year old got home from studying at a friend's house yesterday and said he was starving. We're in the middle of a move, so meals are weird right now. Anyway, I warmed up some chicken and broccoli soup and made two turkey and cheese sandwiches on small buns (smaller than a hamburger bun) and served it with potato wedges from the night before (maybe 1/2 a potato worth?). He looked at all the food and said it was way too much. He ended up just taking one sandwich and the potatoes. I fed the soup and another sandwich to his 16 year old for dinner. Ds (18) has said I try to feed him like he's six feet tall. He is on the smaller side - about 5'5" probably, maybe 5'6". He's never been a big eater. My 16 year old is taller (maybe 5'8"?) and eats more than his brother, but his meal sizes are still regular portions. If we have burgers he'll have one burger and salad, not two burgers. He often has an extra meal - either after school or later at night, usually leftovers from dinner or soup or something like that. My 12 year old has always eaten like a bird. He's on the tall side of average for his age and he eats very small portions. At breakfast I can usually get him to eat one piece of toast with peanut butter and a piece of fruit or a very small serving of yogurt. By dinner he just isn't hungry and I'm seriously lucky if I can get him to take five bites. 

But, they aren't super active, either. They're indoor boys ? One of them walks a lot. Another likes to ride his bike around and takes the dog for walks. The older two were on the ultimate frisbee team at school this year. That's about the extent of their athleticism. Maybe if they were more active they'd eat more? I guess I'll just be thankful for the reasonable grocery bill.

[fairfarmhand]

I saw this today and it made me think of this thread 

[umsami]

I see a lot of parents post stuff like this and I just want to put it out there that not all kids have these amazing metabolisms that burn off everything.  

 

One of mine got stuck with a crappy metabolism (thanks to me) while his three siblings take after his Dad.  He eats far less than them, but is significantly overweight.

 

So I just want to put it out there when you or your kids encounter a fat kid.... he may be eating far far less than your kids.   It's really tough to have had to watch what you eat since you were a toddler.... see siblings and friends who eat far more than you... and still be significantly overweight.    He's still a teen boy with a ravenous appetite.... but allowing himself to eat until truly full and satiated would make the matter much worse.  

[BarbecueMom]

20 hours ago, SarahCB said:

My boys don't eat very much, comparatively. My 18 year old got home from studying at a friend's house yesterday and said he was starving. We're in the middle of a move, so meals are weird right now. Anyway, I warmed up some chicken and broccoli soup and made two turkey and cheese sandwiches on small buns (smaller than a hamburger bun) and served it with potato wedges from the night before (maybe 1/2 a potato worth?). He looked at all the food and said it was way too much. He ended up just taking one sandwich and the potatoes. I fed the soup and another sandwich to his 16 year old for dinner. Ds (18) has said I try to feed him like he's six feet tall. He is on the smaller side - about 5'5" probably, maybe 5'6". He's never been a big eater. My 16 year old is taller (maybe 5'8"?) and eats more than his brother, but his meal sizes are still regular portions. If we have burgers he'll have one burger and salad, not two burgers. He often has an extra meal - either after school or later at night, usually leftovers from dinner or soup or something like that. My 12 year old has always eaten like a bird. He's on the tall side of average for his age and he eats very small portions. At breakfast I can usually get him to eat one piece of toast with peanut butter and a piece of fruit or a very small serving of yogurt. By dinner he just isn't hungry and I'm seriously lucky if I can get him to take five bites. 

But, they aren't super active, either. They're indoor boys ? One of them walks a lot. Another likes to ride his bike around and takes the dog for walks. The older two were on the ultimate frisbee team at school this year. That's about the extent of their athleticism. Maybe if they were more active they'd eat more? I guess I'll just be thankful for the reasonable grocery bill.

My brother was and is still like this.  In high school he played football and volleyball and lived on air.  He's 27 and 6'3" now, works long hours at a very physical job, and is a runner, and still does not eat much.  That being said, he is a very picky eater and had a hard time during growth spurts.  He'd sometimes miss several days of school because he couldn't walk to the bus stop due to leg pain.

[Janeway]

All I can say is..do not buy him any new pants until you absolutely have to. I bought my son new pants a few months ago. Then he put them on last week. They were half way up his shins!

[SarahCB]

3 hours ago, Margaret in CO said:

I remember the 6 weeks in middle school that I bought THREE pairs of running shoes for dd--she went up 3 sizes every two weeks! It really was ridiculous. I used to laugh when people would warn me how much her younger brother was going to eat. He never ate as much as she did, even when he was swimming 6000 yards a day. Of course, he didn't really grow until he was 17 or so. I was looking at his Commissioning photos yesterday and he's finally taller than dh at 6'2". But it took him to 22yo to get there. 

I'm curious about the not growing until 17 or so. My 18 year old has always been small. He's still not taller than I am - I'm 5'6" and my dh is about 5'8" - so we're not terribly tall people, either, but I did think ds had a shot at being taller than me. When did your late grower stop growing? And about how much did he grow in his last growth spurt?