4 Year Old Is Always Hungry & Eats Wierd Things

Hello V.,

is she drinking enough water? sometimes kids confuse thirst with hunger. Good luck! and if she's drinking enough, could it be anxiety? certain food allergies can make them fell anxious. My son cannot handle high fructose corn syrup --gets very moody and anxious. talk w/ your ped if your questions are not answered. ~Carmen~

Maybe one more snack, before bed???
I remember my mom always being on my case about chewing on the strings on my clothes, I don't really remember why I did it, I just know I had a hard time stopping. Now I am a gum chewer, I always have gum.

I know you have girls so I am not sure if they grow at the same rate. But my son is constantly hungry and I'm not kidding. He came into the world like this. He nursed ever 1 1/2 for a very long time.
He is extremely active and is tall and lean like his dad (his dad is 6'5"). He just turned 7yrs. and he can eat all day long. It drives me nuts. I dont' worry to much I just make sure he gets a balanced diet with good snacks. And sometimes I have to tell him the Kitchen is closed (or else I would be in there all day long)
About the chewing on things it could just be a stage, but I was wondering why your Dr. would say they don't need vitiamins since you are on city water. How can city water that everyone drinks cater to each indiviuals needs especialy a childs. Some kids need more minerals then others. Maybe she is lacking magnesium that is a claming mineral or any of the vitamins B's (B6,B12, B2,B3 ) etc.
Every female needs the B's.
Try putting her on a good childs multi vitamin and mineral. Don't buy any old thing at the super market go to a health store so you know what you are getting and they can help you.
Since she is so young she may need a chewable or a liquad.
It could be as simple as her body is a bit unbalanced with the lack of vitamins and minerals and putting stress on her body.
Good luck!

I had a friend who's kids would eat as much as an adult, and were skinny, to average for there age. They were growing taller faster than average as well. Bother parents grew fast and had a lot of growing pains. The kids always put things in there mouthes. Once thumb sucking was over I'd see anything that would fit in there mouthes, even clothes. So that could just be an oral fixation. Do you give them a multi vitamin? When you said eating weird things I thought lots of salt = mineral deficiency sort of thing. I've seen other kids out and about that would chew on there clothes too. I'd keep an eye on it, and maybe check if she's getting teeth.
Good Luck, A. H

This sounds familiar! My five year old is in a size 7 too. I swear he is constantly going through growth spurts and he eats more than I do most of the time. I just make sure we have a never ending supply of fruits, veggies, and water. Thankfully, he'll eat any veggie put in front of him, so I don't have to worry about him trying to snack on junk all day long. I gave up on the set snack times long a go. We still have set meal times though.

I wouldn't worry too much, she'll just probably be a tall girl. I have a 9 year old niece (10 next month) who can wear a woman's size 2 and wears a size 7 1/2 shoe.

My four year old chews things, too, so that may be normal...I don't know. I have recently heard that kids often confuse thirst for hunger...maybe try giving her water and then re-evaluate in 30 minutes???

Good luck!

~L.

my oldest dawent through the same thing as your daughter at around the same age, she is now 8 yrs old and 4'8". I let my daughter eat when she is hungry even between snacks and meals but it has to be either fruits or veggies. as long as her weight stays proportionate to he height I wouldn't worry too much. As for chewing on her clothing I haven't had to deal with that one.

If you child is healthy and eating well, let her eat. God made us all different. All of my kids eat at a different pace and at different times. Just watch what she eats.

I would be concerned about city water. Of course! There's junk in city water as much as well water.
But just be careful of her becoming conditioned as far as eating. What I'm getting at is basically not 'listen' to the stomach growls all the time or the body will eventually automatically kick in and demand food. And that can get out of hand. I often go to bed with my stomach trying to tell me I'm hungry. And I am. But I ignore it, go to sleep, and wake up justifiably hungry and ready for breakfast.
Keep to healthy snacks in any case. To save $ on clothes. But just use this 'quirk' as a chance to bolster healthy snacks. And allow the occassional junk food as reward. We all deserve that.
Good luck, Ginny!

Hi V.,
I'm a WW myself so I can understand your concern. I would just say be sure they are getting enough protein. I know esp. being on WW that one can eat a lot of fluff and not feel satisfied and for me that means more protein.
Good luck

M.

I say talk to another doctor in the preactice get a second opinon.

I don't think those things are too weird. Alot of kids chew on their clothes. Just keep taking them out and tell her not to. Eventually she'll quit. I have a 4yr old too. She is growing on me quite fast as well. She is also getting into the 6/7's and is about the same size. She gets her 3 meals/day and snacks and juice in between. She likes to eat alot of bread and jelly. I think the bread fills her up better - at least it slows her down.

Just curious, how is her weight/height ratio. If it is good, then I wouldn't worry about the hungry thing, keep lots of veggies, like mini carrots and cut up fruits out for her to munch on. My 14 yr old son would do this
for months at a time, and seem to grow 2 or 3 sizes, but it was up and not out.

As far as the chewing things goes, has she been to the dentist lately or have you noticed her getting her some teeth. If she cut teeth early then she may start losing teeth early, or she may even be cutting her 5 yr molars. All of these could make her want to knaw on stuff, and "I'm hungry" may just be the only way that she knows how to describe it. Does she grind her teeth at night or even during the day? What I learned at my old job (dentist office) is that kids do this type of stuff when their teeth are coming in and falling out, because temporarily misaligned because things are changing. Again, this would be helped by the carrots, apples and other crunchy fruits and veggies. Hope that this helped.

What does your pediatrician say? Is her weight in the normal range for her height? I'd give her lots of things that she can chew on that aren't high calorie but are good for her and not make a big deal out of what she eats. Sounds like she's growing a lot and needs the nutrition.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. The growth spurt (up not out) doesn't sound out of the ordinary. The chewing on clothes and other things, in combination with the over eating, could be a tactile-sensory problem. She shows some signs of being under sensitive rather than over sensitive. It is otherwise known as "sensory integration" or SI. Research the net and see if it sounds like her. Not all the signs fit every child and you may find a few tips to try to see if it makes a difference. It's worth a try anyway.

I have a couple of friends that have young children with SI. One has tactile over-sensitivity as she could not stand the feel of paper (and other things) thus her mom decided to home school and things are great. I have another friend who's son has a problem touching others - meaning he will hug anyone at anytime, when he is overwhelmed he's not afraid to hit the nearest person, when doing homework he is very squirmy and likes to sit with his knees up and leaning against the table (he needs the tactile pressure). My friend has researched and gone to a sensory processing center for a consultation and got a lot of tips on what to do. It's all a matter of therapy not drugs - for instance during homework my friend puts a large rubber band around the bottom of the chair and he uses this to simply place his feet behind the rubber band so that he feels the pressure or resistance of the band on his feet, he then is able to do his homework without wiggling around. His need to feel pressure is met and he can focus on homework instead of needing to feel pressure.

These are just a few examples that I have encountered. My step son also shows some signs of SI - tactile. When he was little I noticed his hands needed to be busy for him to not act out all the time, so I started taking cars with us everywhere we went. This helped especially in restaurants. Even now, he is 8, he is more settled when he is chewing gum and doing homework.

We know our kids and it's a matter of giving them the best life we can give them. If your gut is telling you something is not right - then more than likely it's not - we all need to trust our gut feelings. Being aware of things helps us make changes.

Hi V.!

You bring up some interesting questions! Would you like some information that helps to outline amounts of nutrients children need at different stages?

How much water does your daughter drink in a day? I'm just curious, what nutrients does the Dr think your daughter is getting from city water?

M.

Growth spurts even long ones are normal, being hungry all a time doesn't seems good to me though. You say your daughter eats roughly weight watchers servings...that's very little ! Weight watchers portions are for people watching their weight and dieting, not for children. Their needs are often far higher.

Growing up and sooooo fast yuor little one probably needs more and that's why she is so hungry. I really saddens me if she says she chews on things because she is hungry...
Proteins, fats and carbs are very important for the growth, please make sure you're feeding your daughter enough of them, for her health but also because it will make her feel full (especially proteins).

I would say your daughter grows up very fast and has huge needs but if she drinks a lot and is still very hungry with bigger and healthy meals, check with your pediatrician again, it could be diabetes.

Since taking my daughters pacifier away she likes to chew on things, so we keep a ready supply of teethers in the freezer and we also have those plastic pool diver sticks she can chew on...if she doesn't have something when she gets the urge to chew she chews her own fingers! I know it's for different reasons, but maybe chewing ice or a teether would help with her hunger. When you're dieting some people say chewing gum curbs hunger...maybe ice would do it for your daughter. Good luck!

If she is hungry, feed her. Make them healthy snacks. My kids went through that time and time again, and then they would have spurts when I couldn't get them to eat hardly anything. I would also give her a vitamin daily. Try Flinstones. Good Luck!

Kids grow at different rates. My 4yr old son is large for his age also (size 6). My six year old daughter wears size 8 clothes. When my kids were babies they went through two sizes per season. As long as your daughter is proportionate height to weight, give her more to eat.

As far as the need to chew on things; I'd offer her ice cubes if that satisfies her. Otherwise, fresh vegetables and fruit are always great to snack on as much as she wants. I'd choose any of the zero point weight watchers options for additional snacks. As long as she's eating nutriuous snacks and she's not getting "rounder" I'd let her have more snacks. My 4 & 6 year old kids both eat more than I do at many meals. Their metabolism works much better and they need more calories to grow.

I read some of the responses. I think a great idea is the gum. I chew it a lot. I grind my teeth if I don't have gum. If it's an oral fixation, it should help.

Hi! I haven't read your other responses, but wanted to quick share with you that although every kid is different and you need to do what is right for you personally, I have a similar situation. I have been married to my husband for a year and a half, and we have 3 daughters. (2 were mine from before and one was his from before.) Well, my step daughter is 7 1/2, and she is skinny- like a stick! She does the same things, and always has. She can easily eat more than me at meals, wolfs it down, and is always ready for snack time. She chews on the edges of things as well (like her shirt or a ribbon from it/etc.) Although the 'chewing' thing seems to be lessening as she gets older. Her mom is really skinny as well, so the body type is hereditary. I think it's just her metabolism. To this day, I still am in awe of how much food she can put into her little body at meal time! I wonder where it all goes! She is very active, happy and healthy, so we don't worry. I don't know if what you have is the same thing as us, but maybe it can bring you a little comfort!