Ds is like this (he's 5 in October) but what I find helps him is a bigger breakfast (then he has the rest of the day to burn off the calories).  He has w'bix or porridge (not rice krispies or any other sugared cereal as these don't seem to fill him up and give him a huge sugar high then sugar low) a slice of toast with marmite, a small lump of cheese or a hard boiled egg and a banana.  If he doen't have a big breakfast he spends the day saying he is hungry.

hi wot about givin him cereal and a glass of ilk i find weetabix fills my lot before bedtime all 5 off mine have it 

thanks for your replies, he isnt fat, but he does have a belly on him and i can never get trouser to fit him. he is 5 1/2 and just fits into 7-8 clothes although they are too long. i have to stick to elastic waists which are impossible to find, and i have trouble finding anything smart for him to wear.

he too steals food. i dont have food out in the kitchen, only fruit, but he found my husbands treat draw in our bedroom and over the weeks he emptied it of chocolate caramel sweets, and hid the wrappers under his bed!

i will try the banana and milk think and see if it works for now.

Why not offer some warm milk at bed time. It is filling and if his weight goes up you can swap it for half a glass or another drink.

It is hard my DD(10 years old) has gone from being under weight all her life to very over weight last year. Loosing it once it is on seems very hard for children. I am trying my best to get her to stay the same weight but get taller. My main problem is she "steals" from cupboards and hides food in her room to eat later. The other problem is before she was told to eat the more unhealthy food so she gained any weight at all, so we are having to change her eating habits which is not fun.

Emma

Why don't you let him have a banana and a small drink of milk just before bed. Bananas are supposed to be good bedtime food plus they are quick to eat and not messy and I'm sure an extra banana a day is not going to make him obese.

Is he fat? Or is he just big built? My dd is very lean and when she doesn't have a top on you can see her stomach muscles, hip bones and ribs as she runs around but she is tall for her age and seems to have bigger head, hands and feet. I'm sure if she was weighed and measured against a chart she'd be considered overweight for her age.

It is a difficult one because how do you explain to a 5 yr old that he can not eat too much.  He is hungry and he wants food.

Yes, try to keep a healthy diet and lot of water instead of juices.

DS is more like that in the weekends when he is not busy in the school, or playing with friends, just in his room playing, or watching tv or doing homework.  But I realised it is because he is bored.  If we go out Saturday early in the morning, he doesn't remember the food.

Hi, i'm new to this, but just recently having trouble with little boy saying he is hungry nearly all the time. he has cereal for breakfast, fruit at break time in school, school dinner with pudding and then milk in afternoon break. he will have a snack on returning from school ie. banana and orange, or a ham sanwich with tomato and cucmber, then he will eat a small evening meal about 5.30, with a yoghurt or mousse or more fruit for pudding. but recently he is asking for more food at bedtime (7.30pm) and the first 2 nights he had tantrums until 9.00pm because i refused him more food. he is just slightly overweight, and i have been very conscious of his weight since he was about 3 years old as he came off his dummy and had a new baby sister so we think he turned to food for comfort and he slowly crept over his weight limit (according to the health visitor). he is always on the go and is very understanding of why he should eat healthy food and also aware of the problems of being overweight. we had baby no. 3 6 months ago and he only started this 'hunger' about 2 weeks ago. should i put it down to  a growth spurt and keep feeding him, or stick to my guns and refuse food and hope he grows out of it? he has also started being very rude and has developed an attitude and is very stubborn. teacher at school thinks he is lovely and does not experience any of the problems we have at home.!

he recently had weight check at school, and he is 4st 8 lb, although he is tallest in class. school nurse is keepind an eye on it and advised as long as the food is healthy we are alright, but i dont want eating to become a habit rather than a necessity