My daughter is overeating and sneaking food. She is 9. What should I do?

You need to sit her down and talk to her, this behavior is showing that she feels insecure, it is called hording. Children usually do this when they feel unsafe or severely stressed out. Sit her down and see if she will talk to you about any problems she is having or if she is stressed about any home situations. This is an action of an underlying problem, talk to her about the sneaking of food, but also try to get to the bottom of the situation by being understanding and listening. I went through this same thing when I was a child, I would sneak food (not because I was hungry, but just because I was scared) Come to find out I did it because of my parents divorce and the situation I was in between them. I hope this helps.

I have experienced this with my oldest daughter ... she would double up on lunches at school and she would eat as much as her father when it came to breakfast and dinner. She is now 10 and weighs 100 pounds . In order for her to stay in a healthy direction we let her join girls sports hour and track (She was interested in both so we figured why not). She now is eating only eating one lunch and she is trying to eat smaller portions . She sneaks snacks and it is a bit aggravating at times because it is not always healthy and she will down the whole container, bag or package of whatever she is eating .

Just keep her active and don't make her feel bad about eating . Make sure to give her portions that are suitable for a child her age . Make sure however she doesn't have a binging problem ...9 is a bit young but now days the things kids do are scary and often times not known because we often assume our children wouldn't do that .

before making it an issue you need to look at the bigger picture, could be several things such as shes getting bullied, o shes going through a growth spurt. you should talk to her and find out why shes doing it, dont jump down her throat automatically because if there is a problem causing this shell be less likely to open up to you. make sure she is eating lots of healthy food rather than the food shes overeating on being junk food. tell her she can eat but she cant steal it and must ask you first, teach her stealing is wrong and if shes hungry she needs to do it the correct way. its probably a phase that will pass but try and address it now to avoid it getting out of control.

I would start with tryng to find out the reason she is doing it behind your back. Eating in secrecy at that age is a big concern. I would also try to encourage her to eat nutritiously (and only keep healthy food in the house) and get lots of exercise, but not put her on any kind of "diet." Here are some tips that might be helpful: http://www.parenting-advice-in-action.com/childhoo...

You're the one who feeds her, so first off, don't buy junkfood. Then, feed her less than she usually eats. Have her start to play a sport and then she'll be back in shape before she gets too old to reverse it. Praise her for eating healthy and scold her for sneaking food.

Quit being so stingy. Start buying more nutritious food so she actually gets full. She's a growing child. If you fight her she'll have an eating disorder in a few years.

Lock the fridge, dont buy junk food.

She cannot eat it if you don't buy it and bring it home. YOU have the control, not her. Stop buying what you don't want her to eat.

Say, "Hey, if you wanna be a drama queen and get fat, fine by me! Just make sure to let your classmates know that this was your choice!" Kids need to be responsible for their actions.