Eloquent Eager Loading with $append Attribute - laravel

Question

I'm kinda stuck with this here and don't know how to move forward with this one.
I have two Models: user and child and they are in a Relationship.
( Keep in mind that this only illustrate the problem )
class Child extends Model{
protected $primaryKey = 'id_child';
public $appends = ['is_alive'];
public function user(){
return $this->belongsTo('Models\User','id_user');
}
public function getIsAliveAttribute(){
if (!is_null($this->lifetime_updated_at))
return (Carbon::parse($this->lifetime_updated_at)->addMinute($this->lifetime) >= Carbon::now());
else
return false;
}
}
class User extends Model{
protected $primaryKey = 'id_user';
public $appends = ['is_alive'];
public function childs(){
return $this->hasMany('Models\Child','id_user');
}
public function getIsAliveAttribute(){
if (!is_null($this->lifetime_updated_at))
return (Carbon::parse($this->lifetime_updated_at)->addMinute($this->lifetime) >= Carbon::now());
else
return false;
}
}
Now I want to use Eager Loading in the Controller to retrieve my Childs data from User.
But my User Model Object comes from an MiddleWare in my Application. So I only have the User Model Object to use and I don't want to Query the User again using "with()".
$user = User::where('name','DoctorWho')->first();
return user->childs()->find(3);
What this operation returns:
{
"id_child": 3,
"name": "JayZ",
"last_name": "Etc",
"lifetime": 1,
"lifetime_updated_at": null,
"created_at": "2017-05-29 21:40:02",
"updated_at": "2017-05-29 21:40:02",
"active": 1
}
What I needed ( With Attribute Appended)
{
"id_child": 3,
"name": "JayZ",
"last_name": "Etc",
"lifetime": 1,
"lifetime_updated_at": null,
"created_at": "2017-05-29 21:40:02",
"updated_at": "2017-05-29 21:40:02",
"active": 1,
"is_alive": true
}
Is even possible to retrieve Child Data with Appended Attributes using Eager Loading ?
Notes: This user object come from an Middleware, I must use the User Model Object to get its child's with the appended attribute.
Thanks in Advance,
LosLobos

Answer 1

The thing is I was doing something wrong that is not related to Eloquent acessing the model like that does come with the appended attributes!

Answer 2

What you're doing here is not eager loading. Your childs relationship is wrong. Should be return $this->hasMany('Models\Child', 'id_user'); based on the model and the other relationship defined.
Here are some ways you can access the child information. These by default should respect the $appends property and load the field.
$childId = 3;
$user = User::with('childs')
->where('name', 'DoctorWho')
->first();
return $user->childs()->where('id_child', $childId)->first();
// Or
$user = User::with(['childs' => function ($query) use ($childId) {
$query->where('id_child', $childId);
}])
->where('name', 'DoctorWho')
->first();
return $user->childs->first();
// Or
$child = Child::whereHas('user', function ($query) {
$query->where('name', 'DoctorWho');
})
->find(3);
return $child;
Edit :
If you already have the user model then you can do this.
$child = Child::where('id_user', $user->id_user)
->where('id_child', 3)
->first();
return $child;