Do your kids have a bed time snack?

[mamapjama]

We eat here around 5 - 5:30. Bed time is between 8 - 8:30. We always had a bed time snack when I was growing up. I ususally give the kids cereal or a banana or some yogurt.

 

Just curious if this is a common or just something my family did/does?

[jenL]

Our kids have a small snack before bed as well. Usually a banana, some crackers, or maybe a dish of ice cream. My children are extremely active, so they are often hungry before bed despite eating dinner an hour or two prior.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, we do. But bedtime is still an hour after the bedtime snack.

[Chris in VA]

Mine does. She's having an Italian Ice this minute. Usually it's something healthier.

[SproutMamaK]

Yes, they do. If they didn't have that snack, they wouldn't fall asleep.

[Mommee & Baba]

Yes we do in our home. I had one as a child too.

 

I offer our children a bowl of fruit, applesauce, graham crackers with nutella, apple slices, banana or an orange. They pick one of those and are happy as little bunnies when it's time to tuck into bed :D

[Ellie]

Nope. I didn't, Mr. Ellie didn't, our dc didn't, have never personally known anyone IRL who did.

[Dobela]

My toddler usually gets a bedtime snack. Now it is usually yogurt with her fish oil mixed in. She is in constant motion and I have no doubt she is hungry again by bedtime. Plus, it makes her sit still and relax some. My ds9 rarely gets a snack after dinner. If he has been active or I know he didn't eat much for some reason, he may eat a snack, but he doesn't ask for one very often.

[ssexton]

Our children usually have a small glass of milk before bed. My boys like theirs warmed.

[Pretty in Pink]

Yes. I've been serving dinner early, around 4:30 to 5:00 in the afternoon, for the past few months. Then we go to the Y and when we get home we all have a snack. Usually a sandwich and a piece of fruit.

[mbeaser]

Yes, they seem to believe that they will starve to death without it. The worst punishment possible is to be deprived of bedtime snack. My almost 10yo DS barely weighs 50 lbs, so I have trouble with not letting him have food whenever he wants it (he was excited yesterday, he thinks his size 7 pants may be getting to small at the waist, finally, he was still wearing 4T shorts last year, although they looked a wee bit short :001_huh:). But if they have been dinking around and it's past bedtime, or we've just come from my parents (where they eat almost non-stop and we frequently delay leaving so they can finish their snacks....) then I will make them forgo it (and they attempt to protest). They usually have fruit, pbj, oatmeal or something else filling but reasonably nutritious.

Edited May 2, 2010 by mbeaser

[Tap]

It often depends on what we had for dinner. If we had a heavier dinner (meat, potatoes, etc) then they are less likely to want one.

 

Until they are about 6 or so, I ask them if they want something. After that, I don't offer, they just get something if they want it.

[abbeyej]

No, not as a rule. On rare occasions, sure, but not very often.

[LibraryLover]

If they desire one, sure. I shop very carefully, with an eye to dense nutrition, so I don't care what they eat or when they eat it.

[cathmom]

No, because we usually are eating dinner around 7 and they don't need one. I guess we eat later than a lot of people on here.

[Renee in NC]

No, because it winds some of my dc up and then they won't go to sleep!

[LibraryLover]

ETA: HA! I had already answered the snack question, but when I was skimming the GB, I thought there was another question about bedtimes! lol Do your kids have bedtimes? LOL

I wrote too much to delete. LOL Skip.

 

 

No. But it's 10:42, and the 17 yr old is sound asleep (she will be up at 6 as she always is). The 10 yr old is reading in my bed (most comfy, best lighting, says she) and will probably sleep until 10am tomorrow. DH just picked up the 16 yr old from a friend's b'day gathering. He kissed me <realquick> and said "Good night, I am exhausted! " and I can hear him in the bathroom brushing his teeth. I cannot even fathom what my 21 yr old is doing. If I thought about it, which I probably don't want to...he's probably in some Manhattan or G. Village jazz club. I'd really rather not know. ;)

 

If I thought the younger children needed more sleep guidance, I would offer it. They seem to understand their sleep needs, which are pretty much the same as they were when they were tiny, so I am grateful.

 

When they were little, we were able to mange their various quirks. Some children needed more time to wind down, some needed our company as we read books or nursed, or lowered the lights etc. Our now 17 yr old was the easy-peasy one. We would read her a story at about 7 pm, and she would be out like a light. The oldest child would need a long story, so dh would do that (got through almost every Redwall book over those years lol). The midde ds would need a bit of snuggling, but a long story was totally overstimulating. He choose Goodnight Gorilla for years, and wanted his longer chapter books in the afternoon. It all worked out, and dh and I still kind of tag team their needs at times, and wind up back together at about 10/11. Which means I need to go soon. lol Teens don't need you to tuck them in or read them to sleep, but some do seem to have a need to chat in the darkness.

Edited May 2, 2010 by LibraryLover

[gaillardia]

We almost always have bedtime snack. I thought no one did that except us! And we always eat dinner late, usually anywhere from 6:30 to 8. Most of us are under weight or right on the mark for heighth and ages.

[Ravin]

Bedtime snacks around here vary. Ideally, it's something with some protein--a piece of cheese or glass of milk, that sort of thing. Sometimes it's more of a sweet treat, but DD only gets one of those a day (preferably), so usually has it earlier in the day.

 

As someone prone to hypoglycemia, I'm more than willing to feed DD when she's hungry, even if the timeing is non-traditional. Better a bedtime snack than waking up hungry at an odd hour.

[MamaSheep]

We have bedtime snacks too. They sleep better and longer, and therefore so do I. :)

[Medieval Mom]

Oh, yes! We all sleep better with a bedtime snack. We have several meals in a day: breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner, supper/ bedtime snack, and I often have a midnight snack! :). If we skip any of these, our children give us looks as if we are trying to starve them. One night, about a week ago, we had neglected our bedtime snack because dinner was late, bedtime was early. Ds walked in with a note which read, "Please feed me." :lol: Both boys are off the charts at the light end for their weight (<1%). Speaking of midnight snacks... :leaving:

 

Both dh and I gre up with bedtime snacks.

[Luanne]

before bed. Most of the time it is a piece of toast and a glass of milk. Occasionally it is a bit of whatever was leftover from supper.

 

If I don't eat something before I go to bed I wake up with a horrible stomach ache in the middle of the night. I always have a snack before bed.

[Greeny]

No, the only time we ever do that is the snack they get after soccer practice once a week. I don't think eating before bed is healthy or necessary if the dinner served is properly balanced.

[SonshineLearner]

Yup, my little one (ok... almost 7 yr old) always has to have something to eat. He's a skinny little guy... so ;) My 11 year old just never stops eating... from when she first wakes up till when she goes to bed...

 

:)

[jen_pad]

Both of my dc have snacks before bed! Maybe a few snacks! It is 2a.m. here and dd 16 is heating up beef stroganoff, ds9 just had a pb sandwich and is STILL hungry. Daddy is working nights and we have really strange sleeping habits, usually around 9 to 10 a.m. Cereal is our number one bedtime snack except for hubby (who can't have milk) and he has pb crackers!

[Cera]

The kids are welcome to a bedtime snack but I don't offer one every night. I don't want them to get into the habit of snacking at night for the sake of snacking. If they are hungry they will generally just go get something to eat.

 

if they do choose to eat a bedtime snack it is generally an apple, string cheese wrapped in a turkey slice or a yogurt.

[Melissa in Australia]

No bed time snacks here.

[NanceXToo]

Yes, always. They have dessert like an hour or so after dinner, and if they are still hungry right before bed, they can have something like a yogurt or a banana or a piece of cheese or something like that.

[EKS]

No. No regular snacks here--ever--even when they were little.

Edited May 2, 2010 by EKS

[Veritaserum]

They do if they are hungry. Whenever one of then says, "Mom, I'm hungry," my response is either "It's almost time for lunch/dinner" or "Go eat something." :)

 

The usual choice for bedtime snack is a glass of milk. Sometimes they have cheese, toast, PB crackers, or fruit.

[ciyates]

DS is 14 and currently swimming 3-6 miles per day plus dryland 6 days a week. If he isn't swimming he is eating :D According to the team nutritionist he should eat 5k calories a day. So I let him eat all the time. He will even get up in the middle of the night and eat sometimes.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

They have a snack while we are reading stories before bed. Usually cheese and crackers, yogurt or fruit.

[Jennifer in MI]

If they're hungry - they eat!

 

I think my kids eat a bedtime snack about 3 - 4 times/week. Dh and I don't.

 

Bedtime snacks around here need to be quick - apple, peanut butter on bread, carrots dipped in hummus, etc. Healthy, easy, quick.

[Jennifer in MI]

DS is 14 and currently swimming 3-6 miles per day plus dryland 6 days a week. If he isn't swimming he is eating :D According to the team nutritionist he should eat 5k calories a day. So I let him eat all the time. He will even get up in the middle of the night and eat sometimes.

 

Wow!!! I wish I could eat that much! :001_smile:

 

Sounds like he needs the food! My sister was a swimmer through college. She used to eat 5K calories (at least!) each day.

 

My kids row in the summer and fall. I definitely notice a difference in their appetites!

 

So, how do you keep him full????

[Ester Maria]

Well, what's a "dinner" to you is an occasional "after school snack" for us (4-5 pm, fruit), and what's a "bedtime snack" for you is a "dinner" for us (7-8 pm), pretty much. :D

 

My mother could never understand how can we have dinner so early. Growing up, most of the year we had dinners somewhere around 8-9 pm, therefore not only I didn't grow up with dinner snacks because there was no need to snack, I also grew up with starting to skip dinner rather young because I was usually out at that time on some activity, or with friends, or reading and couldn't be bothered to eat. My older one is like me, she doesn't snack and often misses dinner, while my younger one seems to be making up for her sister eating as well. :D

[greensummervillian]

We don't usually do bedtimes snacks, but if one of the kids is hungry enough to make something themselves and clean up the mess, they can have it.

[Rich with Kids]

Rarely. I plan breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. This is usually enough if we eat dinner a little later. If we do have a snack before bed, it's popcorn.

[AHASRADA]

Our family's meal schedule is just the opposite. We have a snack between 4-5pm, and eat dinner anytime between 7-9pm. My dd10 goes to bed very soon after dinner, but ds13 and we parents are up until at least 10:30. We get the majority of our readaloud time accomplished at that hour.

I personally cannot bear to start thinking about dinner before 5pm (as in starting to cook). We finish our school day at 4pm, and I need a small respite before I start dinner. I would love to eat closer to 7pm, but with the kids' activities and my tutoring appointments, we rarely eat before 8:30.

 

I count our flexible meal schedule and later-than-typical bedtimes as a blessing of homeschooling. Incidentally, we wake up between 8:15 and 8:45 and start our school day at 9:30 ;).

[HappyCrazyMama]

No, not as a rule. On rare occasions, sure, but not very often.

 

Yep, that is us. We eat dinner sometime around six. My kids don't usually ask for a snack and I don't offer. I'm never hungry after dinner so it doesn't cross my mind. Actually, I rarely think to offer snacks any time of day.

[phathui5]

No bedtime snack here. We eat dinner around 6/6:30 and the kids go to bed between 8:30 and 9.