Snacks

[Paige]

Do you give your kids snacks whenever they want? Do you feed them something anytime they ask for something?

 

I ask, because my kids are driving me up the wall. They are not overweight, and while small for their age, none of them are especially skinny for their height except my oldest son. Very skinny boys run in my family, so I am not concerned. But, all day long, every day, they beg for food. Immediately after they eat, they ask for a snack. Every time! I used to say yes, because I believed kids didn't overeat but now I say no because it is ridiculous, and besides, there wouldn't be overweight kids if "kids can't overeat," and snack foods are expensive and junky.

 

A couple of the girls were getting into a higher weight percentile than their height percentile before I started offering them fruits and veggies for snacks rather than "snack food." I say that as an observation that I believe they could have been going down a bad road, but it did not factor into my decision to quit offering the snacks. That decision was mainly because a lot of "snack foods" are junk and I wanted to give them more whole foods with less preservatives so we quit buying the junk, therefore it was not here in the same quantities, and therefore, they must eat fruits and veggies between meals if they are really starving.

 

If they really beg, I will offer them something like carrot sticks, an apple, banana, or grapes, (they tolerate or really like all of those) but they usually turn that down and keep whining so I don't think it is actual hunger. I don't think we could afford to feed them as much as they want for snacks. They also frequently won't eat their dinners or refuse seconds of their healthy dinners, and continue to cry for food, so I have little sympathy. I tell them that they are hungry because they didn't eat what was offered and that's what happens. I don't serve things they hate without providing plenty of alternatives or other items for the meal that they do like. But, OMG!!!! I can't stand the whining and begging all day. I suspect they are actually thirsty instead of hungry but they turn down my suggestion to drink more. A typical meal involves them eating almost everything and then saying, "what else can we have?" I will offer them seconds of whatever we are having, and they refuse. From that point on, they are whining for food for what feels like every 15min. Perhaps, they'll get a dessert, but it will still immediately be followed with "what else can we have?"

 

They are 6, 9, and 3, and each one, individually, eats more than me throughout an average day and I do not restrict my calories. Seriously? That cannot be right, but they still beg for more non-stop. I'd get it if it was a growth spurt but I don't think they last for almost a year. So- am I being mean? I'm starting to feel mean because they just have not gotten over the elimination of the goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, and granola bars, and it is hard to hear them cry all day that they are starving. We do have treats occasionally- ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, crackers, cookies, etc., but I try to make them special or once a day rather than every time they ask. Maybe the fact that the junk food was just really reduced rather than eliminated has made the problem worse? Are they like research rats who keep pushing the treat button because every once in a while it is rewarded? I promise they eat more food than most every child I know and they are not on a diet. The whining is killing me.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Paige

[DawnM]

I really think younger kids need to eat more frequently and sometimes can't eat enough in a meal setting to sustain them for several hours.

 

I tend to let them have a snack UNLESS it is close to a mealtime and I know we will be eating soon.

 

Whole wheat crackers or bread with PB

Fruit

Yogurt

Cheese

Glass of Milk or cereal and milk

 

even leftovers, since they are old enough to make it themselves.

 

If I had to actually prepare it, I would keep some grab and go snacks available in the fridge or cupboard so that I didn't have to prep so many times a day.

 

Dawn

[nukeswife]

Yep

[fairfarmhand]

have snack times, and meal times...

 

breakfast 8

morning snack 10:30

lunch 12

afternoon snack 3

supper 6

dessert 8

 

These are the only times that they are allowed to eat.

 

Make sure they are getting protein at each meal (I know it is a pain for serve protein at breakfast when it is easier to give them a pop tart or whatever but it is so worth it)! I dumped the sugar cereals. We now have raisin bran type cereals and it made a HUGE difference not only in their hunger but in their behavior and attitudes.

 

Snacks are fruit, nuts, yogurts, cheese sticks, peanut butter amd crackers, carrots, etc. They get junk 1x a day, that is dessert time...this could be a sweet, chips, or sometimes a cupful of "junky" sugar cereal.

 

Once they know the routine, all cries of hungry are answered by "well, you have x minutes till snack/meal time. " Continual whining means..."you know sometimes people eat when they are bored. Are you bored? I can find you a job to do so you won;t be so bored."

 

I do save meals of children who continually don't eat their meal, and then cry hungry. I then offer the remainder of the uneaten sandwich, if it wasn't that long ago that the meal was over.

 

However if it is less than an hour before their next food time, I usually just make them wait;

[abreakfromlife]

I hear you. My kids are the same way. whining all day long about being hungry, and they are eating and snacking all day long. It drives me nuts. I'm thinking about just having a couple set snack times and doing that in addition to meals, b/c it's just non-stop with someone always asking about food.

[JudoMom]

No, I don't. We have snack time at 3:00 (breakfast around 8:30, lunch around noon, and dinner around 7:30). If they are really hungry between meals, they can have a piece of fruit.

[sophiasapientia]

:iagree:

 

We do the same thing. Regular meals with a set healthy snacktime. If kiddo is really hungry in-between, fresh fruit or veggies are always an option but one that is rarely taken ... When DD was little, I went the snack-on-command route and then she wouldn't eat meals. :001_huh: :001_huh:Eliminating that solved the mealtime issue. Plus, I'm really convinced that non-stop snacking is a major factor in the obesity issue in this country and I think limiting snacks is the best choice for our family.

[Koerarmoca]

I try to have set times.

Breakfast 8am

snack 10:30am

Lunch noon

snack 3pm

dinner between 5-6

evening snack 7:45

 

if they are really bugging me that they are just STARVING and I reach my breaking point they can have an apple or baby carrots that is really the only thing I keep a surplus of in the house. A typical morning snack is fruit and yogurt dip with a granola bar or some crackers. 3pm snack is usually something just to tide them over until dinner sometimes a small bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit, a handful of pretzels etc. I was getting so irritated of "when is dinner" asked 1,000 times while I am trying to cook so I figured they needed that afternoon snack to keep them less whiny while I am cooking. I generally try to have dinner ready at 5 on the dot but as you can see i am here at 4:40 :lol:

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

I allow fruits and veggies anytime. We'll have some cheese or peanut butter and crackers in the afternoon, but it's not an everyday thing. Sometimes they have frosted wheat cereal as a bedtime snack if we had supper earlier than usual.

[matrips]

I rarely do snacks, though I'm conned into it for playdates because other kids expect them! I still try to stick to fruit and cheese though if I can. If we eat an early lunch (like today) and then they're out playing soccer for a couple hours (like today), then I will give a snack. Today was cheesesticks and pears. When they were younger (they're 6yo now and don't have the appetites they once did), I would give more snacks, especially late afternoon. However, snacks were always the veggie I planned to serve at dinner! So they ate peas, carrots, green beans, broccoli, beets etc. I've expanded on snacks now, so sometimes they get peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. :) Never goldfish/pretzels/etc though.

 

Surprising though- my kids still love snacks, no matter what it is! But they don't think to ask for them; probably because it isn't a habit.

[Ellie]

I didn't give snacks to my dc on a regular basis, and when I did, it was almost never a sit-down-at-the-table snack, more of a pick-up-and-go munchie.

 

In our home, a kidlet who barely ate anything for a meal would not be given a snack half an hour after that meal. One of my dds tried that a couple of times, but I caught on pretty quick.

[july19]

Man, you literally took the question out of my mouth as I was just pulling my hair out because of my son. He is asking for food ALL. DAY. LONG. and even all night long. Last night he woke us up twice in the middle of the night to ask for food.

 

He'll be 5 in July and according to the height and weight chart, he's too heavy. But, when seeing him, there isn't much fat at all. He's 3 ft 8 inches and weighs 53 pounds. He's definitely solid, but not fat. Mainly because I can't get him to ever walk and sit still and to stop playing sports. But I want to keep him not fat. I allow snacks in between meals - but they are only fruits or vegetable. He can have pretty much unlimited vegetables and I do limit the amount of fresh fruit a tiny bit - we have many allergies and fructose happens to be one (among gluten and lactose. Oy.)

 

I'm just so tired of the whining. And then the screaming that comes when I say that "you've already had a bowl of broccoli florets, a cup of carrots, two apples cut up with peanut butter, two homemade granola bars, two 6 oz portions of soy yogurt, two cans of tuna and two sticks of lactose free mozz string cheese and IT ISN'T EVEN NOON YET so NO, you cannot have anything else!"

 

I'm tired and cranky today. Pardon me. And I know that in my case, his is probably just a growth spurt. But man alive. I'm going to go broke here!

 

Thank you for letting me vent. And for knowing that I'm not alone here =)

Edited April 20, 2011 by july19

[ORP]

for my 22 month old...

Breakfast 7am

lunch 11am

2nd lunch after nap 2pm

dinner at 5pm

and snack before bed

 

for my 12 year old...

breakfast 7am

lunch 12pm

fruit snack 2pm

dinner at 5

 

I think as kids get older they naturally create larger spaces between meals. All kids are different.

[Gratia271]

No, I don't. We have snack time at 3:00 (breakfast around 8:30, lunch around noon, and dinner around 7:30). If they are really hungry between meals, they can have a piece of fruit.

 

That takes me back to my upbringing. :001_smile: That was my mom's standard policy.

 

Now that my children are older, we have a snack in the afternoon only. It is typically veggies, hummus, peanut butter, almond butter, yogurt, or cheese... things along those lines. Sometimes I fix them smoothies. One thing I am particular about is that they eat sufficient quantities of protein with their carbs. We went through a phase where we were going through boxes and boxes of crackers for snacks (or italian bread and the like).

[6packofun]

We try to do 2 snacks per day, one between lunch and dinner and one an hour or so before bed. Just something small like a cheese stick, cheese on a couple of crackers, fruit, granola bar or Special K bar, celery w/PB, etc. Sometimes we have a treat, but that's not often.

 

Tonight, our snack is going to be a Pampered Chef Key Lime Cheese ball with cinnamon flavored Scooby Snack crackers to dip into it! LOL It's (hopefully) to celebrate a successful Bible Drill season!

[AK_Mom4]

Man, you literally took the question out of my mouth as I was just pulling my hair out because of my son. He is asking for food ALL. DAY. LONG. and even all night long. Last night he woke us up twice in the middle of the night to ask for food.

...

I'm just so tired of the whining. And then the screaming that comes when I say that "you've already had a bowl of broccoli florets, a cup of carrots, two apples cut up with peanut butter, two homemade granola bars, two 6 oz portions of soy yogurt, two cans of tuna and two sticks of lactose free mozz string cheese and IT ISN'T EVEN NOON YET so NO, you cannot have anything else!"

 

Maybe you need more boring snacks? I generally offer boring things - if they are really hungry, they eat them.

 

Also - my kids could never tell the difference between thirsty and hungry until they got to be teens. I still tell dd9 to go get a drink before she gets a between-meals snack.

[Jennifer in MI]

I have two teenaged boys. They eat all day long. Their typical schedule is:

 

8 am breakfast (HUGE breakfast, BTW)

10 or 10:30: HUGE snack (cottage cheese, fruit, and nuts is typical)

12: lunch (HUGE)

2:30: Another huge snack (cheese/almonds and fruit or pb/j sandwich with an apple)

4:30: Big snack

6:30: dinner

8 or 9: Another snack.

 

Ds 14 is 6' and weighs 125 pounds. Ds13 is 5'8" and weighs 124. They're THIN!!! As long as they eat healthy snacks, I'm okay with it.

 

My younger two tend to eat the three meals and snack twice. They are also thin and healthy. So, I'm not worried about their eating habits!

 

Junk food is a real treat! We don't do it often!

[Hedgehog]

This is an interesting one. I've come to the conclusion, through my own struggles with weight, and seeing how my dc could and would eat if I let them, that it is very easy to get used to more food than what is needed.

 

On the other hand, if a person is accustomed to eating little and often, then it makes sense that they would feel hungry often. If you restrict when you - or someone else - eats, they can get used to that too. I'm not talking about overeating, or starving, but the range of normal which leads to good health. And it IS a range.

 

A few months ago, my eldest dd said to me, "Mummy, I'm always starving in between meals, but when we have a meal, I am uncomfortably stuffed. Can we have snacks in between meals, or more meals a day?" Well I thought about this, and I figured that rather than having snacks, it would be better to have more meals, but make them smaller. So rather than having breakfast first thing, lunch at 1pm, and supper at 6pm, we now have:

 

Breakfast first thing at around 8am

Brunch at 11:30am

Main meal at 2:30pm

Supper at 7pm

 

Breakfast and the main meal are self-explanatory; brunch and supper are similar meals - veggies and dips; mixed salad; nachos and cheese; soup; sandwiches; cheese and biscuits; that kind of thing.

 

There a quite a few advantages of having the 4 meal a day pattern:

 

 

• We are eating more vegetables, and less sweet stuff. Brunch and supper are rarely sweet meals. At each meal, all dc have a good sized glass of water, or juice for an occasional treat. In between meals, no-one is allowed anything but water.
   
  
• My middle dd is definitely slimmer - we were beginning to be concerned about her weight, she was beginning to get distinctly plump.
   
  
• Extra-curriculars no longer interfere with our evening meal: ballet is at 4:30pm one day, and 5:30pm the other; swimming is at 5pm one day, and 4pm the other; ice hockey is 5:30pm. With the main meal at 2:30pm, the dc have enough energy to last them through their activity.
   
  
• For the first time in years, DH is able to share the evening meal with us. He usually gets home between 6:30pm and 7pm.
   
  
• And the best one? Rarely does anyone whine about being hungry any more!

 

[myfunnybunch]

I offer string cheese and fruit, usually apples and bananas. The kids can eat them any time they want.

 

Usually if I hear, "I'm hungry," it means, "I want something to eat," and not actual hunger. I remind them of the choices, and when they say, "I don't want those," I reply, "Those are the choices if you're hungry. Or you can wait until dinner."

 

Sometimes the child will go get an apple. Sometimes he won't. But it got me off the hook as Snack Mom, lol.

 

Cat

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Yes. My kids want snacks all the time. I've started incorporating a snack time into the school day, so they can only have snack at that time. Then, they have another snack while we are reading stories before bedtime. If they've been playing hard, then I let them have another snack.

[fairfarmhand]

I also found that making my kids eat apples whole(not peeled sliced or cut up)(when they are old enough) is more satisfying than peeled sliced and diced. I think because it takes more time...

 

and nuts in the shell, they eat less of than shelled nuts. Again, because it takes more time to consume them, I guess their brains register full more quickly.

[RoundAbout]

Yes, I give snacks whenever he asks unless its within an hour of dinner.

 

1) My son is 95th percentile for height and borderline underweight by BMI, so think super tall and super skinny.

 

2) I only serve super healthy things for snacks unless we are out hiking/biking: fruit, veg, cheese, olives, nuts, etc. nothing with sugar and I don't even do crackers often.

 

3) I know his personality and he doesn't ask unless he's hungry and going through a growth spurt.

 

4) He eats well at meal times most of the time.

 

All of this makes snacking an easy decision for me.

[RobinF]

This is an interesting one. I've come to the conclusion, through my own struggles with weight, and seeing how my dc could and would eat if I let them, that it is very easy to get used to more food than what is needed.

 

On the other hand, if a person is accustomed to eating little and often, then it makes sense that they would feel hungry often. If you restrict when you - or someone else - eats, they can get used to that too. I'm not talking about overeating, or starving, but the range of normal which leads to good health. And it IS a range.

 

A few months ago, my eldest dd said to me, "Mummy, I'm always starving in between meals, but when we have a meal, I am uncomfortably stuffed. Can we have snacks in between meals, or more meals a day?" Well I thought about this, and I figured that rather than having snacks, it would be better to have more meals, but make them smaller. So rather than having breakfast first thing, lunch at 1pm, and supper at 6pm, we now have:

 

Breakfast first thing at around 8am

Brunch at 11:30am

Main meal at 2:30pm

Supper at 7pm

 

Breakfast and the main meal are self-explanatory; brunch and supper are similar meals - veggies and dips; mixed salad; nachos and cheese; soup; sandwiches; cheese and biscuits; that kind of thing.

 

There a quite a few advantages of having the 4 meal a day pattern:

 

 

• We are eating more vegetables, and less sweet stuff. Brunch and supper are rarely sweet meals. At each meal, all dc have a good sized glass of water, or juice for an occasional treat. In between meals, no-one is allowed anything but water.

   

• My middle dd is definitely slimmer - we were beginning to be concerned about her weight, she was beginning to get distinctly plump.

   

• Extra-curriculars no longer interfere with our evening meal: ballet is at 4:30pm one day, and 5:30pm the other; swimming is at 5pm one day, and 4pm the other; ice hockey is 5:30pm. With the main meal at 2:30pm, the dc have enough energy to last them through their activity.

   

• For the first time in years, DH is able to share the evening meal with us. He usually gets home between 6:30pm and 7pm.

   

• And the best one? Rarely does anyone whine about being hungry any more!

 

 

This is really interesting to me and I just posted a thread about "filling foods" b/c my boys are hungry all the time. I wonder if a schedule like this would help. I especially like the 2:30 meal b/c of soccer and other things we do in the evenings.

[happypamama]

Mine need to eat a good chunk of protein in the morning, and it usually needs to be both breakfast and a mid-morning snack. So we might have eggs for breakfast at 7:30 or 8 am, and then around 10 or so have smoothies or whole wheat banana bread. Then lunch at 12 or 1 and maybe an afternoon snack if dinner will be late. But if we have cereal (even fairly non-sugary cereal, like regular Cheerios) for breakfast, they eat a ton of it and are still hungry an hour later. Also, fruit doesn't fill them up as a snack; my oldest in particular would eat several pieces of fruit a day if I let her, but one, it's expensive, and two, if she's hungry she'll go for that instead of protein. So there is a limit on fruit, and it's usually served as part of a meal.

 

(I personally feel better, pregnant or not, with a big chunk of protein in the morning too. It really sets my whole day.)

[mom2hunangirls]

I have just, in the past two weeks, "detoxed" from carbs. My entire life I survived on carbs. It was the hardest detox of my life! I was starving the first week and a half. Eating carbs make you crave carbs and I am here to say I was HUNGRY. All this to say, I've started eliminating (not to zero, but close) carbs and upping protein. The constant "I'm hungry" is nearly gone. I'm amazed. Amazed I tell you!!!

So our snacks now are cheese, milk, veggies, etc.

[Anita in NC]

Mine have hollow legs - especially the little guy. I don't know where he puts it. Why, oh why is that boy always hungry.

 

Yes, I feed him snacks when he asks. Usually something like a cheese stick, apple, or piece of whole wheat toast.

[Dawn in OH]

When the kids have any meal or snack, it must include a protein. It helps keep them feeling full longer, and helps with whining and melt downs.

 

Some days the bigger kids need a snack, some days they don't. It usually depends on how much they ate at the last meal, if there wasn't enough protein in that meal, or the next meal is going to be late for some reason.

 

The younger kids eat much more frequently. In fact, between the two little ones, I feel like I'm always making food for someone.

[QueenCat]

We've had an "open kitchen" since the boys were in upper elementary school. If you are hungry, you go get yourself something to eat. They know when the meals are, and have rarely allowed a snack to get in the way of it. I keep a variety of snacks in the house. Some healthy, some not. They know when the junk is gone, it's gone until the next regular shopping. My boys are healthy so I'd say it worked for us.

[ocelotmom]

We're sort of in the same boat. Lots of eating that seems to be boredom-motivated, lots of "I'm not hungry for that!".

 

Our strategy (ideally. I don't always stick to it):

 

Free access to vegetables. Pretty much free access to hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks (we only buy them once a week, and that usually works out about right), and tuna (which they will only eat if desperate, so I'm not too concerned about the mercury :)).

 

A snack with protein and fat mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Protein and fat both help you stay full longer than a more carbohydrate-based snack.

 

1-2 pieces of fruit (sometimes one is replaced with a less healthy treat) per day. Fruit isn't candy, but it still has more sugar than we want them eating just for the sake of eating. And they will eat fruit constantly if given the opportunity, which we consider neither healthy nor affordable.

 

If they don't finish a reasonable portion of their meal, then that's their snack for the immediate future - they don't get to decide they don't like dinner and just fill up on snacks. It's a balance - I'm not going to make them eat everything on their plate (especially if it was a large serving to start with) or force seconds, because I think it's healthier to learn to recognize your own satiety cues, but I'm not going to let them take one tiny taste, declare themselves "full", then ask for a snack half an hour later.

 

DH also wants to make them sit down at the table to eat their snacks, and that's a good idea (and I think would help discourage boredom eating), but I'm horrible about remembering to enforce that one.

[EKS]

No snacks here. We never did them, even when they were little.

[Tohru]

We have scheduled meal times and snack times.

We also let every one in our house eat whatever, whenever they want, including guests.

 

If you don't want your kids eating something because of whatever reason, then don't buy it, don't make it, don't have it in your house tempting, tempting, tempting.

[alpidarkomama]

We have breakfast at 8:00, lunch at 1:00, so anytime in the morning they are welcome to take one piece of fruit. In the afternoon (4:00ish) I put out carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, etc., and they can have a spoon of peanut butter. They can take it or leave it! :) Sometimes I'll make whole-grain muffins or something different, but that's not a regular thing.

[JustGin]

I have a little different perspective - partially because I'm a person who has normally low blood sugar, right on the borderline between normal and too low, and I would suffer tremendously if was forced to adhere to a regime of three squares and one or even two snacks of highly glycemic foods such as apples and carrots. I've been this way all my life. Also, I don't believe in making food consumption a battleground. From the time my oldest was old enough to wield a butter knife, at about age 3, I put treat foods if any up high and off limits except by parental dispensation :) and put anything that could be eaten at will (all healthy options) where she could get to it, in a low cupboard or the lower part of the frig. I then let her choose when and what to eat during the day, the only rule being, no snacks one hour before dinner. This worked well with all three of my dc and allowed us to have a family dinner with a few simple rules and no angst. The dc had a lot of healthy control over their own appetites and food choices and I retained just enough control to not feel like a short order cook and to feel satisfied that they were getting good nutrition. It worked for us. :)

 

ETA: In our family snack=healthy and treat=sometimes food. Treats other than the occasionally home made cookies, are always eaten with a meal either as a dessert or small side. For example, if we have chips (rarely) they can have a handful with a sandwich but are not allowed to eat them alone as a snack and never out of the bag. The only exception to our treat rule is that each dc gets 1lb of bulk sugar cereal from the bulk aisle each month and may it at will, when it's gone, it's gone until the next month's grocery trip.

Edited April 22, 2011 by JustGin

[Carol in Cal.]

I've always had the position that a balanced diet is the rule.

Balanced means protein, carbs (preferably whole grain), and fruit or veggie.

So Dd has always been allowed to have snacks pretty much whenever she wanted except if we were just getting ready to eat together within the next half hour or so, but each snack has to be balanced. It has to contain at least protein and fruit or veggie, and preferably carbs.

 

I think that this grazing approach is good for blood sugar control and that it's more natural than artificial meal times. I also think that it takes away the incentive to overeat, because you can always eat whenever you want.

[Danestress]

I am hearing you say that you don't like snack foods partly because they are expensive and junky.

 

I do let my kids snack a lot, but our snack foods are not really different from our meal foods. I try to keep cooked pasta on hand, hummus and pitas, burrito ingredients, salads, etc. If my kids are hungry, they eat pretty much the same foods as they might at a meal. I tend to cook a lot extra at meals so we have left over around.

 

So snacking does not have to be unhealthy or expensive. That said, I think snacking is okay only to a point. It's actually good to be hungry before a meal, and I think it's good to let ourselves get really hungry sometimes before a meal. I don't want my children to eat out of habit, boredom, or a desire to experience no discomfort. So waiting for meals can be a good discipline.

[KristinaBreece]

I didn't give snacks to my dc on a regular basis, and when I did, it was almost never a sit-down-at-the-table snack, more of a pick-up-and-go munchie.

 

In our home, a kidlet who barely ate anything for a meal would not be given a snack half an hour after that meal. One of my dds tried that a couple of times, but I caught on pretty quick.

 

That's our rule, too. It's never been a problem with my own 2, but the 5-y-o boy I've been babysitting is really problematic in that regard. He doesn't want to eat what everyone else is having, he doesn't seem to comprehend our "One Bite" rule (everyone must taste everything on their plate-- all I require is one bite!), and he wants to hop up from a full plate (claiming to be "full") and begins to demand (I can't imagine his parents put up with this tone of voice-- it earns time out here) snacks as soon as everyone is finished with a meal.

 

Last night at dinner:

Boy: "I don't LIKE this! It's yucky! (Grilled chicken, pasta, tomatoes-- like a warm pasta salad, and a tossed salad of lettuce, spinach, carrots, mushrooms and bell pepper slices.) I want MEAT!"

 

Me: :confused::confused: "At our house, chicken IS meat. This is supper."

 

Boy: "NO! I want ROUND meat. It comes in a stack and there's a lot of it."

 

The child was begging for bologna. I excused him from the table... when he complained of hunger a little while later, I reheated his plate & sat him back down with it. There were no other options. I don't cater to the whims of an individual child in regard to meals, and if they refuse to eat their meals, they miss out on things like dessert. (They can still have the same fruit or veggie snacks as the other kids when it is snack time-- just not whenever they demand it.) If it is known that a child truly doesn't like a given food (and HAS tried it several times) I do let them choose a turkey sandwich with carrot sticks as a meal option.

[Tarreymere]

We have scheduled meal and snack times which work out to every two hours some kind of food is offered. We don't buy packaged things, so all meals and snacks have to have some kind of preparation. This means that if I had to respond to every request for something to eat I would never get anything else done or we would be broke buying things that just needed to have a package opened.

I do hot, cooked meals three times a day. Snacks are either homemade baked goods, homemade yogurt from my quart jars with sliced fruit, peeled and sliced veggies or sliced fruit, ect. Anyone old enough to peel or cut or bake is welcome to make a snack to be offered to everyone, including to the four year old who needs his fruit or veggies cut up and peeled, not just themselves, but it seems that if they have to make an effort they are just not that hungry, oddly enough :glare:. I admit I would really be in heaven if somebody, anybody, managed to put together a snack for everyone by themselves.

[cjzimmer1]

Since I cook most meals from scratch, I don't have a lot of energy to deal with snacks. Thus they tend to be grab and go items (fresh fruit, homemade muffins, or when I'm time crunched processed food). However, in my kids' minds those options are all superior to the veggies that come with their meals. So snacks are always more appealing than a meal. So on a daily basis, someone is telling me they are too full to finish their meal but the same kid is hungry and wants a snack 30 minutes later. When I direct them back to their meal, suddenly they aren't so hungry anymore. Really asking for a snack is their way of trying to get candy, cookies, muffins, fresh fruit (which I do have to limit due to $) and avoid eating their meal (which especially if it contains beans they would prefer not to eat at all). So while we have an afternoon snack most afternoons, only people who finished their lunch are eligible for it. If they didn't finish lunch, they get the rest of their lunch for snack, while everyone else get s the "good" snacks. Also if they are really pesky about being hungry (and they finished their previous meal), I offer raw carrots. Since they aren't overly fond of these, I know if they accept carrots that they are truly hungry. Depending on the kid (namely the growing 13 year old boy), I will follow it up with a more substantial snack.

[Truscifi]

I let ds graze all day, up to 1 1/2 hours before dinner. At that point he has to wait until dinner to eat more. However he doesn't bother me about snacks, because he knows he can get them himself from whatever is available - which is only fruit, veggies, leftovers from last night's dinner, or other such healthy options. We don't keep packaged snack foods in the house for the most part (occasionally dh will want some Cheezits or something, but it is rare) so it isn't even an option. I do here some whining at the grocery for the packaged stuff, but at least that is an hour once a week instead of all day every day. And it is getting to be less of an issue because he knows I will say no and if he keeps pestering me he doesn't get the free cookie at the end of the grocery trip.

 

ETA - we don't do snacks after dinner either. If he is still hungry he can eat more of whatever was served for dinner.