OT Snacking...

[GinainMD]

Hello ladies! I know that this is off topic but I've always received sound advice here. My question is about snacking. Do you allow your dc to help themselves when they are hungry or have only specified snack times? Right now we have a free for all and boy is it expensive to feed these growing girls! I have a very hard time saying no to food for my dc because I have always been under the impression that dc eat when hungry and stop when full. None of them are overweight and two are quite petite. Their favorite snacks are yogurt, applesauce, string cheese, grapes, crackers with peanut butter etc. I do have "snack rules" like only one string cheese per girl per day etc. Not sure if that is the right way to go about this. My dh thinks that they snack too much. Any ideas? Or what do you do in your home?

[inHistiming]

For us it depends on various things like age, did they eat all of their b'fast/lunch/dinner, how close to meal time is it, etc. We also have the rule like you do for string cheese, except it's 1 per child every other day. For my toddler, she has a snack time between b'fast and lunch and after her afternoon nap. If my older ones are hungry I will often offer to let them have fruit....and much of the time they decline. I think that is because they are just looking for something to do, not necessarily hungry.....and I want to avoid that habit. My 7 yo ds is limited on drinks as well, due to bedwetting, so his last drink is at dinner....but otherwise drinks are unlimited on amount, as long a they are healthy. Milk, we limit just because of the expense. I think it's good to set limits. Then, they come to the table hungry, and more likely to eat what you put before them. That's just how we do it. I'm sure you'll get lots of input from others.

[holyhart]

I control the snacks. We have a set snack time, although I use the word "time" here loosely. About half way through our school time (usually when I finish up LHFHG with ds) we take a snack break. It might be ants on a log, fruit, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, crackers with cream cheese and pepper jelly (one of their favs), carrots and celery with dip, dried fruits like dates or apricots, etc. Lunch is after school is done for everyone. Our second snack time is after nap/rest time and is usually just a piece of fruit. There are times when they come to me and still ask if they can have something to eat. Generally, the answer is no as I feel that it is to close to one of our bigger meals, but there are times when I say yes, and it will be fruit. I think it often comes down to whether or not I think they are actually hungry or if they are bored. I think that it is expensive enough with scheduled snacks, I can imagine how much it would be if they were grazing all day!

[beverett]

We have five boys and ohhhhh my is it expensive... two of them eat like grown men! This is just what we do, if they have eaten all of their breakfast, then I have allow them to eat as many baby carrots as they want before lunch (they usually do not go crazy though). Then after lunch if they eat all of their food, we have an afternoon snack once(snack bar, bunnies with raisins, yogurt, nothing big) at around 3p.m. If your husband thinks that they are eating too much, then I would probably ask him if he had any thoughts, and go from there ??

[arstephia]

I have snackers too and we do our StoryTime read aloud time every day at around 10am and they can have a healthy snack. Usually apples, but sometimes cheese, grapes, carrot sticks etc. It is enough to get them to lunchtime. Then every afternoon around 3pm we have the snack attack again, and they almost always help themselves to yogurt or carrots. We usually eat dinner at 5:30pm so at 8pm they might be hungry again so that is about the only time we have "goodies" as Dad likes to have ice cream or a baked good at night. So to answer your question, they do snack, but there are fairly established times and approved snacks so I don't really monitor it.

[inHistiming]

Just want to add that my older children don't generally have a morning snack, but they are allowed to have one in the afternoon around 2 or 3. None of them are allowed to just go in and get a snack....they must always ask first. And, our oldest is up until 9:30, so sometimes (usually) he will have a snack of popcorn or fruit.

[KristinBeth]

Maybe it's because mine are so young, but they don't really snack. If they did (or on the rare occasions that they have) they wouldn't eat their meal, so that string cheese would BE their dinner. Also because of age, I control any snack requests. If they are hungry and dinner isn't ready I'll give them a piece of fruit.

[birchbark]

We don't do snacks much because I find that they don't eat their meals as well, either because they're not hungry or they figure they can snack later if they don't like what's on the menu. Plus it can be one more distraction or mess to clean up if the timing isn't good.

I do offer snacks if I know there will be a longer-than-usual stretch between meals. But I offer the options, they cannot pick just whatever. If they refuse I figure they're not really hungry. They are allowed drinks when they like, but we don't keep pop or juice around, so it's nothing sweet.

I also try to make sure every meal (esp breakfast) has something that will stick to their ribs: cheese, peanut butter, oatmeal, eggs, etc. I have found instant oatmeal and rice crispies esp bad at holding them over til lunch.

[creativemommy]

I don't do morning snacks. I do plan on an afternoon snack around 2 p.m. (especially days when we may eat lunch as early as 11 a.m.!) I usually offer one of the following: homemade granola bars or power balls (sunbutter, oats, ground flax, dry milk powder & honey rolled together in little balls) or cheese cubes with a few crackers or pretzel sticks. By 4:30/5 p.m. if they're complaining that they're "starving," I'll give them raw veggies and/or fruit slices to have while waiting for daddy to arrive at home.

[KTLM6]

I applaud you for offering healthy snacks. In our home we have snack times. I used to have a free for all, but it got expensive and I always felt like our home was a buffet at a restaurant. Except for if my oldest needs a snack for low blood sugar (type 1 diabetic), I am pretty strict. I plan our meals and snacks. I have a rather large family though, and if I didn't plan well I would spend too much time and money. It's okay to set limits. I don't think it will change the health of your children by having some limits on times and amounts... As long as they are eating healthy selections and are active. For our family, we don't snack much earlier in the day. We have early dinners usually because of my husband's schedule. Our snack time comes in the early evening instead of during the school day. I've had to be very careful here to have healthy choices or, because the kids consider it dessert, they will not pick the most nutritious selections.

[BrooklynsMom03]

We do not snack in the morning...we have breakfast....than do school....than do lunch....and do chores or whatever....my daughter swims competitively and does gymnastics so on those days I always give her a good snack so she has energy and than when she is done she has a snack before dinner...because she has worked so hard....than we do dinner ....and no snacks after dinner.....I do think she is starting the beginning of puberty...and she just hit 8...yikes!....so her pediatrician has her set up next week to go to an endrocrinoligist...to get confirmation on this...so we can stop it...I mention this because it does seem that her appetite has increased so we have to watch...her so she is eating healthy and not junk foods...she is pretty good about that...Beth in Idaho