Eating Habits

just jumping over from the 2-4 board since we're nearly 5 - do any of you have kids that ask.to.eat.constantly??? They will have a full lunch (pbj on whole wheat, carrots, yogurt) and then the procession begins...they want cookies, crackers, fruit, milk, juice, etc etc etc...

I hate telling them no at 4 pm when they ask for snacks but I know damn well that if they have a snack now they won't eat dinner at 5:30, and then at 8 pm when its bedtime they'll be pissing and moaning cuz they're hungry...

 

My kids now say "Yes it is" when I tell them "This is not an all day buffet." It drives me nuts. Just 5 minutes ago, Liam was asking me for chips. Because he is sooooo hungry (Meghan will probably ask me in another 1/2 hour). They eat dinner at 6. Drives me crazy. I gave him a cup of pineapple because I figure at least that is better for him than having Doritos at 5 and then not eating dinner.

 

It's not so bad now but we have phases of it. My kids know they get breakfast at 7ish, lunch at 11:30/12ish, snack at 3 and dinner between 5 and 6. That's it. Eat then or don't eat. That doesn't stop them from whining that they're hungry some days but the schedule rarely varies. With five little mouths I can't have them snacking whenever they want.

 

We have the same issue with grazing. I try to stick to the rule that if they are hungry, they can eat food. By food I mean something raw - apples, grapes, carrots, cucumber. No crackers, chips, toast, etc. Nothing that is snacky. I find that they eat out of boredom. So when I allow food but no snacks, they often turn it down.
Sometimes it results in a fight, sometimes not. I wish I had a better answer for you.

 

My kids go through phases of being "starving." Maybe the timing coincides with growth spurts.

If it is real close to dinner, I'll cut them up some cukes or other veggies.

 

Mine want snacks all the time. I think we've fallen into the trap of letting them get a lot of their calories from packaged snacks (on weekends, at least -- at school they have "real food" for snacks as well as meals), and now they crave them. I also hate to say no in case they're really hungry, but I try to keep it to reasonably predictable times, at least -- around 9-10 a.m. and sometime in midafternoon. On school days they get a snack as soon as they get home (5:45) even though dinner's usually at 6:30.

It's a terrible habit and I keep saying I'm going to change it, but so far, I also haven't been willing (so far) to deal with the pushback from offering carrots or nuts instead of fruit roll-ups. :blush: And I eat 6x a day (it's just my metabolism), so I think it's possible that they actually are hungry.

 

My two go through stages. However, since school started, it has pretty much been a constant food binge from 330 til dinner. But, they get cheese, crackers, milk and/or fruit or vegi. If they continue, I tend to just start dinner (as long as homework is finished) They have alot going on all day and they tend to "run out of time" at lunch. So, if they did not finish lunch, they can eat that as an option. Sounds pretty normal though

 

Mine do it too. And what I hate the most is that they get off the bus at 415pm and I hate to let them snack then because dinner is so close but I know they are hungry bc they eat lunch at like 1130 at school. I try to stick to fruit or granola bars. But this past week they have had candy (can't wait till thats gone!!!). On the weekends I try to keep lots of cereal that has fiber in it to keep them full and give them that as a snack. My kids love the Fiber Plus cereal. It has fruit and yogurt bits in it.

 

It's absolutely triggered by boredom around here! Or tiredness. Or both. If I distract them by giving them an activity idea, they'll vanish for an hour or two playing with no complaints of hunger. If I hand them a snack because they're whining that they're hungry, they eat a couple of bites and then whine for something else. Clearly, not really hungry. SO, we stick to a designated after-school snack time because they eat lunch at 10:30 on weekdays but one snack and nothing else until dinner. On weekends, they eat lunch later and snack time is usually skipped. When they do get a snack, I offer 3 options and let them pick. If they don't want any of the 3, I tell them they must not be hungry yet so it's time to go outside and run around to work up an appetite... and then I push them out the door and lock it. (not really, but sometimes I want to!)

 

OH, and I let them have all of the raw veggies they want, whatever time it is! If they want to sample the piles of veggies I'm cutting while I'm making dinner, go right ahead! It's the crackers, cheese, and granola bars that I know will mess with their appetite that I have to refuse.