When and how to incorporate snacks

I keep hearing people talk about snacks and all the advice out there says to give toddlers several snacks a day, but I can't for the life of me figure out when and how to do it! My two do really well on 3 solid meals and are doing a combination of table foods and some baby foods depending on what we have available to give them. They nurse morning and night and get milk after their nap. The thing is, during the day they don't fuss like they are hungry, so it is hard to know where I should put the snacks in. Also, do you get them all strapped in the highchairs again for every snack or do you just use something non-messy and let them have it while they are playing? Thanks!

 

My guys were really skinny (<3rd %) so we were all about the snacks early in the second year! We never let them go more than about 3-4 hours without food. Here was our schedule at 12 months (the best I can remember):

7:30 wake, breakfast, milk
9:30 nap
11 snack, milk
1 lunch, milk
1:30 nap
3:30 snack, milk
6:30 dinner, milk
8 milk and bed

It's important to me to give all foods/milk in their highchairs at the table, and to try to do as many family meals as I can. I only give them water or diluted juice to run around with. Other mamas feel differently, so this is completely up to you!

Now that my guys have mastered solids, they have really caught up in weight and I'm not so concerned so I'm starting to be more flexible. If they just get a few crackers in between meals, I don't stress. Some people do only 1 snack per day, some people do none; the schedule above is what worked for us, but I'm sure you'll find a schedule that is perfect for your family. :good:

P.S. There is no such thing as a non-messy snack. :laughing:

 

Our schedule was identical to Valerie's at that age! We also had skinny skinny babies so we had to give them as much food as they would eat. However we did snacks in the playroom and all meals in the high chairs. They still do snacks in the playroom and they love their snacks :laughing: I wouldn't push it if they are good in weight.

 

More tiny's (both <3% weight) here. We do 3-4 snacks and they eat 3 meals. I feel like all I do is shove food in them...LOL. I also do snack's mostly in the playroom. It gets messy (pp is right - no such thing as non-messy snack..even dry stuff they manage to drop and smudge on floor) but I clean every night. Pretty much if we eat breakfast and finish with some milk, an hour later we are having a snack. Honestly, something going into these girls every 60-90 minutes. And when I eat in front of them, they need a bit too. I have no idea why we don't weigh more...it is a little unfair! :headbang:

 

here was our schedule at around 12 months:

7:00am wake & nurse
8:00am breakfast
9:00am nap
11:00am wake & nurse; small snack
1:00pm lunch
2:00pm nap
4:00pm wake & nurse; small snack
6:00pm dinner
7:00pm nurse & bed

when i went back to work when the girls were 14 months old, we dropped the two after nap nursing sessions & just replaced them with bigger snacks. HTH!

 

Ok, one more question. What amounts of food consist a snack? Do you give the same kind of things you give at meals. We are so limited at this age because it seems like everything they are eating at meals are pretty much snack-y since they are transitioning to finger foods (easier transition some days than others, but that's a whole different topic!!!)

 

yeah, at that age our meals & snacks were pretty much indistinguishable except for amount (snacks were smaller). now, they usually get a sandwich/casserole/pasta dish/etc for a meal & a piece of fruit/crackers & cheese/granola bar/etc for a snack.

 

I think at that age, I tried to do the finger foods for practice as the snacks, and the meals were the things I would try to feed to them. Snacks would be, cut up fruits and vegetables, toast and crackers, cheese bits, dry cereals, etc. The meals were the things I wanted to make certain that they ate (oatmeal, eggs, pancakes for breakfast; pasta, chicken, veggies that were "spoonable" for dinner). Granted, I think there is some overlap, but that's how I used to think of it.

 

I follow the same "rules" for snacks as I do for meals: a fat/protein, a carb, and a fruit/veggie. Snacks were (and still are) a bit smaller, and I serve things like crackers and home-made granola bars at snacks that I don't normally do at meals. At 12 months our snacks mainly consisted of:

Softer (Ritz-type) crackers
Goldfish crackers
Finely chopped fruit (cherries, grapes, bananas, "pear pylons" , peaches, etc.)
Bits of bread (pitas, biscuits, etc.)
Milk
Bologna bits
Cereal bars
Cheerios
Cheese bits

Not a huge variety, but enough to get them some nutrients and keep them going until their next meal.