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AIBU?

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She ate all the biscuits

565 replies

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

OP posts:
Mum28383 · 20/03/2026 06:07

I agree on Marylands being moreish and full of UPF. If you have to buy I would get richer fresh biscuits actually, like the fresh triple chocolate ones from Sainsburys or biscuits with nuts or flapjacks etc, so she is sated quicker. And talk to her more about enjoying them and listening to your body about when to stop when you’re full.

SuzyFandango · 20/03/2026 05:58

Upf are bad though. Instead of shop bought things try and just have occasional home baked things but don't over restrict.

SuzyFandango · 20/03/2026 05:55

Children do this when its been heavily restricted as young children. They learn that sweet treats will only appear rarely and to gorge on them when they do appear.

Its a biological instinct.

firstofallimadelight · 20/03/2026 05:53

firstofallimadelight · 19/03/2026 21:43

I’d be cross she took them without asking. I’d be clear if she wants a back she asks or there’s a consequence she can’t just take what she wants

*if she wants a snack!

Mum28383 · 20/03/2026 05:52

The good thing is that she told you, she didn’t keep it a secret. You want her to be feel she can keep coming to you when she has done something she shouldn’t, not feel ashamed or judged or fear being told off.

You can still talk to her about moderation and asking you first next time.

Runningtokeepstilll · 20/03/2026 05:35

Malasana · 20/03/2026 05:31

You’re so right. People eat full packets of biscuits, sharing bags of crisps etc.
No one goes home and secretly smashes their way through a salad bag and 6 apples.
It’s the labelling of food as good and bad, healthy and unhealthy etc that makes our minds see it differently.
Notably the OP hides biscuits. I wonder if she hides tomatoes or apples. Even without the food labelling, the child is seeing and noticing the difference.
Add into that such foods being high in sugar and fat which is very palatable and hits the spot. Recipe for disaster.

A 7 year old shouldn’t be doing this and needs to be told it is selfish and greedy.

Malasana · 20/03/2026 05:34

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 23:24

I have thought about doing something like this. Her friend on the road has this (as a result she loves going to his house) he barely touches it…however, he’s a very different child to Dd..! Very calm, compliant in all ways…Dd is energetic, strong willed…they’re different types of kids. My fear in trying this is it would be gone in a day

And if it’s gone in a day it’s gone. Nothing until the following week. It could teach her about portions and saving stuff so she gets to have one every day.

Malasana · 20/03/2026 05:31

WildFlowerBees · 19/03/2026 21:49

When food is labelled as a treat it becomes good or bad instead of just food. Some foods fuel the body well others not so much. This is why we have such food issues because it’s thought about as a treat. If you’re concerned about her lack of regulation around your idea of treats. Don’t buy them.

You’re so right. People eat full packets of biscuits, sharing bags of crisps etc.
No one goes home and secretly smashes their way through a salad bag and 6 apples.
It’s the labelling of food as good and bad, healthy and unhealthy etc that makes our minds see it differently.
Notably the OP hides biscuits. I wonder if she hides tomatoes or apples. Even without the food labelling, the child is seeing and noticing the difference.
Add into that such foods being high in sugar and fat which is very palatable and hits the spot. Recipe for disaster.

Thepossibility · 20/03/2026 04:58

I think her hunting down sweet food to eat bizarre actually. Mine would take one or two but making their mission to find and eat the whole lot. Yes that would be a problem! And those posters insinuating OP is mean for not letting her eat whole packets of biscuits or whole cakes 😂 wtf.

Jamfirstnotcream · 20/03/2026 04:35

HoppityBun · 19/03/2026 21:41

Agree 💯. It’s bananas to let a child think she can forage for food without asking and then wolf doesn’t a what packet of biscuits.

Totally agree but this is MN where disagreeing with the Op is now the norm.

I woul be be pretty cross, this used to be called greed but likely emotional over eating / impulse control issues

DontbesorrybeGiles · 20/03/2026 03:23

Clangershome · 19/03/2026 23:06

Read the book chocolate cake by Michael Rosen, it’s great!! Maybe she has prada Willy or something else going on? How many was in the pack?

Now I really have heard it all.

hahahaaa · 20/03/2026 03:09

I’d be upset with my 5 year old if he did this, never mind a 7 year old. He would know not to wolf down a packet of biscuits like that. Odd behaviour. Your dh needs to open his eyes a bit though. She must have really gone to town on then not to have been noticed?

CrazyGoatLady · 20/03/2026 02:53

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 23:19

Not at all. My issue is should I be stronger with boundaries and the fact she should not have just taken them…or accept she’s little and it’s tempting for her and let it go

I'm going to go against the grain here about the whole concept of "treat foods" and question whether children should have free unfettered access to ultra processed food. I'm an adult who has issues with food and has had to use WLI to get that under control. I've also been through it with DS2 (now 16)

I can't allow UPF crap into my diet, because over time, the combination of what's in it plus my brain chemistry will create cravings, increase my hunger and reduce my ability to regulate my food intake. DS2 (who is also AuDHD like me) is similar to me and your DD and if that food was around, no matter what we did, he couldn't self regulate with it. He's into competitive sports now and has had a lot of education from his coaches about performance nutrition, so his attitude towards it has changed. In fact it was because he wanted to change his diet to help his sporting performance that we started changing what came into the house and really realising the effects for ourselves. DS16 realised for himself that he would eat that sort of food if it was there and had no off switch. Coming off it, for him and for me, was like a detox of sorts, both of us like bears with sore heads. DH and DS1, who don't have the same wiring (autistic, no ADHD and neither have these same food issues) were utterly confounded by it as it didn't affect them at all.

I'm no longer on WLI and as long as I stay away from UPF, I have no issues with overeating, but as soon as I start letting it creep back in, the same problems start reoccurring.

If your DD has a problem with this type of food, why buy it? Does it need to come into the house at all? Our bodies don't need this ultra processed crap - it's not a treat, it's fake food that's manufactured to be calorie dense and hyper palatable and it is deliberately designed to be overeaten. If this food has a negative effect on DD, you as the adult can choose whether or not you have it available to her. I honestly wish I'd just stopped buying it (and eating it!) when DS2 was younger and we were in utter despair over his sugar craving induced tantrums. Didn't matter what we did or what system we introduced to moderate it, if it was there, he wanted more, more, more.

If others in the house want to eat it and don't have an issue then it's harder though, everyone has to be on board. In that case, you could opt to buy single serve packs of these foods only and once the one portion is gone, it's gone.

LIghtbylantern · 20/03/2026 02:48

I’d ask her about what she did and why she did it - I’d be careful not to try to shame her over this - it’s potentially the start of an unhealthy relationship with food which through insensitive handling you could make worse. No anger, no all guns blazing - you won’t help, you will just shame her.

LameBorzoi · 20/03/2026 02:47

I'd be annoyed (and tell her so) because it meant that there wasn't any left for anyone else, and that's rude. I'd say that it was good to own up to it, though.

I disagree that it has to be a scarcity thing. Some kids are sweet tooths, and it needs to have some limits or they won't eat anything else. Others just aren't as interested.

LameBorzoi · 20/03/2026 02:47

I'd be annoyed (and tell her so) because it meant that there wasn't any left for anyone else, and that's rude. I'd say that it was good to own up to it, though.

I disagree that it has to be a scarcity thing. Some kids are sweet tooths, and it needs to have some limits or they won't eat anything else. Others just aren't as interested.

Strawberrryfields · 20/03/2026 02:31

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

How many were actually in the packet? A pack of Foxes cookies you get about 8, Maryland ones maybe 20? Is there 3 of you in the house? You said you let everyone have a few - how many more has she gone back and eaten to finish the packet? Another 10 biscuits? Or 2 biscuits?

Anotherlindor · 20/03/2026 02:00

I think you need to reassess your own attitude towards food. Your poor DD sounds like she is developing some issues here. Scavenging for foods that are seen as forbidden fruits and a mum who is clearly angry about it.

Rhubarb24 · 20/03/2026 01:56

Velumental · 19/03/2026 21:27

Not really. She's 7, left to her own devices and there were biscuits left out, she clearly didn't think it was off limits as she told you about it. If shed sneaked them and said nothing I might be concerned. You say she came up to bed like she was just wandering round by herself and appeared upstairs not like she was brought up to bed.

It clearly says that they were hidden and not left out.

Stressedoutmummyof3 · 20/03/2026 01:53

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 22:07

Is it odd she ate the pack? Could other kids not do that? She has plenty of food choices, is tall, slim and active…she just loves sweets, chocolates and crisps

She didn't eat a whole packet though. If you all had some after dinner it was the remainder of the packet. I know quite a few children who'd have no issue eating that much.
I would be cross because they were supposed to be for the whole family not just her and I assume she did know that.
I don't make my children ask if they can have a snack (my eldest two are teenagers now though) but I would have done if I thought they were going to eat a whole packet of something.
I guess you'll have to hide them and insist she asks for permission to snack. Or tell her if she's still hungry she can have fruit

Sladuf1 · 20/03/2026 01:49

I think you should make a point over the next few days of calling her the Cookie Monster and saying, “cookie, me want cookie,” at her.

DickieAnderson · 20/03/2026 01:34

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 22:26

Yes but mine wouldn’t! This is the point, her diet isn’t restricted, it’s healthy and balanced it’s just she loves all that stuff, so to leave three packs around would mean they’d be gone pretty quickly, hence me not doing it every night. We have what we fancy and nothing is off limits but I don’t tend to buy any crisps, biscuits and sweets as part of the weekly shop-should I be? Really questioning if I’m doing this wrong

Some kids are just greedy OP and ignore people telling you that it’s your fault for being too restrictive with food, some people are just desperate to argue or blame the OP on these threads.

I think your approach is completely normal and better then having junk food everywhere and dessert every night - especially with a child who is so food focused.

So many people commenting are acting like it’s unusual for a child to be seeking out food but lots of people are like this and struggle with self control - look around at how many people are on weight loss injections because they struggle with the willpower to restrict what they eat.
I’m not trying to criticise anyone who is using WLI as I have had my own struggles with food, I’m just pointing out it’s not uncommon for some people to love food more than others and I think most people would prefer chocolate biscuits to a raw carrot!

I do think it’s a little concerning and you need to try to discourage the behaviour and I liked the idea of giving your DD a treat box to learn to ration herself and have self control because it’s an important skill to have. I’d give her a box with a few snacks for the week (call them snacks not treats) and when they are gone they are gone.

I was a greedy child and our house was full of treats, I used to eat and eat and my parents were too scared to be too restrictive in case I had an unhealthy attitude to food.
I ended up being bullied about my weight and it led to years of bulimia.

It’s best to have everything in moderation which it sounds like you do.
Having too much lying around for a child who can’t restrict themselves and will go hunting for treats is a bad approach, so is limiting things completely so it becomes more tempting.

I think you have the situation spot on buying small amounts of treat food and making sure your DD doesn’t have access to scoff the lot in one go. Hopefully as she gets older she will learn to limit herself naturally.

I think pp had good suggestions about focusing on the fact your DD helped herself and took something that was supposed to be shared and conversations should be had about sharing rather than what she’s eaten, I’d be making sure she knows to ask before helping herself otherwise it’s naughty behaviour.
I’d maybe try buying a few things and seeing if she listens and shows self control or trying the snack boxes, If she doesn’t you might need to just limit having too much in the house (or hiding it better!) for now.

I think it’s silly some people have commented to make you worry there is something wrong with your DD or she has issues that need fixing, it seems to be a common thing on here that some people think there are underlying reasons for all behaviours or something needs diagnosing. It’s not helpful and it’s often not that deep and just normal childhood behaviour and a 7 year old wanting to eat biscuits is hardly uncommon.
It definitely doesn’t suggest something as serious as Prader Willi syndrome as pp have suggested. That’s a serious genetic disorder and would have been picked up on based on other symptoms, it gets suggested far too often on here for children who just enjoy their food!

RandomisedRebel · 20/03/2026 01:15

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

We've all been there and munched an entire pack of biscuits when we really shouldn't. Use it as a teaching moment, kindly. Don't make her feel greedy, or guilty, just explain why eating an entire pack isn't good for you. I'm the worst for little snackcidents and I'm in my late 40's 🤣

Fentons · 20/03/2026 00:56

Is she a big girl? if so I would be unhappy with that, I used to eat packs of biscuits as a kid, but I was always slim, unfortunately I couldn't stay slim getting older and struggled with impulse control, because there was undiagnosed nd going on, dopamine seeking too came into it, along with alcohol problems, later on, because I couldn't stop at one. Perhaps look a bit closer as to why she's seeking out food to effectively binge eat.

Runningtokeepstilll · 20/03/2026 00:50

IdentityCris · 19/03/2026 23:23

I would be concerned about the fact that she went looking for the sweets. She must be well aware that she isn't allowed them, so she's chosen to disobey you deliberately. I would also be cross that she at the whole packet, because that's selfish as it leaves none for anyone else.

I agree that it was selfish and greedy. If parents let their children behave like this without correcting them then they shouldn’t be surprised to end up with selfish, greedy children