She ate all the biscuits

My day it was pocket money. We bought sweets on a Saturday with pocket money and once it was gone, it was gone. It's a good idea to self regulate for sure.

My eldest daughter does this. She has adhd and struggles with impulse control. We ended up having to hide stuff because there would be nothing left for others in the family, she would eat their share too. We did this because of the behaviour, not that the hiding caused the behaviour. She's 14 now. She searches the cupboards, takes food, and also helps herself to my makeup and beauty products. We can explain it's not acceptable, we can get angry, we can give consequences, nothing really works. We bought a lock box and she found online how to crack the code.
My youngest isn't like this at all, she will ask if she wants something and would never just help herself to other people's things.

Phew I was hoping there would be at least one measured comment amongst all this hysteria. Hopefully OP reads this.

She’s only 7! Of course she shouldn’t be doing this. I’m astounded by the responses you’ve had OP. Tell her it’s carrot sticks for the foreseeable!

My daughter is slightly older and she would come up and ask if she could have more and I would expect her to ask, so yes I would be a bit cross. I wouldn’t need to hide them though because she asks for food, I suppose that means you allow her to get her own snacks etc otherwise there would be no need to hide them. So, I suppose it’s a bit hypocritical to be cross that she did something that you usually allow her to do, the only difference being she had to look harder, she wouldn’t necessarily know they had been hidden.

She's 7.

Judgemental unkind comment.

The biscuits werent just for her, they were supposed to be shared by the family. Your DD is greedy and selfish

Perhaps she's hungry, if she's slim and active? Can she get seconds of meals if she wants them? I have a sugar addiction myself and find it really hard to stop eating sweet things if they are there but its more tempting if I havent had enough to eat and dont feel full. Could she go and get an apple if she wants one?

No you are not. Please don't take all these comments to heart. You just have a cheeky soul with a sweet tooth who happens to love naughty food. She's only 7, for goodness sake and am pretty sure there are children up and down this country being normal children and pinching the good stuff out the kitchen.

Please go easy on yourself. By all means tell your daughter that it's not acceptable to take without asking but it's all a learning curve for her. She's only young after all and this is all part of growing up.

Agreed. She finished off however many were left after everyone had had a couple after dinner. Ok, she ate more than is ideal, but she didn’t polish off a whole pack all on her own.

It does seem pretty naughty and also selfish to eat them all. She actually had to search for them so they were obviously not left out for her to eat.

This and I find it telling that the adult downstairs with her had no clue. She may be attention seeking too.

Both of my DC (5&3) have a 'treat box' they can keep chocolate/sweets in when they get them (I usually get them a small treat like a kinder egg or a mini tube of smarties when I do the big shop once a week). They're both capable of understanding that if they eat some they can save the rest. Older one is less likely to eat it all in one go but the younger one sometimes would, if he does it's not a big deal, it just means there's no more treats till next week, and he's already learning to self regulate a bit from his big bro. Next time you get a treat, you could allocate your daughter her share for her to access freely and let her learn self regulation. That way there's no hiding food (there has to be a clear message that stealing other family members' share isn't acceptable of course, if she'd be likely to do that!)

But why do you not have a system where she needs to ask before having a sweet treat? That’s one thing I see as really missing here. Does she know she would be expected to ask you to have sweets, biscuits or chocolate? Mine would never because that has been instilled from a very young age. You can grab fruit or crackers etc but treats are not a free for all.

If they were Maryland cookies there’s something about them and it’s very hard to stop!

How many biscuits was it OP?

You're right, there is a big difference. The difference is she didn't eat a whole packet of biccies.

She shouldn't have to hde them. I don't hide food my children know they need to ask.

I think the fact she has told you about it says something here. She, for some reason, wants you to know that she purposefully hunted for the biscuits, binged them and isn’t feeling in the wrong about it.

Does she think the household is too strict around food? Does she resent you hiding food? Is she often hungry?

I’d not make a big deal of the amount she ate, but that she did it without asking. Someone else might have wanted a biscuit and now there are none left. So the focus is more on having good manners rather than the amount she ate.

No you can’t be cross with her. Be cross with yourself for not finding a better hiding place. I have scoffed a whole packet of biscuits myself lots of times. Can’t resist chocolate chip cookies and one or two is never enough. Nom Nom Nom 😋 !