Bloody kids and their constant demands for food

[FlorenceWintle]

Age 10 and 12. Hungry when they get home from school, then say the snacks on offer are boring. Constantly ask what’s for dinner and moan when I tell them. Then eat a small amount and always ask for pudding. Moan about the pudding options. Later in the evening, claim hunger and ask what there is to eat and moan when I say fruit. Just an endless daily loop of aggro and disappointment. Aargh!

When mine were in the ravenous after school face I brought forward tea time so that it was more or less ready when they got in.

That stopped snacking before their meal and then they would have a supper later on of something like a bowl of cereals, or toast, or crumpets etc.

My 6 and 4 year old are like this, drives me mad. Was hoping it would get easier

4 year old's most used phrase is "I'm still hungry".

What do they suggest instead?

Yep same...All I seem to do is buy food, prepare food, cook food, serve food,clear up and repeat

Ask them what do they want to eat?

Make a shopping list together.

Plenty of seasonal fruit, veg plus eggs and yogurt are filling.

Saucy things like stews, chilli etc are good as it can be loads of vegetables and a small bit of meat.

Oh and mine don’t get pudding or nothing sweet except fruit if they don’t eat the main -but I’m a mean mum!

By yogurt I mean the plain Greek thick stuff not the fruit tube thing.s 🤣

We never had a pudding option when I was little. It just didn’t happen.

Throw it back to them and ask for a 7 day meal plan of healthy dinners plus a shopping list. Should keep them quiet for a couple of nights.

Yep ds 7 is exactly the same.

Mine are the same, I tell them that back in my day I never had pudding unless it was a Sunday, can't remember having after school snacks, and a Jacket potato was a luxury not something to moan about... They still moan...
Sticking to the same phrases of 'having something out the tin, dinner is in 2 hours, then it's yoghurt after.... Grab a banana if still hungry'... I can repeat that without having to think about it too much!

What are the snacks on the offer! Can they make some of for the week, oat cookies, crumpets?
Pancakes?
Cheese crackers?
What do they eat for main?

If its constant but they are good eater then maybe you need to change the menu, the approach and jazz things up.
I often put grapes, cut up apple out with handful of choclate raisins or stuff like that.
Mine would despair if it was soley fruit!

I also brought dinner forward.

My 3 kids area constantly hungry. The two boys would snack all day, have double helpings of all meals, pudding of Greek yoghurt & fruit and still be hungry. My daughter just wants to graze and not eat meals though which drives me mad.

I've brought dinner forward so that they eat their meal soon after getting in from school or clubs, then have yoghurt & fruit, then a snack before bed if still hungry. It keeps the boys happy and stops my daughter from filling up on snacks and then refusing meals. I do feel like I do nothing but prep food, serve food, clear up leftover food and listen to children complain about food!