Sick of my kids saying there's "nothing to eat"

[dontforgettofloss]

I have four kids, three of them teens, and I'm sick to the back teeth of them saying their hungry, but "there's nothing to eat".
My cupboards and fridge are never empty, I always have;
Bread
Milk
Cereal
Pasta
Eggs
Cheese
Beans
Tuna
Veg
Fruit
And loads more stuff besides!
My 15 year old ds is the worst for this- yesterday he said he was hungry, I asked him what he wanted, and he said "there isn't nothing in the house", so I offered him; cheese/beans/egg on toast, pasta, chips, sausage, egg, beans and hash browns, noodles- he didn't want any of those things so skulked off to his room.
I buy snacky things like crisps, biscuits and sausage rolls, but they eat them all then complain.
I don't remember being like this as a child- if I was hungry between meals I'd have toast.
I'm not sure where I'm going wrong really, I just find it really annoying and a bit sad that they moan about "no food", I grew up not having luxuries like crisps and biscuits, we just had the basics, and I try my best to make sure they have plenty of food.
Does anyone else's kids complain like this?

I used to be like this as I teen, I would moan there was no food in the house but all I really wanted was a bag of crisps or a babybel I must have really wound up my mum.

I don't think it's anything you're doing, it's just teens!

Been there done that, still get it now with my 22 yr old.

I have 2 freezers and 2 fridges full of food. And a 6 ft long pantry full of food. With over fill too. My 14 year old says there is nothing to eat if there isn't the chocolate bar she fancies.
Its a teen thing, my response is 'oh no we will starve then, what shall we do to prevent this'
She looks at me as if I am weird!

Yes we always have excess food in the house, not wasted ever, but because when DD was small we fell on really hard times where we didn't eat so DD could have a meal. Now if the proverbial hits the fan we can feed our children until we work out a plan.

One of my DDs is exactly the same. It makes me so cross. She'll say 'what can I have? She is 15yrs old and quite capable of looking in the cupboard for herself (obviously) but she just says 'why is there never anything to eat in this house?'.

I find it really annoying and rude! I spend ages shopping and I buy yogurt, fruit, crisps, snack bars, mini pancakes, soreen, crackers and cheese, smoothies, milk, bread etc. etc, what more can I do?!

DD2 doesn't do it all!! I don't get it! I've brought them both up in the same way, so why is DD1 like this?!

I tell DD1 to help herself, there's plenty there. It's like she craves variety and expects new exciting foods every day, something different to try each time she fancies a snack. It's not possible to stock the fridge in that way, I need her to use up what's there.

So, you have my sympathies but I'm afraid I don't have the answers.

Yep. It generally means there's no junk in the house. Tough titty. If they're truly hungry they'll eat the toast cereal etc. Still drives me up the wall though.

Glad I'm not the only one!

@rockbird tough titty! I haven't heard that in ages, my mum used to say it to me all the time 😂

@Rockbird

Yep. It generally means there's no junk in the house. Tough titty. If they're truly hungry they'll eat the toast cereal etc. Still drives me up the wall though.

This

Yes, mine asked me if we were struggling for money the other week. There was a fridge full of meat, veggies, pasta etc. Just no crisps, because they’d eaten them all. It’s a teen thing.

I have three kids and they are all the same. When I ask what they want putting on the shopping list they can’t seem to think of anything 🤔

Although the first thing I do when I go to my parents house is look in the fridge/cupboards and I’m 46…

I could have written this myself! My children won’t entertain eating a piece of toast either when they are ‘hungry’. So annoying.

Mine were always hungry and helped themselves to bread cheese milk cereal fruit etc.

Teach your kids to cook; its an essential life skill and then they have no excuse for "nothing to eat".

I had just been shopping. Dd1 (14ish at the time) was moaning there was nothing to eat. I pointed out there was plenty. Her response "but it's all ingredients!"
She didn't want the healthy fruit or cereal & couldn't be bothered to whip up even toast. They do grow out of it & even learn to cook

Yep they are hungry. But not hungry enough to actually prepare food! It has to be grab and go snacks
Solidarity, OP!

DS is 15 and will make himself a wrap or pesto pasta or heat leftovers. He will eat cheese, greek yogurt, fruit and nuts, and drink milk, juice or water. He buys sushi meal deals and hot chocolate with his own money if out with friends. I buy nut bars for school which he knows are one a day, and a tub of icecream a week.

They improve immensely when they go to uni … DD2 was staring vacantly into the fridge, door wide open for bloody ages, saying there was nothing to eat … DD1 got up, having driven down from uni the night before .. “OMG this is AMAZING sooo much food” 🤣

I'm lucky my 4yo still thinks a hot cross bun or peanut butter toast is a treat ! I guess I have all this joy to come... I thought kids were meant to get easier/more rational!!!

Empty the cupboard when they're at school tomorrow. Show them what nothing to eat is. They'll be begging for beans on toast.
Haha.
Although I'm one of them at nearly 40. We have a whole variety of food. There's always at least 7 different packs of biscuits. Chocolate, varieties of crisps and cake. Plus your staple foods. Then fridge and freezer full fruit, yoghurts you name it it's there.
Yet I will ALWAYS fancy what's not there or run out of. I'm often known like the other night to fancy pick and mix. So at 10pm trotted to tesco to get some. Ate it felt sick as a dog! That'll teach me.

It definitely gets harder. My nearly 2yo today called a naan bread cake.. And yes he does have the odd bit of free from cake due to allergies and food anxieties there's not much he eats. So he had garlic naan. And asked for 'more bit cake'

Does anyone else's kids complain like this?

Not too much. I'm worse. It just means nothing I fancy at the moment.

Apparently all I have is ingredients! As opposed to snacks!

I have a full cupboard, fridge and freezer ..

An hour ago I heard "ffs there's nothing ti eat"

That was 51yr old me talking to myself..... ... there's just nothing I fancy eating or making

My 7 year old does this all the time! So annoying. I told him he doesn't know what hungry is and tried to show him pictures of actual starving children but he found them too upsetting.

Yes - drives me bonkers. I now only offer raw carrots (are they really hungry…)

My 14 year old has just started to get frustrated when she is hungry but doesn't know what she wants. She vetoes all my suggestions and long list of options and I have figured out that she doesn't fancy anything that has more than one preparation step. I refuse to keep the house stocked of ready to go snacks though. I often remind her at this point to drink, as feeling hungry but not wanting anything can be a misplaced thirst. And she usually can be bothered to make cheese quasadillas if we have wraps in, and I've been thinking of getting her a toastie machine.