What time is lunch time?

[WhiteNoiseMoreToys]

DD 3yo is nagging me for something to eat 😂

She had cereal and a banana at 7:30am.

She’s had a stick of cheese and a biscuit at 10ish.

all day every day all I hear is “I’m hungry” “I’m hungry again” “can I have a snack” “can I have something out of the cupboard” and my brain wanted to implode 😂

it’s got me thinking, as she’s nagging in my ear for something else to eat.. is it too early for lunch? I’d usually do lunch around 12:30/1pm but I do know a handful of people that start lunch from 11! That still seems like morning?.. or brunch 😂

what time are we all having lunch these days? (Brownies point for children lunchtimes)

For my 3 year old DD:

Breakfast around 7:30am
Snack at 9am
Lunch around 11:30am/12
Snack at 3.30pm
Dinner at 5.30pm

It's earlier than we used to eat pre children but fits in with times she eats when she goes to nursery and for when she'll go to school like DD1 (both nursery and our primary school do lunch at 11.30am.)

As dinner for DDs is 5.30pm half the week DH and I will eat with them all together and half the week (eg on busy work nights) DH and I have something else for dinner and eat later.

Ah see this is so confusing; I used to give her snacks through the day and everyone was of the opinion that I was way over-feeding her. I need to try and find a balance I think. Perhaps breakfast and fruit as that always goes down well anyway (she does eat wheat based cereals or weetabix rather than things like cocopops) or we have crumpets.

Then perhaps something a bit more substantial for mid-morning snack. Cheese and crackers with cucumber/picky-bits/small sandwhich?

Earlier Lunch and a more substantial afternoon snack before dinner.

We’ve just had lunch and she’s eaten 2 slices of pizza, a handful of carrot sticks, she pinched a slice of my bacon and had some raisins. She left her crisps which I don’t care about as they’re only there as something nice😂

My toddler would alwaysssss ask for food after breakfast. I used to give her weetabix with banana or other fruit but it wasn't filling enough.

Now, her usual is overnight oats with seeds mixed in and greek yoghurt but soon after she's asking for food again!

I keep eggs boiled and peeled in the fridge and just give them to her for her morning snack with a stick of cheese.

I'd love to make her eggs and toast for breakfast but she's too impatient in the mornings.

When DD was that age it was roughly this

Breakfast - 7.30-8 ish
Morning cuppa and biscuit/s 10.30am (for Popmaster)
Lunch - 12.30
Mid afternoon drink/fruit - 3pm
Evening meal - 5.30 ish

However, I nannied for some wains who were up at the crack of dawn, we often ate lunch bang on 12 noon.

Little kidos have quite a high metabolism and are on the go and growing all the time.

I try and give my DS carbs, protine and fruit or veg with every meal/snack.

Sometimes his apetite is up and down. They don't tend to eat if they're not hungry so I don't think there is much danger of over eating.

That wouldn't be enough food for mine when he was three. Nursery start lunch at 11.30 so that's when he's hungry at home. They have a small 'tea' at 4ish and then he has a snack at home when we have dinner at 6ish (varies how much - usually just fruit, sometimes more if he didn't eat much that day).

It would be an unusual 3 year old that eats three meals a day, five hours apart with no snacks in-between.

7 o clock breakfast
12-1 lunch
7ish dinner

Erm if there growing little ones need a lot more food than that my 4 can literally eat all day in a growth spurt

Anytime between 12 and 2 for older kids and adults but she's a toddler.
If she's genuinely hungry and not just after a treat maybe she needs more at meals or a bigger morning snack.

I no longer have young children and no longer have set times for meals. We all eat when we are hungry.

My youngest is the exact same and she's now 7. She never eats meals at set times. She grazes the whole day ! I always have plenty fruit /veg and healthy(ish) snacks for her and as long as she at least eats dinner then I go with it 🤷‍♀️ some kids just don't want to eat at set times of the day...however I usually would do lunch around 12.30 too . She's at school through the week though and she manages to go from breakfast to lunch with only 1 snack ..at the weekends she has about 20 snack between then 😂

Due to my insulin, breakfast 8am, lunch midday and tea at 4pm or supposed to be, so much prefer to have dinner later on, but settle for a light supper around 8pm

Mine is 2 and has lunch 12/12.30.(usually 12 as we're both hungry by then having been up since 6.30!) Snack on waking, breakfast at 8, snack mid morning, lunch, snack at 3pm, tea at 5.

My lunch would probably be about 1pm if I didn't have a toddler! We don't eat tea with him though as 5pm is too early and my husband isn't home. He and I have a civilised supper at about 7pm!

Julien, Dick and Anne, George and Timmy the doooooog.

At that age mine was having:
6:30am - breakfast biscuits
8am - breakfast at nursery
10am - snack
11:30am - lunch
2pm - snack
4pm - tea (at nursery)
6pm - snack on way home
8pm - dinner (with us)

Kids are 3.5 and 5 and we have lunch at 11:30 xx

Breakfast 8am
lunch 12.30
afternoon snack 3.30
TEA 6.00

My DD just turned 3 and we have only been in the moaning she’s hungry phase for a couple of months. What really gets on my nerves is when she complains she’s hungry so you make a meal and she doesn’t touch it or just picks a little!
So this week she hasn’t been getting up until 8, so breakfast around 8:30 or 9. Lunch at 1, tea at 5:30 or 6 ish.
This morning though she woke up at 6! So breakfast at 6:30, lunch at 11:30 and tea at like 4!
We don’t really do snack times. She will occasionally have a small snack (usually when she comes back from nursery like a bagel) or if she asks and it seems to soon to give her the next meal. Yogurts, bananas, quavers or something like that.
Although I have a fussy eater who barely eats so I am no expert 😂😂 xx

Mine have cereal and fruit while I do the eggs and toast. Seems to work! And my kids are very impatient!

When she’s asking for food/snacks/something from the cupboard is she actually hungry do you think? Thirsty, bored, looking for a treat?
I know if mine is asking for something out of the cupboard he wants a treat and if offered fruit/veg suddenly he would not be hungry!

@WhiteNoiseMoreToys i’d say a stick of cheese and a biscuit isn’t a big enough snack. we have lunch at 1pm/1:30 but my daughter doesn’t eat breakfast till 8:30-0900 because she’s a late riser. i think it’s a combination of small snack and lunch too late maybe making her hungry.

We can't seem to keep our 3 year old full. He is always nagging for food and drives me mad at times haha. A typical day is something like this:

6.30am - as soon as he wakes he wants a croissant or something equivalent.
7am - he will ask for a bowl of cereal, usually cheerios or weetabix with lots of milk
8:30 - breakfast at nursery, cereal or toast with lots of butter
Snacks - fruit in between
11:30 - dinner at nursery is always a hot meal..something like fish pie or curry and followed by a pudding
Snack in between
3:30 - nursery 'tea' normally cold snacks like fruit, picky bits, hummus, veg sticks ,sandwiches etc.
5pm - another small tea, pasta or fish fingers and beans for example
6pm - yogurt or banana before bed

He's a very active child though and 98th centile for height so I just figure he needs it. I don't understand where it all goes though haha!

Usually around 11 here, we are often up at 5am, don’t ask!

12:30 or 1.

What is a stick of cheese? I’ve never heard of this term. A finger-sized bit?

Lunch - 12/12.30 when eating with the children. It’s the middle of their day.