Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think your child doesn't need a snack in a 30-minute toddler class?

413 replies

Mummyreindeerlegz · 12/01/2017 12:10

Sorry for the long title.

Why is it some parents give their one year old snacks during really short classes (or at all during classes!)? A one year old wandering around with a soggy rice cake, dropping bits is grim. Wait half an hour or give them a snack before you come.

Please tell me why people think this is ok? Fully prepared to be told I am being unreasonable.

OP posts:
maddiemookins16mum · 12/01/2017 20:19

Dame......too right I would. She'd/did survive.

DixieNormas · 12/01/2017 20:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

allowlsthinkalot · 12/01/2017 20:22

One of mine is diabetic. She might be having a snack to keep her blood sugar steady.

10 am is a pretty usual snack time. A one year old used to having a snack at 10-10.30am will be hungry for one.

Toddlers do need snacks between meals. Their stomachs aren't big enough to take in the calories they need in three sittings.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 12/01/2017 20:32

Dame......too right I would. She'd/did survive

Oh well,good for you. I can't see the point really.

Mammylamb · 12/01/2017 20:39

An awful lot of you must have sore bottoms on this threads as your judgey pants are wedged firmly up your arses! Calm down, focus on your own family and stop giving a flaming mo what anyone else is doing!

cingolimama · 12/01/2017 20:43

There's nothing wrong with feeling hungry between meals, and this applies to children (though perhaps not young toddlers) as well. Hunger sharpens the appetite and teaches a child a little self-control, while at the same time allowing them to appreciate and really enjoy a family meal.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 12/01/2017 20:44

Mammy- exactly,why on earth would anyone be bothered about whether a ONE year old has a snack? We have the FF/BF stick to beat ourselves with, now we have to worry if people judge us feeding our babies snacks Hmm

PunkrockerGirl · 12/01/2017 20:46

YANBU OP
Medical conditions aside, of course a healthy child should be able to go 30 minutes without a snack.
However, 'snacks' are a very tricky subject on here OP.
Posters become very very defensive if you dare to suggest that if the dc has just eaten a meal and you're only going out for an hour or so, the bulging bag of snacks really isn't necessary Confused

LauraMipsum · 12/01/2017 20:54

Children's church isn't available to mine as she's too young Darlink so we are at the back in the toddler area for the full 90 minutes.

I have to say I'd always assumed the adults in front of me were sufficiently focused on the service not to care about whether my toddler has a grape or not.

On balance if I'm going to be judged for letting her have some fruit at her usual time or judged for having a screaming hangry toddler in church, I'll go with the former.

Maybe [tongue in cheek] the snacking toddlers are such a distraction that they cause people to miss the bit about "judge not lest ye be judged..." Grin

Sara107 · 12/01/2017 20:54

Quite interesting to see the different view points on this. Because it's not just toddlers who get given snacks constantly, it's all ages really, isn't it? When I was young, people didn't eat on the go - maybe chips or ice cream at the seaside, and we always got an icecream at the theatre. But not as part of daily life- now you won't go far without seeing someone welded to a coffee mug, or eating something on the street, bus, train, at their desk etc. And there is such a vast range of snack foods and fast foods and foods on the go available. It's almost like people are afraid to be hungry, even as we have more food than ever before.

Scarymary0210 · 12/01/2017 20:55

No weaned toddler needs a snack in a half hour class it is because it's easier for a parent I rarely see kids p6aging for snacks at all but the toddler will be wanting attention while they are chatting to other parents so just get a snack out and shove it at the child....my children never snacked they had 3 meals a day and an occasional treat snacks are not needed daily at all it has become a replacement for a dummy as they grow older

Scarymary0210 · 12/01/2017 20:57

*shouting for snacks

littleladybird14 · 12/01/2017 21:02

YABU honestly never thought about it, wouldnt bother me in the slightest if it meant the the child was settled and content (and a relief for the mum).

Seriously? Are we really picking holes in others parenting over giving their child a snack?!?

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 12/01/2017 21:03

No weaned toddler needs a snack in a half hour class it is because it's easier for a parent I rarely see kids p6aging for snacks at all but the toddler will be wanting attention while they are chatting to other parents so just get a snack out and shove it at the child.

Because God forbid someone who quite possibly spends the majority of their times with only a child wants some adult conversation.

user1477282676 · 12/01/2017 21:10

Frikadela, but it's a toddler class! Designed for the toddlers....not a parent's get together!

NickyEds · 12/01/2017 21:16

You're right scary, no toddlers ever get hungry apart from at the three pre organised meal times and if they do and their parent feed them it's purely because the parents are lazy Hmm

rosy71 · 12/01/2017 21:19

When my boys were younger, (now 12 & 9) we used to go to story time at the library once a week. I was always amazed that everyone else gave their child a snack as soon as they sat down. It started at 9.30am & it seemed wrong to be eating in the library!

5amisnotmorning · 12/01/2017 21:20

Really? Why do you care? If the child is hungry let it have some food. I have a non breakfast eating toddler. And I have 2 children with intolerances - just keep an eye on them like you should be anyway.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 12/01/2017 21:24

On what planet are toddler groups purely for the benefit of the toddler???

In fact one thing that gets touted on here time and time again is for people who feel a bit isolated to get out to baby/toddler groups to meet other mums.

Besides, if we're expecting toddlers to wait 30 minutes for a snack then they must certainly be able to wait 5 minutes till mum finishes her conversation Wink

BelfastSmile · 12/01/2017 21:43

DS is 2 years 5 months, and for about 4 months now has insisted on eating as soon as we arrive anywhere where there are other people - toddler group, church, library etc. I can offer him all the food before we go in, but he'll refuse to eat it. As soon as he gets in, he's hungry. He'd have a meltdown if I didn't feed him, so it's either give him something, or leave.

He's always been a bit underweight and not great at eating, so I tend to feed him when he's hungry (I've tried limiting him to specific meals, but he just cries until the meal and then doesn't eat anything at all). Having said that, I don't let him wander about with food (usually take him to a quiet corner), I clean up any mess straight away (and don't bring messy food if possible), and make sure other children don't come and eat any of it without their parents' knowledge.

I see plenty of parents doing similar, though.

I'm now trying to encourage him to wait a bit, but half an hour is a very long time if you're 2!

Amummyatlast · 12/01/2017 22:01

I eat at (roughly) 8am, 10am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 6pm, 8pm, with the occasional extra snack shoved in. I eat my meals and I'm skinny.

I really don't get the anti-snack thing on mumsnet. If my 3 year old wants a snack at 10.30am she can have one (at the weekend that 's her favourite time to demand a boiled egg and soldiers). However, people should clear up afterselves.

samcroreaper · 12/01/2017 22:05

YADNBU this used to boil my piss at toddler groups.

We used to go to a music tots one, same parent every week doling out rice cakes while the kid mashed it into the carpet & all the instruments never digested any of it. The group was only on for half an hour!!

paxillin · 12/01/2017 22:14

I know 18 year old undergrads who are horrified they cannot eat in the laboratory, the constant ruminating has become so common. We usually take a break every 90 minutes or so. But I really cannot allow eating whilst dissecting human tissue. Bet they needed rice cakes in a 30 minute toddler class.

RabbitSaysWoof · 12/01/2017 22:28

I never introduced snacking either, it was never an issue for my child, but it was a massive issue for friends who have children of similar age, they used to share their dc's food around like they were saving him from something awful, then when we would get home for lunch a nice usually enjoyed fish pie/ curry etc would be turned down for the sake of their poxy digestive or bit of malt loaf.
Judgement goes both sides of this debate, apparently it's ok to pity the child of the evil Mother who waits for a meal time, but not to point out that there are past generations who coped just fine without feeding being a knee jerk reaction to dc's every moment of boredom or frustration, and there are nations that still do cope fine without grazing on demand.

PotatoWaffleCob · 12/01/2017 22:40

I haven't RTWT but I have no problem with snacking if the toddler sits down to eat it if it is messy. I had to contend with someone's 18mo toddling around eating a whole hard boiled egg then a tuna wrap. It went everywhere, including my shoe. I was in my first trimester with DC2 at the time and I had to excuse myself to dry heave in the ladies. The class leader was a bit Hmm as she was following the child around picking up bits of egg yolk and tuna while the oblivious mother chatted away to another mum.