To think poor behaviour is linked to hunger/thirst?

[SharkInThePark]

Does that seem reasonable or am I making excuses?! DD is 4 and I'm struggling with her behaviour. Just general rudeness, not listening, not sharing, tantrums and tears. I've noticed today she was really hungry for her dinner and gave to her early. She's like a different child now playing nicely. Does anyone else find this? I'm not 100% convinced but trying to figure out why she's such a lovely well behaved child sometimes and others a horror!

Oh definitely OP. Being tired, hungry or thirsty accounts for lots of behaviour issues and tantrums. If your DD is at school then the days can be quite long and depending when they have lunch she could be really hungry by the time she gets home. Also check if she is drinking enough during the day, maybe mention it to the teacher to give them a reminder especially in warmer weather.

Both DD and I are horrid if hungry or tired and if we are both tired and hungry just watch out

my son is 19 and like this! He is a different person once he has eaten.

Might be better to offer some in between snacks such as fruit, see if that helps a bit? or just some water. Its trial and error at that age.
( could be teeth too, they are a menace)

Yes. Punishment in my home for bad behaviour is very often quiet time in bedroom with food and a drink. The turnaround in mood is often instant.

When they were younger I always kept drink and a banana in my bag to deal with tantrums while we were out.

Tiredness is usually the issue in our house - or excitement.

It was usually tiredness with mine. Not hunger

"Hangry" is a thing then it seems! Sorry I'm not use how to quote individual replies but those mentioning snacking and getting into habits etc....well that's kind of my concern as I don't want to form bad habits with her whereby she'll get a snack when moaning. She does have an early lunch at nursery. Not sure how much she drinks but she's definitely not having enough at home lately. What sort of snacks help stabilise this do you think?! Shes a nightmare recently. And yup I guess tiredness has a role to play too

More often than not when my DD's dad complained that she had been naughty or had a tantrum etc it was fairly easy to establish that the reason behind this was that she needed fed/hadn't had her usual nap.
Even now at 8, tiredness and hunger have a lot to answer for.

We let DD manage her own appetite - if she's hungry she knows what that feels like. We just prompt at snack time ("do you want some food") and then if she's hungry we give her something small. We don't ever use food as a reward or a punishment so I'm not worried about her seeing it as a reward for moaning.

It can be about being hungry or tired etc.

Sometimes it's just about being 4 yo.

It's a testing time just be careful that you don't start to make excuses for her behaviour. She's 4 but she can be taught some level of self control.

My rule is "we can't always help how we feel, but we can help how we behave".

The younger you start with that attitude the better IMO.

I agree - hangriness can be a real issue with kids and adults. You're right OP not to 'reward' poor behaviour with a snack nor to encourage grazing, but maybe regular snacks in between meal times would be a good idea? Chopped fruit (takes them ages to eat it so helps to pass the time!), small portions of chopped cheese or a couple of oatcakes might just get them through to the next meal.

DD is three in a few weeks. We're currently in a hideous cycle where she's miserable because she's hungry but is also using food as a control technique so refuses to eat. It can be her favourite meal in the world and she won't eat it. This then leads to broken sleep, so she gets more and more tired and then gets more and more grumpy and eats less and less. She's been screaming about going to sleep on and off for the last 40 minutes. Thankfully DS (5) is sleeping through it all as usual. He didn't do any of this so she's been a shock to my system!

I would like to add "needs a poo but is refusing to admit it" to the list of small child bad behaviour triggers.

DS2 in YR is really affected by hunger. His class teacher was sceptical when I first mentioned it but now she keeps a stash of rice cakes in the cupboard and when she sees him starting to lose control she gives him one and he turns around.

She is quite astonished at it and has been a YR teacher for a long time. He is not at all greedy - doesn't want to eat which is why he gets like that and he doesn't recognise the feeling as hunger. He is really a little and often kind of child. DS1 is the opposite - will eat a massive dinner and not need anything for a while, although he is greedy.

Tbh I think a lot of 'bad behaviour' in small children is to do with being hungry, thirsty or tired.

We are having a lot of behavioural issues with our middle DS (5) at the moment and the teacher asked if we'd considered low blood sugar as when he is given a snack he apparently calms down very quickly.....

Don't forget needing a poo!

DS when he was 3/4/5 yo could turn into a real grump in the 15-20 minutes before he went for a big poo . We noticed it more when out and about - he would get whingey and whiney and a total PITA. And then about 10 mins later he would say he needed the loo. After performing, so to speak, back to his normal, sunny self.

Both my daughter and I suffer from being hangry! If she's not fed on a regular basis she turns in to a gremlin quite literally. She's a bit better now she's a bit older but still. If we are both hangry my dh runs in the opposite direction

I generally have older children around, didn't realise about the poo thing.