To never buy snacks/squash/sweets etc again

[Fiera]

Every single time there is somthing remotely snackly in the house it just gets taken and eaten. The large double concentrate bottles of squash gone within 24 hours, any kind of sugary cerial gone the same day they come through the door.
I dont like to use the word 'steal' but tonight its the only word i can use because my daughter actually STOLE my can of coke.
We never usually buy coke or Fizzy anything, nut it was my eldest sons birthday and all the children had a can as a very rare treat. My daughter actualli hid my can up her sleeve (after having drank hers earlier in the evening) and went and drank it in her bedroom.
Even my toddler daughters 'treats' like 'GoGo' biscuits and 'Goodies' puffs just disapear before she even knows theyre there.
We have a full fruit bowl, two actually, every day and even they get emptied. They have hot meals every day so theyre not 'hungry' just greedy.
I just dont understand why they do it and im seriously considering just not buying again.
My toddler will happily drink water (theres hardly ever any squash left for her anyway)

[AjasLipstick]

I agree with 80s. the little one doesn't need "puffs" etc. Chopped up fruit and so forth will do. Cheese cubes etc.

[Whyarealltheusernamestaken]

Ahh the classic case of the forbidden fruit! I would not advocate allowing more junk food, but I would say you may try going scientific and explaining the health issues of too much, and why the limits are in place. But allow it in moderation so it’s not so much a temptation that theft is preferable!

[AjasLipstick]

it certainly doesn’t satisfy me. I don’t like the taste of it,

A drink's a drink. Squash etc is indulgent.

[Storm4star]

A drink's a drink. Squash etc is indulgent.

That’s like saying a food is a food. I don’t believe for one second that there isn’t at least 1 food you don’t like.

[nursy1]

I think you have the answer - don’t buy excessive amounts. You are not BU. When it’s gone it’s gone and won’t be replaced until next week. Buy one multi pack of crisps, treats for Friday night and you only get Coke or suchlike in a restaurant or pub playground. That way it stays a treat and not a normal, in the cupboard thing.
Water always on the table at meal times ( jaz it up with ice and lemon) and offer plenty of good food at mealtimes.

[Pinguine]

When it’s gone it’s gone and won’t be replaced until next week

Whilst in principle I agree, I suspect there's an element of competition, with them thinking they should eat as much as they can quickly before someone else eats it, hence my suggestion of implementing restrictions to keep it fair.

[Batmanwearspants]

Seems to be an awful lot of projection going on by other posters...

I agree with pinguine seems to be more about making sure they eat as much as possible otherwise someone else will. Restrictions would be good.

[BakedBeans47]

YANBU OP

My kids are right gannets as well. And they get fed plenty!

[BanginHeadache]

I can kind of relate to this as I am 1 of 4 siblings and when we were teenagers we would eat all the good stuff like crisps & chocolate & pop as soon as my mum and dad had been shopping...For me it was more about eating it asap because you knew if you didnt eat the good stuff fast then there would be nowt left due to 3 others scoffing it. Purely down to greed and not wanting anyone else to have the good stuff if you couldn't have any. Very every man for himself in our house!

[Shadow666]

I wonder if more filling snacks would help. I can mindlessly snack on a packet of biscuits but if I have something filling like a sandwich then I don’t feel like snacking anymore. My son is younger but has a good appetite, so I buy things like mini pizzas, corn dogs, microwaveable burgers. Not really healthy but he can make them himself as he doesn’t really like sweets or crisps.

[AjasLipstick]

Shadow there's no need for snacks at all if you eat meals properly. The reason you don't snack after a sandwich is because a sandwich is actually a meal. A small one but still a meal. The things you describe buying for your son are bad, bad, bad.

There's simply no need to buy that crap.

[nursy1]

pinguine
Yes I’d agree with restrictions. If they can’t stick to a fair division perhaps a Locked cupboard then they have to ask?

[Charliecatpaws]

I must have really strange kids, although now older. I’m not saying that they didn’t eat ‘crap’ but we had a sweet drawer in the kitchen which they could help themselves to at any time - evert few months I’d have to empty it as the sweets were out of date, ditto the crisp basket, fizzy drinks were a treat once a week otherwise milkshake, squash or tea

[Ladiva1971]

If you don't buy it, they can't eat it.

[nursy1]

The reason you don't snack after a sandwich is because a sandwich is actually a meal. A small one but still a meal
Shadow I kind of agree but I have to say that teenage boys are eating machines. There is a few months where you just can’t fill em on sandwich snacks alone and it’s really expensive. Cereal was my route. Endless vats of porridge!

[Smallhorse]

Yanbu

Stop buying snacks and sweets and squash.

No one needs to eat that stuff.

Laughing my head off at those claiming not to like water.

[Shadow666]

Yes, I read somewhere that having a small meal as a snack is healthier. It’s when the kids get home from school that the mindless snacking starts. If I eat a bowl of cereal at 3pm then I’m fine until dinner time. If DS eats a mini pizza at 3pm there is no need for him to start on the sugary crap. It may seem counterintuitive but it actually works really well.

[Octave777]

You don't need to buy squash. I've only ever drunk water and wouldn't think about buying it.

Why don't you just buy snacks every Friday and when they're gone they're gone. I think snacking everyday is a bad habit. If they are hungry you can eat cucumber sticks and humous or a slice of toast.

Cereal is awful because it's basically little biscuits and milk. I'd buy porridge and weetabix and mabey pain o chocolat at the weekend.

[PinkAvocado]

As children, we were allowed to choose a set amount of sweets each week (usually 6 I think small portions like an individual fruit cocktail chew or Parma violets). We could then choose to eat them all in one go or have one a day. I can remember regretting eating mine when at the end of the week my sibling had more left than I did. No onther sweets or snacks were in the house except for fruit or bread for a slice of toast. Don’t buy it and it will just become normal. Doesn’t help with the stealingbthing though.

[DoJo]

What if you made them responsible for the snack food budget? Work out how much you spend, divide it between them and let them manage it? Then if they spend it all on stuff that is eaten on the first day, they may see the value in restraint or even decide to spend their share on something else.

[steff13]

I am amazed at all the people on here who think it’s ok to just give water all the time.

It is ok. Water is required in order to live. No other beverage is. People might prefer something else, but it is ok to only offer water all the time.

[ReanimatedSGB]

You could try not buying any more squash/crisps etc and buy more fruit/oatcakes/hummus or whatever instead. But the no-junk-healthy-snacks rule has to apply to you (and your co-parent, if you have one) as well.
Firstly, your teens may well be hungry: teenagers generally need a lot more food than small children.. Secondly, if you're going to ban sweets etc from the house, that has to apply to you too. If you won't buy sweets for them but get caught stuffing your own beak with chocolate, then not only will they think your food 'rules' are unreasonable, but they will be less inclined to trust your 'orders' about other things.

[MrPlow]

Teenagers generally need snacks, and fruit is only sufficient to a point

[Kingsclerelass]

I buy a weekly amount of snacks - a six pack of crisps, two packs of inexpensive chocolate biscuits and a huge amount of fruit. No fizzy drinks at all, just water.
Every snack consists of a tangerine, chopped up apple or grapes & two biscuits or a pack of crisps.
That stock has to last two of us until the next weekend shop. If we run out and ds wants a snack, he can have a cheese sandwich.
Ds has grown up with that approach so he just accepts it. Costs £2 on crisps/biscuits a week, and £3 on fruit

[Regingaphalange]

If you make "snacks" available they won't be treated like gold and "stolen"