Children and snacks

[Lydiaatthebarre]

A friend of mine has just been complaining about some noisy kids on the train and said she couldn't understand why the mum didn't bring some snacks to keep them quiet.

Another friend brings a big bag of food for her son anytime we go to the park for a couple of hours.

I've also heard a mum complaining recently about a local supermarket not wanting loads of kids going in there at school closing time, and wondering what would happen if her daughter got delayed at school and needed a snack on the was way home.

When did all this essential snacking for children become the norm,?

When people say their children 'can't go between meals without an snack' what do they mean? What do they think will happen exactly?

I know exactly what happens. Their behaviour deteriorates massively. They either get very angry and frustrated and obstinate or extremely tearful. They both eat well at meals but wouldn't go from 7am to 12pm without something in between or from 12pm until 5pm. Ds1 in particular would really struggles and he eats like a horse at mealtimes, including 'pudding ' like yoghurt or fruit. He just burns off energy.

I hate snacking culture with a passion .
It’s why so many of us are fat .

Snacks (preferably healthyish) when kids are genuinely hungry - fine. Snacks as a method for distracting or shutting kids up - definitely not fine.

OP, when I was small (1970s), heck when my mother was small (1930s/40s), we had something to eat for elevenses and tea. Often just a slice of bread and butter. Sat at a table. With a drink.

It didn’t happen when we were out and about with my mother, that’s the difference. Because mothers often didn’t go out for the whole day with their DC, do things on the hoof as we do now. So it wasn’t especially visible. But we didn’t go from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner with nothing in between. At school you got a biscuit and cocoa (boak) at break and bread and butter and tea at tea (boarding school in the 80s).

One thing we never got was fruit!

One thing that I love, having recently spend a lot of time with my mum, is that gentle routine of the ordinary day revolving around sitting down with a drink and a small snack at set times. With tea always loose leaf and in a teapot, proper cup and saucer. Lovely. Don’t knock it!

Snacks for shutting up kids has been a godsend on trains etc. But we do like our snacks in our family. No-one's over weight.

Doesn't the fact that children don't need a snack if there's a change in routine sort of support the argument that they don't actually need the snack though?

Admittedly it's probably easier in France because your children aren't going to be surrounded by other children snacking other than at gouter.

I don’t snack, but both DH and DS have very fast metabolisms and get hangry without snacks. They have a mid-morning and a mid-pm snack and that’s it though. And DS’s snacks have no salt or sugar in - usually some veg crisp/melty puff type things mid-morning, then a banana and a couple of small, sugar free gingerbread men in the afternoon.

I don’t really see the drama - it’s not like they are snacking constantly.

RiverTam how could you have possibly interpreted my post in such a way as I choose not to give snacks, when I've clearly stated that I do? There's a time and a place for snacks, it depends entirely on the child's appetite and circumstances. Not sure why you've taken exception to what I've said. Arguably, eating in the car is down to boredom and the need to keep them entertained/ quiet.

I don't let mine eat in the car, too worried about choking.

My kids snack quite a lot (1 and 3). The 3 year old is quite skinny the 1 year old is slowly slimming down.

I'm not really very structured around meals / snack times I just go with the flow. If they get hungry and I don't have anything they get hangry so best to have something in my bag!