To think children can go a couple of hours without eating

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

Not sure if this is just the people I hang out with but every park play date I go on at the moment (there’s quite a few- child is 4), the other parent brings with them copious amounts of snacks.
I’m in no way a food nazi, my child has a morning snack, the odd ice cream when out on hot days, a biscuit pudding after her dinner - I always carry water and an apple- but even I think she can manage 2 hrs in a park without me having to produce a family size bag of crisps, popcorn, a fruit shoot, a haribo.
I’m really fed up of it, firstly because I’m the grinch who says “no” when my daughter asks if she can stuff her face 2hrs before dinner and secondly, because then (unsurprisingly) the other kid sits there eating rather than playing.
If you take a picnic amount of food to a 2pm play date- pls why?

I think this is a modern phenomenon - in my childhood (I'm in my late 40s) the rule was 'no eating between meals'. This wasn't really from a concern about obesity but from a concern that you'd 'spoil your dinner' - i.e. not want to eat the 'delicious' grey mince and watery cabbage your mum had cooked so it would be 'wasted'.

@DysmalRadius

I don't understand it either and suspect it's part of the reasons why we have an obesity crisis.

Don't worry - it's not! Most obese people are in their 60s and 70s!

You're completely wrong @DysmalRadius. At age 10-11 (year 6), 21.0% of children in England are obese. commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/

@ichundich

From the link you posted:

'People aged 45-74 are most likely to be overweight or obese.'

36% of people aged between 64-75 are obese.

This infographic is at the top of that page:

I have 11 yr old twins, I don't limit their snacking or restrict access to junk food - but they eat a very balanced and healthy diet.

They eat their meals well. My son in particular has an internal body clock for mealtimes that you could use to set your watch, it's that regular. They eat a good range of foods, including tons of fruit and veg.

If they are offered a chocolate bar/sweets they won't always want one. They will also sometimes stop eating a chocolate bar halfway through because they've had enough of it. Don't get me wrong, they love chocolate and sweets - but some days they won't eat any/won't want any at all. Their choice entirely.

They have far better self-control over stuffing their faces with junk than I do. I genuinely wish I had such a healthy approach to food.

For us, not limiting their snacks has really worked. The availability means that it's not "a treat" or some exciting forbidden thing. Obviously when they were tiny it was different, but as they've gotten older allowing them to make their own decisions has proven to be the right choice for us. They are both also a very healthy weight - my son is a bit skinny actually, he's very bony!

If I do pull out food at a park, it's probably going to be a bag of crisps. That's because they won't want food every time we go out. That bag of crisps might have been in my bag for a few weeks. Fruit goes mouldy quickly, but having crisps in there means I know I've always got something on hand so I can just grab my bag and go when we want to go out.

They rarely ask for food when we're at the park, but if we're going to be staying for a while and they're hungry, then why wouldn't I give them a snack? Being hungry sucks the fun out of things. It's no different to being thirsty. I always carry a drink too. It's not fun being thirsty either.

I don't need to reserve crisps as a special treat for my kids. If that's what you do, then that's fine but if you see my kids eating crisps at the park, it's because they were hungry and that's what I had in my bag as an emergency ration. And I make no excuses for that.

[quote DemBonesDemBones]@thistimelastweek maybe they're taking them straight to activities/the park/clubs?
I remember being absolutely starving after school and having to wait until my mum stopped to talk to every single parent in the playground we had walked home. Wouldn't want the same for my children and I can't think of a single parent at my kids school that doesn't bring an after school snack [/quote]
Really? It amazes me how differently people parent in different circles. I couldn't give a toss if someone brings a snack for their child after school or not and probably haven't taken much notice if I'm being really honest. However, even with my lack of attention, I wouldn't struggle to find numerous parents who don't bring an after school snack with them.

OP, I completely agree with you.

Among other things, parents are meant to be helping our children learn self-restraint, delayed gratification and healthy eating (all within reason). An outing to the park should be enjoyable in itself without shoving food in one's face. Parents who can't leave the house without bags of snacks are presenting a poor example to their children and make it harder for the conscientious parents.

I've always noticed this, everything seems to revolve around food. My daughter is 8 and I struggle to get her to eat never mind bringing snacks everywhere with me, she's just not interested and I don't get the obsession with kids constantly eating.

Ps not an eating disorder. She eats when she's hungry and is a very healthy weight but can skip a meal or two if not hungry rather than eat for sake of eating

I take a little bit of a snack, but to be honest I rely on their stomachs as an excuse to not stay for hours! Oh, you’re a bit hungry? Let’s head home for tea, then! Instead of the “pleeease, five more minutes” and “ohhhhhh!!!” And hiding!

Recently spent a few days with my three year old niece. DH and I were surprised that she was fed (reasonably healthy) snacks constantly.

DN seemed to say ‘I’d like a lovely snack’ almost hourly and was presented with a snack within minutes every time she made such a request.

DH and I just found this so amusing that we’ve spent the last week or so announcing, ‘I’d like a LOVELY snack’ whenever hungry.

On a slightly different note, as a teacher, I’ve noticed a huge rise in weight gain across our school since the pandemic began.

I don't care what people feed their children and I don't care if they judge me for how I feed mine.

Sometimes we take a snack to the playground. Sometimes we don't. It depends how long we're going to be there and what we're planning to do afterwards. If we do take one, it's usually carrot sticks, apples or cheese since those are kinder to teeth in between meals. But sometimes, if we've been doing some baking, we'll take leftover banana bread or chocolate cupcakes. Sometimes we'll splash out on cake or ice cream from a cafe. I'm comfortable with what I feed my child.

If other children are having crisps or haribo or anything else that I choose not to feed my child, I just tell my DC that we've had our snack or we'll get something when we get home. If my DC continues to whine, they get a warning and, if they don't stop, we leave the playground. Life is full of things that we want but can't have, while someone else is having them, and kids need to learn to deal with that gracefully. What I wouldn't do is blame another parent for my DC's whining, however much popcorn, crisps or haribo they bring.

Ditto to every toddler play session having to include a snack time or a snack table, even if it only runs for 90 minutes.

I thought this was to make a start on teaching table manners. At the one I took my DC too, the toddlers (even the very young ones) were expected to stop running around and sit nicely on little chairs at the table. The volunteers were very nice but firm with the children and as a first-time mum it was useful to see how they gently encouraged good behaviour.

[quote DysmalRadius]@ichundich

From the link you posted:

'People aged 45-74 are most likely to be overweight or obese.'

36% of people aged between 64-75 are obese.[/quote]
And your point is? 1 out 5 children is obese by the end of primary school. 1 out of 3 adults over 45 is obese. So I don't get why you think that obesity 'mostly affects people over 65'.

Over 60, I meant.

I always take a half sandwich at school pickup time. It gets eaten as we walk home at a speed that tells me dgs 7 both loves and needs it. He still eats all his tea.

I agree OP, my sister is the worst for this, even at 9am her kids are snacking on crap and then mine kick off! Non stop snacking isn’t healthy

even at 9am her kids are snacking on crap and then mine kick off!

That's on you, not your sister. Tell your DC to stop whining.

@Goldbar
Yea I try; it’s hard with the 2.5 year old.

No one needs a packet of crisps at 9am.

not RTFT so I'll just add this: wait until they are teenagers. 🤷‍♀️

I often bring lot of snacks or a picnic to park play dates. If they are getting a bit over excited it is a good way to get the to come and calm down and have a sit for 5 minutes.
They don’t actually eat many snack at home.
All of my children are slim so no worries about their weight.

YABU because all kids are different. Of my two older kids (7 and 5) the older one rarely needs snacks but the 5 yo needs regular snacks or she gets hangry. 5 yo actually has a more varied diet than 7 yo so it's not related to not eating properly.

So my view is just because your child doesn't need snacks doesn't mean other people's don't because even in my tiny sample of 2 my kids are vastly different in their eating habits.

Most of the problem is other kids snacking on junkfood - crisps, biscuits, sugary cereal bars, etc. And of course the OP's dc will want some of that, and potentially whine for it. If the friends were eating carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes, there would be no problem. It's one thing to wait while a friend has a banana, another to watch her eat a donut.

At the primary school where I work, after school there is a shower of shite food unloaded on the dc everyday in the playground. It's also an environmental disaster - a flood of plastic packaging as parents pull out individually wrapped portions of high fat, high sugar, high salt processed rubbish.

I would dearly love to see a ban on all processed snacks after school. Bring them an apple or some cheese chunks if you must, fine. Stop with the tiny plastic packets of fruit rollups. Writ large across a large primary playground, day after day, it's distressing.

Fruit, salad etc is one thing, but there are kids in my group eating half a bagel as a "snack". Its so many calories.

Good god what is it with the mumsnet objection to a bagel??!! A bagel is absolutely what you SHOULD be eating as a snack to curb hunger..... they're full of energy (carbs) and low in fat!!!!

Fruit on the other hand will give you an instant sugar hit that is burned off quickly so will not stave off hunger.

Snacks are fine in moderation as part of a balanced diet, I eat roughly every 2hrs so I wouldn't expect my DS to go 4hrs with no food.

However, it sounds like the OPs friends DC are literally spending the entire play date sitting eating and not actually playing, which is the bigger issue for me. What's the actual point of the play date? OP may aswell take her DC to the park on her own.

And your point is? 1 out 5 children is obese by the end of primary school. 1 out of 3 adults over 45 is obese. So I don't get why you think that obesity 'mostly affects people over 65'.

Sorry, I thought it was clear - 1 in 3 is more than 1 in 5, hence obesity is more of a problem among older people than children.