To be concerned about 'snacks'

[dayoneoftheschoolholidays]

So it's the first day of the school holidays for us.

My daughter (9) is an absolute nuisance for asking for snacks every waking minute of the day, it's manageable at the weekend, but 40 solid days of this incessant mithering is going to finish me off.

We have been to a play centre today and out and about running a few errands, so not bored lazing around the house.

But all she's done is mither about food and snacks, slushies at the play centre, vending machine, etc...

She got slushy, and we had a McDonald's lunch for a first day off treat, but since getting home it's the usual mithering for junk food.

She's a healthy size and weight, fits into clothes for her age with plenty of room, plays football, swims, does gymnastics, so I'm not concerned about that side of things, but obviously if I allow her to stuff herself silly it could become an issue in the future.

She eats well, three decent meals a day and plenty of healthy snacks available whenever she wants such as fruit, rice cakes, water, vegetable sticks etc. But she constantly wants biscuits, crisp, chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks.

We don't not allow it. She is allowed maybe 1 or 2 small things a day, the odd fizzy drink when we eat out, we don't have a ban on this stuff, I just want her to enjoy it in moderation and not gorge on it for the sake of it.

I've explained it isn't healthy for her, she needs to have a drink if she feels like she might be hungry, or grab an apple or something, not constantly pester me for crap food, but it goes in one ear and out of the other and before I know it she appears again mithering for 'snacks'.

How do you/would you manage this?

Offer her more food for lunch and breakfast?

I just didn't have snacks in the house. Fruit in the bowl, yogurts in the fridge that was it. They did get junk but it wasn't routinely stored in a cupboard. If they wanted food they could always make toast

I think a caveman was unlikely to 'snack' but we have evolved to this state. And it's appalling. The size of todays kids is worrying

We are eating ourselves to death and taking the planet down with us in my opinion

I think snacks in moderation are ok.

DM recalls having digestive biscuits and sweets as a child in 40s/50s and also bread with sugar, eggy bread as 'snacks' and whatever fruit they had. So they were a thing in the olden days but not as much as they are now.

From 70s onwards more manufacturers made and encouraged snacks - e.g. Dairylea Dippers, chocolate spread with the same dippers, crisps etc and mothers bought them as treats.

Whereas cake/iced buns/sweets used to be a 'treat' it got more normal. I still recall being 7 and allowed to pick a treat on the weekly shop which was a big packet of BBQ hula hoops and a 4 pack of Creme Caramels (1970s)! We were also allowed free range to the biscuit barrel (DM loved digestives) but once they were gone, they were gone. When I was a teenager and hungry I used to eat Crunchy Nut Cornflakes at night but with mixed fruit, golden syrup and milk and cream crackers with cheese and marmite and cherry tomatoes also at night. In fact my favourite chocolate was Kit Kat.

My two are allowed one sweet snack or crisps a day and apart from that it's fruit. Do try and ensure she's getting enough protein to reduce hunger.

I think the snack box or basket is a good idea, but I think I would let her pick what goes in it. Say she can pick 5 items, and show her everything she has for the week. Chocolate biscuits, freddos, crisps, crackers, fruit, veg sticks, granola bars, whatever you usually buy. Tell her clearly that she can pick what she gets that day, but this is it for the week, so it's up to her how she splits it.

If she goes for all junk, so be it. Maybe she'll be sensible from the start. Or maybe she'll eat junk until she starts to crave more fruit and veg, and naturally evens out. Or she'll eat all the junk food first and run out. Either way, the consequences are her own making. She's more likely to be on board if she gets some control over it, and it should help her to learn how to regulate a bit more.

This is what’s gone wrong with our eating culture - a daily junk snack box? Junk food every day?! Really?!

OP's use of the word 'mither' takes me back. 'Stop mithering' was one of my mum's most-used expressions in the summer hols.

I know. We didn't have snacks really - crisps and biscuits were a once or maybe twice a week treat. I certainly don't remember wandering around constantly hungry because I was 'deprived' of snacks!

I do remember two things though. Getting 'the munchies' when on school holidays that I didn't get when I was more occupied at school. And when I was in my teens my family got into a bit of a routine where we had a chocolate bar after dinner while watching TV - kit kat chunky, wispa, something like that. After a few weeks within minutes of me finishing dinner my brain would 'ping' like 'where's the chocolate bar then?' purely out of habit. Yet the 'craving' stopped within a couple of weeks of breaking that habit and it just being an occasional treat again.

Kids do not need to be constantly grazing, BUT if I ate what most kids ate for breakfast and lunch, I'd probably be more inclined to snack too. Cereal or toast have me hungry after an hour or two, the same with bagels or wraps for lunch.

Have making snacks part of the holiday routine. So maybe make flapjacks, date balls (like deliciously ella), fairy cakes, fruit kebabs that sort of thing,

People aren't obese because they snack every day - they're obese because they eat too much food over the course of an average week/month.

It's actually fairly unnatural to just eat three large meals per day - the article below is quite interesting. Three meals basically fits into a standard day - breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it's not necessarily good for you to eat like that. Eating little and often, stopping when you're full and only eating when you're hungry is actually considered much better for you.

www.medicaldaily.com/how-3-meals-day-became-rule-and-why-we-should-be-eating-whenever-we-get-hungry-324892

@sunsetsandsandybeaches , people no longer run around and hunt or forage for food these days. (ok I know people run and forage as a hobby but that's not what I mean)

Yes, but that still doesn't mean you can't snack - you just need to adapt your other meal-times accordingly.

Personally, I split my food allowance over 5 "meals" a day. Roughly 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. I eat the same amount as I would over three meals, but I never get those huge huger pangs that (in the past) led me to binge eat.

What on earth is a snack box and what would one buy to put in such a thing?! I daresay I'm well to cheap to do such a thing. Tell her to eat an apple and go outside to play with her mates.

I allow mine one “junk” type thing a day as either a snack or pudding- small bag of crisps or biscuit type thing. If they ask for more I say it’s my job to keep your body and brain healthy so I can’t say yes unfortunately. There are exceptions- parties, holidays etc. They ask less now they know the likely answer.

People aren't obese because they snack every day - they're obese because they eat too much food over the course of an average week/month.

Well yes, but given plate and meal sizes have grown much bigger over the years, a lot of people will now eat 3 huge meals a day and snack in between.

So there are lots of people who actually are obese due to their constant snacking, as well as 3 meals per day.

People aren't obese because they snack every day - they're obese because they eat too much food over the course of an average week/month.

Well yes, often because they eat too many snacks everyday…

But the point is, they're obese because they're eating too much - whether they eat that food over three meals, or three meals plus several snacks is pretty much irrelevant, really.

The snacks aren't the reason for the obesity, the eating too much is the reason.

My 7 year old is the same. I find routine helps. Never any chocolate/sweets in the morning. One small thing after lunch, then another after dinner.

If they know the answer is going to be no then they won't bother asking.

No junk food in the house works well here. We just have healthy snacks in. They have chocolate or biscuits occasionally when we’re out or on holiday, but not every day. They soon stop asking if it isn’t in. This also works for me as I will eat any junk that’s in the house.

Just tell her No, surely?!

I really need to go on a diet and am planning on doing exactly this

Hope it's successful in regulating food intake for me too!

Absolutely this. Listen to the podcast and you will never want to give your kids junk food snacks ever again.

Well today has been better!

Cereal, melon slices and yoghurt for breakfast

Homemade pizza on a wholemeal wrap base for lunch
With vegetable sticks on the side and various toppings on the pizza.

Chicken and chips for tea with peas and sweetcorn.

I got a box this morning and said she could choose a bag of crisp (Pom bears), a small chocolate biscuit or bar (small Cadbury chomp) and a small bag of sweets (mini haribo star mix). Plus a couple of Oreos.

I told her she gets to choose what goes in the box every day, I just decide the quantity.
She can eat what she wants from the box whenever she wants, unless it's too close to a meal time.
But once it's gone, it's gone, and it won't be refilled till the next morning.

I said she can generally eat whatever she wants in terms of fruit/veg/healthy snacks, and if she wants something that's not crap food it's fine. It's really just the junk food I want to rein in.

She has helped herself to some blueberries and strawberries, and had some breadsticks with dairylea.

She made the items in her box last till bedtime when she had her Oreos before bed. Not bad for day one!

That is a lot of snacks OP. It's probably tiny compared to many children but I'd be quite cross with myself if I'd eaten all those in one day.
Aren't there about 120 (empty) calories in one Oreo?